On Capitol Hill....

For the most up-to-date information on federal legislation and to sign up to receive federal e-mail alerts, to find summaries of federal bills, links to their full text, and links to contact your Congresspeople, visit the national Autism Society's Federal Legislative page.

For contact information of Members of Maine's Federal Delegation, scroll below.

Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools

The Autism Society is in strong support of the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act, HR 4247, introduced by Chairman George Miller (D-CA) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA). A companion bill was also introduced in the Senate by Senator Chris Dodd and is numbered S 2860.

Here is the situation: The legislation draws on a Government Accountability Office report on restraints and seclusions released last spring, which found hundreds of cases of alleged abuse and death related to the use of these methods on school children during the past two decades, with a majority involving students with disabilities. Still, investigators could not ascertain the full extent of this problem - cases often go unreported, with some states not even keeping track of incidents.

The bills seek to establish the first federal standards to protect students from misuse of restraint and seclusion and ensure the safety of everyone in the classroom. It would apply to public schools, private schools and preschools receiving federal education support. Specifically the legislation would:

  • Establish important minimum federal safety standards in schools, similar to the protections already in place in hospitals and other non-medical community based facilities;

  • Limit physical restraint and locked seclusion, allowing these interventions only when there is imminent danger of injury, and only when imposed by trained staff;

  • Outlaw mechanical restraints, such as strapping kids to chairs, and prohibit restraints that restrict breathing;

  • Require schools to notify parents after incidents when restraint or seclusion was used;

  • Call on states, within two years of enactment, to establish their own policies, procedures, monitoring and enforcement systems to meet these minimum standards;

  • Encourage states to provide support and training to better protect students and prevent the need for emergency behavioral interventions; and

  • Increase transparency, oversight and enforcement tools to prevent future abuse.

Here is what you can do: Contact your U.S. Representative and Senators. Tell them that you are supportive of bills in both the House and the Senate to prevent the use of harmful restraint and seclusion in schools and that HR 4247 and S 2860 are crucial pieces of legislation for the autism community because restraint and seclusion in schools is disproportionately used against students with disabilities and autism. Ask them to work to keep these bills strong and to vote to protect these students who are often more vulnerable, and sometimes unable to express the abuses they've suffered.

Maine's Federal Delegation

Senator Olympia Snowe

202-224-5344
http://snowe.senate.gov

Senator Susan Collins

202-224-2523
http://collins.senate.gov

Representative Michael Michaud

Phone: 202-225-6306
http://michaud.house.gov

Representative Chellie Pingree

Phone: (202) 225-6116
http://pingree.house.gov/

Click here for a summary of select recent and pending legislation before the 124th Maine Legislature, as well as links to details on specific bills and recently enacted laws.

Click here to return to the main Legislative page.