Fw: Sign-on in Support of S. 2020 and H.R. 1381 Keeping All Students Safe Act(s)

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----- Forwarded Message ----- To: Undisclosed List Sent: Saturday, July 7, 2012 10:29 PM Subject: Sign-on in Support of S. 2020 and H.R. 1381 Keeping All Students Safe Act(s)

Please Sign-on in Support of S. 2020 and H.R. 1381 Keeping All Students Safe Act(s)

It is critically important to pass S. 2020 and H.R. 1381 (Keeping All Students Safe Act) in this Congress. Once again we are working to get as many signatures of local, state and national organizations in support of both bills. The sign on letter will go to Senator Harkin, Senator Enzi, Representative Kline, and Representative next week, as well as other members of the Senate and House Committees. Organizations wishing to sign on please visit http://svy.mk/LtrRestraSe

Please note, this sign on letter is only for organizations. Individuals who wish to support the bill (very much encouraged) should contact your Senators and Representative directly to ask them to support the Keeping All Students Safe Act, S.2020 and H.R. 1381. You can get your Senators’ phone numbers at www.senate.gov (or email them if you prefer) and your Representatives at www.house.gov.

There are 98 organizations signed on so far (see below) and the goal is get to 150 before the Hearing in the Senate. The Hearing, sponsored by Senator Harkin and Senator Enzi, is set for July 12 at 10:00 am Eastern, “Beyond Seclusion and Restraint: Creating Positive Learning Environments for All Students†(see http://www.copaa.org/public-policy/pass-the-keeping-all-students-safe-act-s-2020-and-h-r-1381/ for the hearing announcement and talking points/sample language and http://bit.ly/SenRShrg1 to view the hearings on line.)

Please feel free to forward this message to your networks far and wide.

Currently, only 11 states protect all students from non-emergency restraint that threatens imminent physical danger (16 states protect students with disabilities) and 7 states protect all students from non-emergency seclusion (12 states protect students with disabilities). Others allow S/R for such things as tantrums or disruptive behavior, destruction of property, being unable to pay attention due to a disability, non-compliance, punishment, discipline, and in some, even staff convenience (because they have no limits). More than 1/2 of states do not require schools to notify parents when a child is restrained/secluded. For more information, see attached State Fact Sheet and the related report, How Safe Is the Schoolhouse? An Analysis of State Seclusion and Restraint Laws and Policies (Autism National Committee 2012), http://www.autcom.org/pdf/HowSafeSchoolhouse.pdf . Information on the disproportionate use of restraint and seclusion against minority students and those with disabilities is here: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/crdc-2012-data-summary.pdf

The American Association of School Administrators and individual school district administrators are fighting hard against the bill. COPAA, in its March 22nd letter to Congress, rejects the conclusions of the American Association of School Administrators’ (AASA). AASA wishes to preserve freedom for school districts to use restraint/seclusion as they wish. The AASA has made a number of fallacious claims, but they are sticking with Congressional offices because of the broad reach AASA has. Every urban area has several school districts and when they advocate, their voices are heard. The National School Board Association (NSBA) is seeking an exemption from the bill for any state with a policy–no matter how limited or whether it is entirely non-binding and could be eliminated tomorrow by fiat. NSBA is also seeking to remove the critically important provision that prohibits the use of restraint or seclusion into a planning document or the Individualized Education Program (IEP). See brief written by COPAA for APRAIS on the need for this prohibition. Planned use of restraint and seclusion as an intervention is inconsistent with preventing and reducing their use; including restraint and seclusion in IEPs will increase, rather than decrease their use, thereby undercutting the purpose of the bills. Planning should only occur to avoid and prevent the need for emergency interventions allowed under the bills.

A federal law with mandatory legal obligations and clearly understood legal terms is vital for protecting all children. We need to show strong support for a national bill that sets a standard of protection for all students against the inappropriate and dangerous use of restraint and seclusion in our nation’s schools. The bills are important to protect all children in all states. Even if your state has a restraint/seclusion law, there are many states without laws or with weak or ineffective laws.

Below is an interim list of the organizations that have signed on to date. Please feel free to forward the request for sign-ons to other organizations, national, state, or local organizations and groups, even if the group is informal. Organizations can also sign on by emailing ,

Autism National Committee jessica@... or going to http://svy.mk/LtrRestraSe (which allows the list to be downloaded into an excel spreadsheet.)

S. 2020: Bill Summary | COPAA Support Letter | Bill Tracker

H.R. 1381: Bill Text| COPAA Support Letter | Bill Tracker

Sign-On Letter for The Keeping All Students Safe Act

(Restraint Seclusion Congressional Bills)

We, the undersigned, believe it is time for a national policy addressing restraint and seclusion in our schools for all children. In 2009, a Government Accountability Office study found children have been injured, traumatized, and even killed through restraint and seclusion in schools. In March 2012, data released by the Department of Education showed that nearly 40,000 students were physically restrained during the 2009-10 school year; 70% of whom were students with disabilities. The data also showed that these practices are disproportionately used upon minority students.There have been numerous news reports of students harmed by restraints and seclusion. Less than 1/3 of states restrict restraint and seclusion use to emergencies involving an imminent risk of physical harm. It is important that use of restraint and seclusion be limited to these emergencies. While federal law protects children and adults from the use of restraints and seclusion in hospitals, no similar federal laws exist to protect children in schools. We urge Congress to pass the Keeping All Students Safe Act bills (S.2020 and H.R. 1381), and create minimum restraint/seclusion standards in schools that will protect all children.

