Act Now! House to Vote on the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act This Week

From the National Council on Independent Living, March 01, 2010

This week, the House of Representatives will vote on the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act (HR 4247).  Call your Representative this week (Monday and Tuesday are best) and ask them to vote for the bill!

  1. You can dial the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 (TTY 202-225-1904) and ask for your Representative’s office.  You will need to know your Representative’s name.

  2. When you are connected, ask for the aide who handles education or disability.  If you get voicemail, please leave a message.  If you cannot reach this aide, tell the person answering the phone that you want the Congressional Representative to vote for the bill.  

  3. Tell them you want your Representative to vote against any amendment that would weaken the bill, including any amendment to exclude private schools from the bill. Be sure to include the bill’s name and number, The Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act (H.R. 4247), and your city or town, so they know you are a constituent.

  4. Ask your friends and family to call, too!

HR 4247 is a bill that will stop schools from restraining children, confining them in seclusion rooms, and using aversive interventions to harm them.  A Government Accountability Office study found hundreds of cases of alleged abuse and death from restraint and seclusion in public and private schools over the last two decades. Examples included a 7 year old who died after being held face down for hours by school staff; 5 year olds allegedly being tied to chairs with bungee cords and duct tape by their teacher and suffering broken arms and bloody noses; and a 13 year old who hanged himself in a seclusion room after prolonged confinement.  The majority of students in the GAO study had disabilities.

HR 4247 will protect all students, whether in private or public school.  Many children with disabilities are placed in private schools by school districts and they should not lose vital health and safety protections.  Other parents choose to send their children to private school for religious or other reasons; they should not be forced to give up protections from abuse. 

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