Bipartisan federal legislation to protect children from dangerous restraint and seclusion in classrooms will be introduced this Wednesday by U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA), who is the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) who is a member of that committee and is the Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference. Their press conference will be webcast live from the Education and Labor Committee website at http://edlabor.house.gov at 11:00 AM EST on Wednesday, December 9, 2009.
A recent investigation by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found numerous reports of injury and, in some cases, death as a result of the inappropriate use of restraint and seclusion in classrooms. Many victims were children with disabilities. At present, there are no federal policies that prevent the misuse of restraint and seclusion in schools, and many states also lack sufficient regulation to protect children from these harmful practices.
ASAN is currently looking for volunteers to help with efforts to pass legislation that will protect students against school abuse. If you would like to help with these upcoming advocacy efforts, please write to [email protected] to volunteer with the subject line: "Restraint and seclusion" in your e-mail. Also, feel free to copy and paste this announcement elsewhere.
08 Dec 2009, 12:00 pm
