Miller Reintroduces Legislation to Protect Children from Abusive Seclusion and Restraint in School
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee, today reintroduced legislation to protect schoolchildren from abusive use of physical restraints and solitary confinement while in school.
The Keeping All Students Safe Act would for the first time set minimum safety standards in the nation’s schools, similar to those protections already required at medical and community-based facilities. It would provide school personnel with the necessary tools, training, and support they need to ensure the safety of all students and school personnel.
“Without Congressional action, children will continue to suffer from these abusive practices,” said Rep. Miller. “This legislation would make practices such as duct-tapping children to chairs or restricting a child’s breathing illegal. It makes it very clear that there is no room for torture and abuse in America’s schools.”
A 2009 investigation by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found hundreds of allegations of child abuse, including deaths, as a result of misuses of restraint and seclusion in public and private schools largely by untrained staff. Unlike in hospitals and other facilities that receive federal funding, there are no federal laws that address how and when restraint or seclusion can be used in schools.
According to a recent report from the Autism National Committee, state laws on restraint and seclusion vary widely. Some states have meaningful protections for the use of seclusion and restraint in schools, leaving the safety of child largely dependent on the state they live.
Specifically, The Keeping All Students Safe Act would direct the Secretary of Education to establish minimum standards that would:
- prohibit elementary and secondary school personnel from managing any student behavior by using any mechanical or chemical restraint, physical restraint or escort that restricts breathing, or aversive behavioral intervention that compromises student health and safety;
- prohibit school personnel from using physical restraint or seclusion, unless such measures are required to eliminate an imminent danger of physical injury to the student or others and certain precautions are taken;
- require states and local educational agencies to ensure that a sufficient number of school personnel receive state-approved crisis intervention training and certification in first aid and certain safe and effective student management techniques; and
- require schools to establish procedures to notify parents in a timely manner if physical restraint or seclusion is imposed on their child.
The legislation is supported by leading child advocacy and national organizations like the National Disability Rights Network, Autism National Committee, Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, TASH, Mental Health American, and the Southern Poverty Law Center. For a complete list of organizations, click here.
The bill previously passed in the House of Representatives during the 111th Congress on March 3, 2010 on a bipartisan vote.
For more information on the bill, click here.
To watch Rep. Miller’s remarks about the Keeping All Students Safe Act, click here.
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