{"id":11326,"date":"2014-04-17T09:00:25","date_gmt":"2014-04-17T13:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/?p=11326"},"modified":"2014-04-15T02:15:20","modified_gmt":"2014-04-15T06:15:20","slug":"update-107000-students-subjected-to-restraintseclusion-contact-congress-to-pass-national-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/update-107000-students-subjected-to-restraintseclusion-contact-congress-to-pass-national-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Update:  107,000 Students Subjected to Restraint\/Seclusion. Contact Congress to Pass National Bill"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_pop\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/gallery\/share-button-gray.png\" style=\"border:0px\" alt=\"Share\" \/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"StumbleUpon\",\"Digg\",\"Reddit\",\"Bebo\",\"Delicious\");var hupso_icon_type = \"labels\";var hupso_background=\"#FFFFFF\";var hupso_border=\"#FFFFFF\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_twitter_via=\"wrightslaw\";var hupso_url=\"\";var hupso_title=\"Update%3A%20%20107%2C000%20Students%20Subjected%20to%20Restraint%2FSeclusion.%20Contact%20Congress%20to%20Pass%20National%20Bill\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div><p><a href=\"http:\/\/www2.ed.gov\/about\/offices\/list\/ocr\/docs\/crdc-discipline-snapshot.pdf\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">New statistics<\/span><\/a> show that in 2011-12, at least 70,000 students were subjected to physical restraint, and 37,000, to isolated seclusion.<\/p>\n<p>The statistics were released this Spring as part of the U.S. Department of Education\u2019s<a href=\"http:\/\/www2.ed.gov\/about\/offices\/list\/ocr\/data.html?src=rt\/\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"> Civil Rights Data Collection<\/span><\/a>, a biennial data collection from public schools.<\/p>\n<p>The data showed that students with disabilities were disproportionately restrained and secluded.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>It&#8217;s Time to Put a Stop to These Abuses<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>On April 8, 2014, a coalition of 220 national and state organizations, including Wrightslaw, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/info\/SenateLetter0408.pdf\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">asked the U.S. Senate<\/span><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/info\/HouseLetter0408.pdf\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">House of Representatives<\/span><\/a> to <em>act now and pass<\/em> restraint and seclusion legislation in light of the alarming data.\u00a0 In 2014, Senators Tom Harkin and Chris Murphy introduced the <span style=\"color: #000080;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/info\/2014HarkinBill.doc\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Keeping All Students Safe Act, S.2036<\/span><\/a><\/span>.\u00a0 (Representatives George Miller and Greg Harper had previously introduced a similar companion bill, H.R. 1893 in May 2013.)<\/p>\n<p>Please read more about the statistics and reports, the national bill, and how you can contact your Senators and Representatives and ask them to cosponsor the Keeping All Students Safe Act. <!--more--><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www2.ed.gov\/about\/offices\/list\/ocr\/data.html?src=rt\/\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The Civil Rights Data Collection<\/span><\/a> showed that while students with disabilities comprise only 12% of the student population, they were 75% of those restrained and 58% of those secluded.<\/p>\n<p>Minority students were also disproportionately subjected to these practices.\u00a0 For example, nearly 4,000 students with disabilities were mechanically restrained.\u00a0 Approximately 36% were African-American, although African-American children comprise only 19% of students with disabilities. Mechanical restraints include using ties, straps, locking chairs and locking devices, and even duct tape to restrain students.<\/p>\n<p>In 2009, a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gao.gov\/new.items\/d09719t.pdf\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Government Accountability Office (GAO) study<\/span><\/a> found that children were injured, traumatized, and even killed through restraint and seclusion in schools.\u00a0 The GAO documented 20 students who had died in restraint.\u00a0 Other children have been killed or injured in seclusion rooms, including a student who hung himself in Atlanta while school staff were outside the locked room.<\/p>\n<p>A February 2014 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.help.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/Seclusion%20and%20Restraints%20Final%20Report.pdf\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Senate HELP Committee investigation<\/span><\/a> found that families have little recourse under current law, even when their child has died or been harmed.\u00a0 Not only do restraints and seclusion harm students, but students are not in the classroom learning, and many regress.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>Protection Against Restraint and Seclusion<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.autcom.org\/pdf\/HowSafeSchoolhouse.pdf\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Many states provide little protection from restraint and seclusion<\/span><\/a> for all students.\u00a0 Only 14 states restrict restraint to dangers threatening safety emergencies for all children; only 18, for children with disabilities.