Monday, May 13, 2013

National Down Syndrome Congress

Restraint/Seclusion Bill Introduced in U.S. House of Representatives Please call your Congressman!
Congressman George Miller (D-CA), ranking member of the House Education & Workforce Committee and Congressman Gregg Harper (R-MS) this week introduced the Keeping All Students Safe Act, HR 1893, a bill to protect all students nationwide from restraint and seclusion.
NDSC was one of the founding organizations of APRAIS, the group whose mission is to protect children from restraint, seclusion and aversives in schools, and who has worked on development of this bill for several years. 
Please contact your members of Congress and ask them to Cosponsor and Support the Keeping All Students Safe Act, HR 1893. Dial 202-224-3121; ask for your Representative's Office, and then ask for the individual who deals with education issues. 
If you are unable to call and need to use email, go to http://bit.ly/RepWrit. The link to Congressman Miller's speech is here.

Tell your Congressional representative that:
  • A 2009 Government Accountability Office (GAO) study found that children were injured, traumatized, and even killed through restraint and seclusion in schools. The GAO documented 20 deaths of school children.
  • The Civil Rights collection data shows that 40,000 children were physically restrained during the 2009-2010 school year.
  • Restraint and seclusion are disproportionately used upon students with disabilities and minority students.
The Keeping All Students Safe Act will protect children in the following ways:
· ban restraint/seclusion except in emergencies where someone is in danger of physical harm.

· require that parents be informed if their child was restrained/secluded on the same day that the event occurred.

· ban restraints that impede breathing, mechanical restraints, and chemical restraints.
· prevent restraint/seclusion from being used when less restrictive alternatives, like positive supports and de-escalation, would eliminate any danger.

If you have questions, please contact susan@ndsccenter.org.