Bipartisan Lawmakers to Introduce Legislation to Protect All Children in Schools from Abuse

Press Release from Congress (12/7/09):

Bipartisan Lawmakers to Introduce Legislation to Protect All Children in Schools from Abuse

Legislation will, for the first time, prevent harmful restraint and seclusion in classrooms

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, December 9, U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) will hold a press conference to introduce new legislation to protect all children in schools from misuse of restraint and seclusion. Miller is the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and a member of Democratic leadership, McMorris Rodgers is a member of the Committee and the Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference.

 

This legislation is the first national effort to prevent and reduce harmful restraint and seclusion in schools. A recent U.S. Government Accountability Office investigation found hundreds of allegations that schoolchildren have been abused, and some even died, as a result of the inappropriate use of restraint and seclusion in classrooms; a disproportionate number of them were children with disabilities. Yet unlike in hospitals, and other medical and community-based facilities that receive federal funding, there are currently no federal policies that prevent the misuse of restraint and seclusion in schools. State regulation and oversight varies greatly; many states provide no guidance or assistance regarding these behavioral interventions.

 

WHO:             U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee

U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), a member of the House Education and Labor Committee and Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference

                        Families of children who have been the victims of harmful restraint and seclusion in classrooms

                        Additional participants TBA

 

WHAT:          Press Conference to Introduce Legislation to Prevent Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools

 

WHEN:          Wednesday, December 9, 2009

11:00AM EST

 

WHERE:       Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room

                        2175 Rayburn House Office Building

                        Washington, D.C.

 

NOTE TO MEDIA:   Members of the press interested in attending this event must RSVP to Melissa Salmanowitz at Melissa.Salmanowitz@mail.house.gov or 202-226-0853. Television cameras planning to cover the event must arrive no later than 10:30 am for setup.

 

This press conference will be webcast live from the Education and Labor Committee website at http://edlabor.house.gov

Comments

[Mrs. Eileen G. Curras widow to Hernandez (WWII)]

It seems that the topic that U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) is presenting as a member of the House Education and Labor Committee and Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference of “Families of children who have been the victims of harmful restraint and seclusion in classrooms” should be applied to all the community.
The Introduction of new Legislation to Prevent Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools is running out of control not only at schools but in our daily lives when Domestic Violence is also a culprit.

[Sharon Head]

As a former Process Coordinator for Special Education, and a retired teacher of learning disabled and high-functioning mentally retarded students, I spent over twenty years in the field. Although none of my students were dangerous, I saw a fair number of children who were! These children needed to be restrained, to keep them from hurting others, or themselves. In the district in which I worked, personnel who worked with these children were trained, and the children were never harmed.

[Peter Eastman]

I think the issue is that many school personnel are not trained and there is little or no direct supervision. Added to this a conflicting set of laws and regulations, which appears to come down on the side of protecting school personnel from liability. There is also no common set of data collection or definitions. All of this combines to leave us with only anectodal information, based on personal experience and perspective - not helpful when designing policy to keep everyone safer.

Therefore, those who safely prevent harm from dangerous behavior are lumped with those who instigate, incite, and injure.

I run a company that trains restraint prevention, reduction and safer restraints, and see both sides of this debate; I believe that legislation will help increase safety without degrading the ability of teachers to teach and maintain a controlled, safe classroom.