Bazelon Center Commends U.S. House for Voting to Keep Students Safe

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Bazelon Center Commends U.S. House for Voting to Keep Students Safe

Washington, DC - March 3, 2010 -  Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law applauds today's passage by the U.S. House of Representatives of the Keeping All Students Safe Act (H.R. 4247, formerly the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act). The legislation effectively declares the use of restraints and seclusion in schools to be an emergency safety measure, not standard practice for dealing with problem behavior. The bill passed in a 262 to 153 vote.

"We commend Congress, especially Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller and Rep. McMorris Rodgers, co-authors of the bill, for demanding an end to the significant risk of serious injury or death due to use of restraint and seclusion in schools," said Laurel Stine, director of federal relations for the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law.

"Proactive alternatives exist for handling problem behavior, without the detrimental effects associated with the use of restraint and seclusion.  All students -- with or without disabilities-- deserve an investment in effective prevention efforts," said Stine.

A report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), released in 2009, spurred legislative action. The GAO investigators found widespread incidence of significant injury and even death as a result of harmful restraint and seclusion in schools. A recent report by the Department of Education on inconsistent state and local policies regarding restraint and seclusion further demonstrates the importance of today's vote.

Children are already protected from inappropriate physical restraint and seclusion in other settings, such as hospitals, health facilities and non-medical community-based facilities.  H.R. 4247 ensures that minimum standards now exist to safeguard children in one of the most important settings- schools.