The Keeping All Students Safe Act will promote a shift toward preventing problematic behavior through the use of de-escalation techniques, conflict management and evidence-based positive behavioral interventions and supports. This shift will help school personnel understand the needs of their students and safely address the source of challenging behaviors – a better result for everyone in the classroom. In many cases, the use of positive supports and interventions greatly diminishes and even eliminates the need to use restraint and seclusion. For example, the Centennial School in Pennsylvania, which serves children in 35 school districts, has cut the use of restraint and seclusion from well over 1,000 occurrences per year to less than ten through the use of positive supports. Reports and studies have also shown that students and staff are safer when positive interventions and supports, rather than restraint and seclusion, are used in schools. Worker’s Compensation costs even decrease significantly.

S. 2020 and H.R. 1381 will protect all children in school. They will ensure that restraints are used only in emergencies posing an imminent threat of physical danger. If less restrictive and dangerous measures like de-escalation, conflict management, and positive behavioral supports will prevent the threat, the bills will require that they be used. The bills will provide similar protections from seclusion. They will require prompt parental notification. They will ban the use of restraints that impede breathing or harm children or staff. The bills will ensure that staff are properly trained in evidence-based methods to minimize the use of restraint and seclusion and to protect children and staff.

We ask Congress to pass the Keeping All Students Safe Act and make our schools safer for students and staff. America needs more than the current patchwork of state laws to ensure that every child is afforded protection.

Signed by:

The Arc of the United StatesAutism Society of AmericaCouncil of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc.National Disability Rights NetworkNational Allliance on Mental IllnessNational Association of State Mental Health Program DirectorsMental Health AmericaNational Organization for Women FoundationSouthern Poverty Law CenterGay Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN)Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE)National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities (NOND)Disability Rights Education & Defense FundAmerican Academy of Child and Adolescent PsychiatryAmerican Association on Health and DisabilityAmerican Psychiatric AssociationAmerican Psychiatric Nurses AssociationAutism National CommitteeBazelon Center for Mental Health LawCherab FoundationDepression and Bipolar Support AllianceDisability Rights Legal CenterFamilies Against Restraint and SeclusionNational Association for Children’s Behavioral HealthNational Association of Rural Mental HealthNational Federation of Families for Children’s Mental HealthNational Autism AssociationPrader-Willi Syndrome Association (USA)Tourette Syndrome Association, Inc.The Arc of New JerseyThe Arc MichiganThe Arc CountyTri State Down Syndrome NetworkThe Arc MichiganMichigan Disability Rights CoalitionCalifornia Safe SchoolsCAPCA (California Association for Parent-Child Advocacy)Educate. Advocate.Families For Early Autism TreatmentHope PTAIndependent Living Resource Center, Inc.Learning Rights Law CenterParents Advocating TogetherWest Los Angeles Trauma and Crime Victim CenterLaw Offices of Tania L. WhiteleatherColorado Cross Disability CoalitionCommunity LinkReveresco ABA TherapydisAbility Solutions for Independent LivingGeorgia Families Against Restraint and SeclusionGwinnett SToPPLiving Independence for Everyone (LIFE), Inc.Access LivingLIFE Center for Independent LivingNorthwestern IL Center for Independent LivingDisability Rights Center of KansasIndependent Living Center of the North Shore & Cape Ann, Inc.Stavros Center for Independent Living, Inc.Michigan Association of Community Mental Health BoardsOakland County Community Mental Health AuthorityWoodlands Behavioral Healthcare NetworkMinnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental DisabilitiesCoastal Women for ChangeJust Advocacy of MississippiMississippi Coalition for Citizens with DisabilitiesADAPT MontanaCouncil for Children’s RightsPiedmont Down Syndrome Support NetworkSnugfitsNew Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies, Inc.New Jersey Coalition for Inclusive Education, Inc.OBINNA. IncRegional Family Support Planning Council # 9 ( Atlantic Co.)The Arc of New JerseyThe Special Education Leadership Council of NJAdvocacy for Children with dis-AbilitiesPegasus Legal Services for ChildrenThe Center for Self DeterminationIndependent Living Center of the Hudson Valley Inc. (ILCHV)Independent Living Inc.New York Association on Independent LivingSocial Justice Committee, Ithaca Meeting of the Religious Society of FriendsSouthern Tier Independence CenterWestchester Independent Living CenterThe Lorain County Board of Mental HealthAssociation of Oregon Community Mental Health ProgramsLiberty Resources Inc (Independent Living Center)The Arc CountyDFW Interfaith Coffee HouseFamily Advocacy and Consultation services, IncSpecial Needs Resource ProjectUtah Advocacy PartnershipBlue Ridge INdependent Living Center, Inc.disAbility Resource CenterEndependence Center, Inc.Disability Rights Vermont,Wisconsin Family Assistance Center for Education, Training and Support, Inc. (WI FACETS)Parents Helping Parents of WY, Inc