If your child attends a public school and has an IEP this should concern you.
In school year 2010/11 in Broward there were 459 restraint incidents reported, and 237 in 2011/12. There were 86 seclusion's in 2010/11 and 93 in 2011/12.
Broward does better than most. In 2010/11 Orange lead the State in restraint with 2,350 incidents, 29% of the 10,500 Statewide.
9 Florida Districts use mechanical restraint, here Orange County demonstrates theirs:
http://youtu.be/QeFN11wmKao
21 Florida Districts had increases in the numbers of restraints from 2010/11 to 2011/12.
There is no reason for these numbers to be so high. Several States and a few Florida Districts have policy restricting restraint to only emergencies and have banned seclusion, which is solitary confinement in a cell. They have had very few problems and none have gone back to their previous barbaric policies.
Call your State Representative, call all of the Broward Representatives. E-mail them and stop by their offices and talk to their staff about reducing the medieval practice on our children. Find them here:
http://www.broward.org/Legislative/Documents/LDDirectory.pdf
Ask them to please co-sponsor HB291 sponsored by Representative Katie Edwards:
http://www.myfloridahouse.com/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=49504&SessionId=73
HB 291 - Use, Prevention, & Reduction of Seclusion & Restraint on Students with Disabilities in Public Schools
General Bill by Edwards
Use, Prevention, & Reduction of Seclusion & Restraint on Students with Disabilities in Public Schools: Requires that manual physical restraint be used on student with disability only in emergency when there is imminent risk of serious injury or death to student or others; requires that school provide medical evaluation after student is manually physically restrained; prohibits school personnel from placing student in seclusion; requires that school personnel be trained & certified in use of manual physical restraint; requires that school district develop policies relating to use of restraint
Effective Date: July 1, 2013
In school year 2010/11 in Broward there were 459 restraint incidents reported, and 237 in 2011/12. There were 86 seclusion's in 2010/11 and 93 in 2011/12.
Broward does better than most. In 2010/11 Orange lead the State in restraint with 2,350 incidents, 29% of the 10,500 Statewide.
9 Florida Districts use mechanical restraint, here Orange County demonstrates theirs:
http://youtu.be/QeFN11wmKao
21 Florida Districts had increases in the numbers of restraints from 2010/11 to 2011/12.
There is no reason for these numbers to be so high. Several States and a few Florida Districts have policy restricting restraint to only emergencies and have banned seclusion, which is solitary confinement in a cell. They have had very few problems and none have gone back to their previous barbaric policies.
Call your State Representative, call all of the Broward Representatives. E-mail them and stop by their offices and talk to their staff about reducing the medieval practice on our children. Find them here:
http://www.broward.org/Legislative/Documents/LDDirectory.pdf
Ask them to please co-sponsor HB291 sponsored by Representative Katie Edwards:
http://www.myfloridahouse.com/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=49504&SessionId=73
HB 291 - Use, Prevention, & Reduction of Seclusion & Restraint on Students with Disabilities in Public Schools
General Bill by Edwards
Use, Prevention, & Reduction of Seclusion & Restraint on Students with Disabilities in Public Schools: Requires that manual physical restraint be used on student with disability only in emergency when there is imminent risk of serious injury or death to student or others; requires that school provide medical evaluation after student is manually physically restrained; prohibits school personnel from placing student in seclusion; requires that school personnel be trained & certified in use of manual physical restraint; requires that school district develop policies relating to use of restraint
Effective Date: July 1, 2013