\u00a0 Only one state bans seclusion of all children; four ban seclusion of children with disabilities, and another 10 limit seclusion to physical safety emergencies.<\/p>\n<p>Only 20 states require parents of all children be informed of restraint and seclusion use today.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Both Congressional bills will forbid the use of restraint except in emergencies threatening physical danger<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Both seek to prevent non-emergency restraint:\u00a0 the House bill, by limiting it to threats of physical harm; the Senate, by banning it.\u00a0 Parents would be notified of restraint and seclusion use on the same day.\u00a0 The bills will ban restraints that impede breathing, and dangerous mechanical and chemical restraints.\u00a0 They will ensure that staff are trained in evidence-based methods to minimize the use of restraint and seclusion and the use of positive supports.\u00a0 They will ensure that teachers have the tools and resources they need to prevent challenging behaviors.\u00a0 The bills will enhance public oversight by requiring data reporting and collection.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Positive Supports and Interventions<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The bills will help schools prevent problematic behavior by shifting to comprehensive positive supports.\u00a0 Through positive supports and interventions, de-escalation, conflict management, and other positive strategies, can \u201cvirtually eliminate\u201d the use of restraint and seclusion, testified Daniel Crimmins, Director, Center for Leadership in Disability at Georgia State University.<\/p>\n<p>Challenging behaviors and can be avoided when staff performs <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/info\/discipl.fab.starin.htm\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">functional behavioral assessments<\/span><\/a> and understands what triggers them.<\/p>\n<p>The Centennial School in Pennsylvania, which serves children from 35 school districts, has slashed its use of restraint from over 1,000 occurrences per year to fewer than 10 through the use of positive interventions.\u00a0 Its seclusion rooms had been in constant use. They were turned into a school store and supply closet, according to Director Michael George.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000080;\">It&#8217;s Time to Put a Stop to These Abuses<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As he introduced the bill, Senator Harkin told the story of Jonathan King, who was \u201csecluded in an 8-by-8-foot concrete room in his Georgia school from the time he was a kindergartener. His parents did not know this was happening to him.&#8221;\u00a0 Jonathan, 13 years old, was killed in seclusion.\u00a0 \u201cIt is time to put a stop to these abuses.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>Contact Your Congressman<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Please call or write to your Senators and Representatives and ask them to cosponsor the Keeping All Students Safe Act, S.2036 and H.R. 1893.<\/p>\n<p>Calls are more effective, but email will also help.\u00a0 Contact your Senators through <a href=\"http:\/\/www.senate.gov\/general\/contact_information\/senators_cfm.cfm\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">http:\/\/www.senate.gov\/general\/contact_information\/senators_cfm.cfm<\/span><\/a> and your Representative through <a href=\"http:\/\/www.house.gov\/\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">http:\/\/www.house.gov\/<\/span><\/a> (put your zip code in the box in the upper corner).<\/p>\n<p>You can also call the Congress, 202-224-3121 or TTY 202-225-1904.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;Jessica Butler, Congressional Affairs Coordinator, Autism National Committee, www.autcom.org (email: jessica@jnba.net)<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000080;\">More Resources<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To find data on your own school district\u2019s or state\u2019s use of restraint and seclusion, go to <a href=\"http:\/\/ocrdata.ed.gov\/\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">http:\/\/ocrdata.ed.gov\/<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 You can also compare schools and districts or get information for all school districts in your state.\u00a0 Select 2011-12 for the most recent data.<\/p>\n<p>To read more about restraint and seclusion, visit Wrightslaw at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/info\/abuse.index.htm\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/info\/abuse.index.htm<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New statistics show that in 2011-12, at least 70,000 students were subjected to physical restraint, and 37,000, to isolated seclusion. The statistics were released this Spring as part of the <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/update-107000-students-subjected-to-restraintseclusion-contact-congress-to-pass-national-bill\/\">Continue Reading \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1368,92],"tags":[637,1162,636],"class_list":["post-11326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abuse-restraints","category-restraints","tag-keeping-all-students-safe-act","tag-preventing-harmful-restraint-and-seclusion-in-schools","tag-restraint-and-seclusion"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11326"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11347,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11326\/revisions\/11347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}