The Wrightslaw Way

Updated May 2013! How Safe Is The Schoolhouse? An Analysis of State Seclusion and Restraint Laws and Policies by Jessica Butler. This Report has been updated to include changes made in 2012 and early 2013 to state restraint and seclusion laws and policies and more fully discusses laws applicable to all children. Get a bullet […]

I have a 10 year old son who has Down syndrome. He is significantly developmentally delayed and does not speak. His teacher decided to make a storage closet in his classroom his timeout room.  She put a chair in the closet facing the wall, several times a day she sat him in there and made […]

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 […]

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 […]