The Wrightslaw Way

While investigating suspicious deaths in state institutions, the Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy (VOPA) requested relevant records from state officials. Virginia refused, stating that a state-law privilege protected records from disclosure. VOPA sued the State agency in U.S. District Court. The District Court denied Virginia’s motion to dismiss. Virginia appealed to the Court of […]

On Tuesday, July 13, we received the text of an article, “Preventing Harmful Restraint/Seclusion in Schools Act” by Jess Butler, Esq.  Jess is the Congressional Affairs Coordinator for the Autism National Committee (www.autcom.org), was previously Chair of the Board of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, and co-chaired its Congressional Affairs efforts. We published […]

A Washington school placed D.P., an autistic child, in a locked isolation room pursuant to an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that allowed him to be placed in a “safe room” for “timeouts.” The child’s mother sued the school district for “negligence, outrage, and § 1983 violations.” These claims were based on D.P.’s constitutional rights and […]

Call your Senators and ask them to pass S.2860, the restraint/seclusion bill as it passed the House.  Dial 202-224-3121 or go to http://www.senate.gov, click on Senators for contact information (including local numbers).  Ask for your Senator’s Education Aide or HELP Committee aide, and leave a detailed voicemail message if they are unavailable. (More contact details […]

The House Committee on Education and Labor will mark up the Congressional restraint/seclusion bill this Thursday, February 4.  During mark-up, the Congressional Committee will consider the bill and any proposed changes, and vote on a bill to send to the House Floor. Live Webcast: If you would like to hear the discussion about the bill, […]

Today is the day! Thursday, January 21st, tell your members of Congress to support the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act (H.R. 4247/S.2860) introduced last month by Representatives George Miller (D-CA) and Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-WA) and by Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT). This legislation would provide students with and without disabilities vital protections against […]

A Wisconsin school district has decided to use federal stimulus dollars to construct “seclusion areas” in its schools.  The decision is opposed by those working to end such practices for students with disabilities. The School Board voted in favor of using the funds for this purpose on December 14,  the vote coming just after Congressman […]

A 14-year old student in a special education classroom in Texas, Cedric lived with a foster family because of a history of neglect, including malnutrition. One day in 2002, his teacher tried to punish him by withholding food, despite the abuse he had suffered as a young child. Cedric’s teacher delayed his lunch for hours […]

On September 11, 2009, the Federal Register provided notice under the Department of Education – Annual Mandatory Collection of Elementary and Secondary Education Data for EDFacts that OCR will begin collecting data on seclusion and restraint in schools. The link to the Federal Register notice is: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-21935.pdf.

In a July 31 letter, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan described his reaction to testimony before Congress on the use of restraints and seclusion in public schools. He advised school officials to reform their seclusion and restraint procedures “to ensure that every student in every school is safe and protected”  before the beginning of the […]