Support Grows For Keeping All Students Safe Act
WASHINGTON – Last week, U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and U.S. Representatives Don Beyer (VA-8) and Bobby Scott (VA-3), introduced the Keeping All Students Safe Act (KASSA), which would protect students from the dangers of seclusion and restraint. If enacted, the law would establish strong federal standards to prohibit the use of seclusion and to limit restraint in federally funded schools, improve the safety of students and school staff, and ensure parents are informed when their child is physically restrained. Murray is ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Murphy is a member of the committee. Scott is ranking member of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Support for the legislation has continued to grow since the members introduced it last week. Here is what leading organizations are saying about the Keeping All Students Safe Act:
The Alliance to Prevent Restraint, Aversive Interventions, and Seclusion (APRAIS):
“Restraint and seclusion are dangerous practices that cause students trauma and have resulted in injury, and even death. School personnel can also be injured when imposing restraint and seclusion. Though the use of restraint and seclusion is widespread, national data indicates that students with disabilities are roughly 20 times more likely than their peers without disabilities to be restrained and/or secluded. All of our nation’s students deserve better … We applaud your leadership in authoring and promoting the Keeping All Students Safe Act. We look forward to working with you and your staff to help pass this important legislation.”
The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc.:
“COPAA writes to express strong support for the introduction of the Keeping All Students Safe Act. We appreciate your leadership in proposing legislation that prohibits seclusion and seeks to prevent and limit the use of restraint in schools. This bill, if enacted, would considerably strengthen protections in every state and ensure the safety of all students and school personnel.”
The Arc:
“The Arc is pleased that this legislation bans the most dangerous restraints and limits physical restraints to emergency situations, and that it requires parental notification when restraint occurs. The Arc also greatly appreciates that that for the first time, the House and Senate bills ban seclusion.”
The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN):
“The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) writes in strong support of the Keeping All Students Safe Act (KASSA). We appreciate your leadership and recognition that a federal bill which bans seclusion and places very narrow parameters on allowable circumstances for physical restraint is paramount to ensuring that all students are able to learn in a safe school environment. Additionally, NDRN applauds the prevention of problematic behavior through use of de-escalation techniques, conflict management, and evidence-based positive behavioral interventions and supports contained within KASSA.”
Below is a complete list of organizations supporting the bill:
AUCD
The Arc
American Association of People with Disabilities
Autism Society of America
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Center for Public Representation
Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
Family Alliance to Stop Abuse and Neglect
National Alliance on Mental Illness
National Autism Association
National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools
National Center for Learning Disabilities
National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities
National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE)
National Disability Rights Network
National Down Syndrome Congress
Respectability Law Center
SPAN Parent Advocacy Network
TASH
National PTA
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Press Contact
Laura Maloney (Murphy), 202-228-1056
Aaron Fritschner (Beyer), 202-225-4376
Stephanie Lalle (Scott), 202-226-0853
Mairead Lynn (Murray), 202-224-5398
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