A parent's worst nightmare

[Guest guest]

Please pass this along. It is important legislation that protects our loved ones with disabilities and requires our action. It only takes a moment of your time.Thanks for your help!

Easter Seals

Dear Lin,

Children are facing bruises, broken bones and worse – all while they’re at school.

We need 5,000 supporters to send a letter by March 30!

Duct-taped to a chair. Locked in a closet. Held face down on the ground, lungs gasping for air. These cruel, dangerous punishments are happening in our schools to some of the most vulnerable students – kids with disabilities.

Shockingly, there are no federal rules against the use of these brutal practices, called “restraint and seclusion†tactics, in our nation’s public schools. Recent investigations have found that thousands of children, the majority of them diagnosed with disabilities, have been subjected to terrifying, painful punishments at school that can cause injury and even death.

Congress is considering legislation that could end these practices, but we need your help to make sure they enact these critical protections into law. With each passing day, another child is at risk for bruises, broken bones and worse. Be one of 5,000 supporters to send a letter to your members of Congress by March 30 and help stop dangerous tactics that humiliate, injure and even kill children with disabilities!

Introduced last year, the Keeping All Students Safe Act would set strict standards to ensure that no more children are ever hurt or killed as a result of these inhumane punishments. But if we don’t speak up now, the bill could lose its momentum in Congress…and even more kids with disabilities could suffer.

In West Virginia, one preschool student with cerebral palsy and autism was strapped to a chair that resembled an electric chair for being uncooperative in class, and began returning home with bruises each day. She was just 4 years old – and years later, at the age of 15, she is still unable to see a school or hear the word “teacher†without suffering extreme emotional distress.

Restraint and seclusion punishments can cause severe injury and psychological trauma to the children who endure them. Congress can protect thousands of children from this abuse by passing a single bill – but until they do, these practices remain legal in many states, and kids will keep getting hurt.

Will you ask your members of Congress to support this lifesaving legislation? Say “Yes!†Please help protect children in schools from harmful restraint and seclusion tactics – send a letter to your representatives today.

Just this month, the U.S. Department of Education released information detailing that an overwhelming majority of restraint and seclusion punishments are inflicted upon children with disabilities – the very children who rely on adults the most for protection. Please contact Congress today and help ensure that school is a safe place for every child in America.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Katy Beh NeasSenior Vice President, Government Relations

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