Keeping All Students Safe

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In 2011, Representative George Miller (D-CA), introduced the Keeping All Students Safe Act, otherwise known as H.R. 1381. This bill was later accompanied by Senate bill, S. 2020, introduced by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA). Both bills have remained stagnant ever since as they are currently awaiting contention in their respected committees. At the time of this writing (December 2012), H.R. 1381 has 57 co-sponsors while support for S. 2020 remains singled out by Senator Tom Harkin. Although Harkin has pressed for bi-partisan support, his efforts have been largely ignored.

As both bills are conjunctions of one another, they call for forbidding the use of mechanical restraints, chemical restraints, or physical restraints that restrict breathing when counteracting “undesirable” behavior of students. Furthermore, schools cannot include the use of seclusion and restraint in a student’s Individualized Education Plan as a tactic for correcting behavior. The only exception to this rule would be in emergency situations. In this scenario, parents and staff would be required to participate in debriefing sessions after the use of restraint. In order to track these occurrences, states would be obligated to collect and report data in order to comply with the law.

The New American Movement believes that in order to uphold and enforce the provisions conceded under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the ADA, S. 2020 and H.R. 1381 must be ratified. It is our government’s responsibility to ensure that students with disabilities are treated fairly in educational settings.

Over the past year, there has been an increasing amount of media exposure to these unjust practices utilized by a plethora of states across the country. As of now, only 17 states have laws that prohibit the practice of seclusion and restraint in school. (Please refer to the U.S. Department of Education summary report regarding restraint/seclusion policy per state; http://www2.ed.gov/policy/seclusion/summary-by-state.pdf)The New American Movement finds it alarming that students can be subjected to this treatment and sometimes, it is included in their IEP plans. With that in mind, it is imperative that this becomes a federal law.

Despite the claims of many states (ex: North Carolina) that these techniques are not designed specifically for students with disabilities, it is still a violation of Section 504 and Title II because it utilizes procedures, regardless of intentionality, that result in discrimination and in many cases, harm to the child.

Furthermore, the New American Movement hopes that states recognize the consequences of their actions and relinquish their techniques of dealing with aggressive behavior in public schools as many of their current practices are unwarranted on the backs of children with disabilities and their families.

Please support this initiative by utilizing our action alert, entitled, “Keeping All Students Safe”.