ACTION ALERT – KEEPING ALL STUDENTS SAFE ACT
ASK CONGRESS TO SUPPORT BILL TO PREVENT DANGEROUS RESTRAINT & SECLUSION
National Call-In Day, June 12
Restraint and Seclusion are practices used in public schools (and schools that receive public funds) that have killed, injured, and traumatized students. More than 20 children have died, according to a Congressional agency report. Nearly 110,000 students were subjected to restraint and seclusion in isolation rooms, according to data from the 2011-12 school year. To prevent these practices and protect students and staff, Senators Tom Harkin and Chris Murphy have introduced the Keeping All Students Safe Act in the Senate (S. 2036) and Representatives George Miller and Gregg Harper have introduced the House bill (H.R. 1893).
You can find out if your two senators and representative are cosponsoring the Keeping All Students Safe Act by clicking the links below:
Senate Keeping All Students Safe Act Co-sponsors
House Keeping All Students Safe Act Co-sponsors
ACT NOW!!
On June 12 (or during that week—)
- Call your senators today—US capitol Switchboard 202-224-3121—and urge him/her to co-sponsor the KEEPING ALL STUDENTS SAFE ACT, S. 2036. (Leave a voicemail if no one answers).
Sample Message: “Please co-sponsor the Keeping All Students Safe Act, S.2036, and protect all American students nationwide from restraint and seclusion in our nation’s schools.”
- Call your representative —US capitol Switchboard 202-224-3121—and ask him/her to co-sponsor the KEEPING ALL STUDENTS SAFE ACT, HR 1893. (Leave a voicemail if no one answers).
Sample Message: “Please co-sponsor the Keeping All Students Safe Act, S.2036, and protect all American students nationwide from restraint and seclusion in our nation’s schools.”
- Feel free to add to your message with a personal story, additional information, and your personal commitment to this issue. Suggested points are below.
- Ask your friends and family to do the same.
- Or email Senate and/or
Make sure Congress hears from thousands of parents, people with disabilities, students, advocates, professionals, friends, families, and neighbors so they will ACT!
Get Social!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stophurtingkids?ref=hl
Sample Facebook Posts:
1) Act Now! National Call-In Day is June 12th. Help keep all students safe at school. Call your senators and representatives today (202-224-3121) and urge them to co-sponsor the Keeping All Students Safe Act S. 2036. Follow the link below to read more http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09719t.pdf or visit https://www.facebook.com/stophurtingkids?ref=hl
2) The most recent data has shown that at least 70,000 students were subjected to physical restraint; 37,000, to isolated seclusion; and nearly 4,000 to mechanical restraint, for a near total of 111,000 in 2011-12. Help stop restraint and seclusion in our nation’s schools. Call your senators and representatives today (202-224-3121) and urge them to co-sponsor the Keeping All Students Safe Act S. 2036. Follow the link below to read more http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09719t.pdf or visit https://www.facebook.com/stophurtingkids?ref=hl
3) Watch Restraint and Seclusion: Hear Our Stories (http://stophurtingkids.com/the-film/) and act now! Call your senators and representatives today (202-224-3121) and urge them to co-sponsor the Keeping All Students Safe Act S. 2036. Follow the link below to read more http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09719t.pdf or visit https://www.facebook.com/stophurtingkids?ref=hl
Twitter: https://twitter.com/End_RS
Sample Tweets:
1) Call your senators and representatives now (202-224-3121) and urge them to co-sponsor the Keeping All Students Safe Act. National Call-In Day June 12. #stopRS
2) Call 202-224-3121 and help #stopRS in our nation’s schools. National Call-In Day is June 12th!
3) Act now! Protect American students from restraint and seclusion in our nation’s schools. Call 202-224-3121 today! #stopRS
4) Watch film and learn more about restraint and seclusion: http://stophurtingkids.com/the-film/. Call your senator and representatives now (202-224-3121) #stopRS
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Senate Bill S. 2036 and Senate Committee Description
House Bill H.R. 1893 and House Statement
http://stophurtingkids.com
Find your Laws in My State’s Seclusion and Restraint Laws
GAO Report and Education Department Data Snapshot
Sample Email:
Please cosponsor the Keeping All Students Safe Act, S. 2036 and H.R. 1893 and prevent the use of restraint and seclusion in school. House and Senate Testimony and a GAO study have found that children are killed, injured, and traumatized by restraint and seclusion. They include a teenager who hung himself while his teacher sat outside the seclusion room; a child suffocated in restraint after he tried to get lunch; and many others. These dangerous procedures are often used when no one is at risk of harm. The most recent data has accounted for nearly 111,000 students subjected to restraint and seclusion in 2011-12, disproportionately students with disabilities and minorities. The Keeping All Students Safe Act, S. 2036 and H.R. 1893, will forbid the use of restraint except in emergencies threatening physical safety. Both will prevent non-emergency seclusion. Both bills require schools to notify parents on the same day. Fewer than half the states prohibit non-emergency use of restraint and seclusion. Parents must be informed promptly to seek medical care, but fewer than half of the states require parental notification for all students. The Keeping All Students Safe Act will promote a shift towards positive behavioral interventions and keep students and staff safe. Please cosponsor S. 2036 and H.R. 1893.
Optional SAMPLE TALKING POINTS or EMAIL
- A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that 20 students have died in seclusion; countless others have been injured and traumatized. One young teen hung himself in a seclusion room while staff sat outside the locked door; a seven year old died face down in physical restraint; and a young teen was suffocated face down in restraint by his teacher twice his size. Recent reports indicate that the shoes of an 8 year old with Down Syndrome were duct-taped so tightly that she could not walk and her ankles were bruised; a 10 year old with autism was pinned face down after an upset over a puzzle; and a child with Cerebral Palsy severed her finger when she was confined in seclusion. Parents often do not learn about restraint or seclusion, or learn long after they have occurred.
- The most recent data has shown that at least 70,000 students were subjected to physical restraint; 37,000, to isolated seclusion; and nearly 4,000 to mechanical restraint, for a near total of 111,000 in 2011-12. Students with disabilities make up 12% of all students but 75% of those physically restrained and 58% of those secluded. African-American students make up 19% of students with disabilities but 36% of those who were mechanically restrained.
- Both Congressional bills, S. 2036 and H.R. 1893, will forbid the use of restraint except in emergencies threatening physical safety. Both seek to prevent non-emergency seclusion: the House bill, by limiting it to threats of physical harm; the Senate, by banning it. Both bills require schools to notify parents on the same day. Prompt notification enables parents to seek medical care for concussions or other injuries and to work with schools to prevent recurrences. Both bills ban restraints that impede breathing, and dangerous mechanical and chemical restraints. The bills will enhance public oversight by requiring data reporting and collection.
- There are more effective ways to manage challenging behavior. The Keeping All Students Safe Act will shift schools towards preventing these behaviors through evidence-based positive behavioral interventions and supports. The use of positive supports and interventions has been shown to greatly diminish and even eliminate the need to use restraint and seclusion. For example, the Centennial School in Pennsylvania cut restraint and seclusion use from over 1,000 occurrences per year to less than ten through the use of positive intervention plans.
- Many states don’t adequately protect all students from restraint and seclusion. Too many states allow their use when no one is in danger. Only 14 states restrict restraint to dangers threatening safety emergencies for all children; only 18, for children with disabilities. Only one state bans seclusion of all children; four states ban seclusion of children with disabilities, and another ten states limit seclusion to emergencies involving physical safety. Only 20 states require parents of all children be informed of restraint and seclusion use. Roughly half of all states allow restraints that impede breathing.
