Please Call Your Senators to Cosponsor S. 2020
January 24, 2012 -- Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) has introduced the Keeping All Students Safe Act (S. 2020) in response to an alarming report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that found hundreds of cases of alleged abuse and even deaths of children -- most of them with disabilities -- as a result of restraint and seclusion in schools. Currently, no federal laws regulate the use of restraint and seclusion in schools, and state laws vary widely.
That's why we need you to call and ask your two U.S. senators to co-sponsor The Keeping All Students Safe Act (S. 2020), showing they support protecting children from these harmful -- even deadly -- practices.
Please call today! You can find your senators’ phone numbers here or by calling the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
Resources:
- For more about restraint and seclusion, see our issue page in the Where We Stand section of our website.
- Learn more about the bill here via our In Congress page.
- Find news stories about restraint and seclusion here.
Bill-in-Brief:
The Keeping All Students Safe Act (S. 2020) provides minimum federal standards that would:
- Limit the use of restraint and seclusion to emergency situations when there is an immediate threat of serious bodily injury.
- Prohibit including the use of restraint and seclusion in a student’s behavioral plan.
- Ban seclusion in locked rooms or rooms from which children cannot exit, restraint that interferes with breathing or the ability to communicate, and mechanical and chemical restraints.
- Foster the use of positive behavioral interventions that are efficient means of managing behavioral challenges in students with and without disabilities.
- Establish a state grant program to assist local education agencies with preventative programming, including positive behavior intervention and supports and training for school personnel.