RESTRAINT & SECLUSION PREVENTION BILL RETURNS TO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

Advocates call for federal protections against abuse in schools

WASHINGTON (May 9, 2013) – TASH, a nonprofit advocate for inclusion and the human rights of people with significant disabilities, applauds the reintroduction of The Keeping All Students Safe Act by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) and calls upon members of Congress to act swiftly to pass legislation that protects students from abusive practices in schools. 

Restraint, seclusion and other aversive interventions are used in schools across the U.S. to modify the behavior or otherwise control students, frequently those with disabilities. Data released from the Department of Education show students with disabilities and students of color are at greater risk of these practices than their white peers without disabilities.

These practices cause unnecessary trauma, injury and death. If passed, The Keeping All Students Safe Act would provide a federal baseline of protections for students by limiting restraint and seclusion use in schools only to emergencies, consistent with existing federal protections in mental health, aging, and other human services. TASH supports positive, evidence-based alternatives to restraint and seclusion, including the use of positive behavioral interventions and supports and other de-escalation techniques.

“This legislation upholds the right of every student to be free from harm in school, and we thank Representative Miller for his continued leadership on the prevention of restraint and seclusion,” said Barb Trader, Executive Director of TASH. “We ask now for the rest of Congress to own up to its responsibility to protect our children by ensuring full passage of this legislation.”

Advocates have long sought federal protections for students, stemming from a 2009 Government Accountability Office report that found abusive practices were occurring in schools throughout the U.S. The GAO report asserted no federal laws exist to restrict the use of restraint and seclusion in schools, and state laws – where they exist – can vary widely.

Reps. Miller and McMorris-Rodgers (R-Wash.) first introduced a restraint and seclusion prevention bill in 2010, which was passed in the House of Representatives with bipartisan support. The Senate counterpart failed to gain traction, and subsequent attempts to move legislation have fallen short. Each passing day without federal protections against these practices puts students across the U.S. at risk of being seriously traumatized, injured or killed. It is a moral imperative that Congress act now to keep our students safe in school. 

Additional information about TASH, resources on the prevention of restraint and seclusion, and ways to become involved in advocacy to promote positive school environments can be found at www.tash.org.

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Like most other states, Kentucky did not have any laws regulating restraint and seclusion in the public schools. There were many incidences of the misuse and abuse of these dangerous interventions. Parents often did not know they were happening and if they did they had no recourse to prevent them from happening.  For over 3 years, the Kentucky Protection & Advocacy (P&A) worked with the State Department of Education to draft a regulation that provided protections for children. Along with the Commonwealth Council on Developmental Disabilities, P&A released a booklet detailing stories of children who had been hurt by these practices and alternatives to their use in order to educate the public, educators and legislators.  Public hearings were held where parents of children who had been hurt by these practices testified, as well as other groups, including KY-TASH.

There was a great deal of resistance to the regulation from some school administrators and even some outside groups who tried to fan the fears. The Department of Education answered the many, and sometimes, ridiculous questions educators had on their web site and people saw that these regulations were necessary. The Kentucky school board passed the regulation unanimously and at the end of 2012 it passed out of the legislative subcommittee. The regulation went into effect February 1, 2013.

The regulation is quite extensive, but these are the highlights. The regulation prohibits the use of prone and supine restraints; prohibits the use of restraint and seclusion for punishment, coercion, etc.; mandates that restraint and seclusion may only be used when a child presents a risk of physical injury to him/herself, a staff, or other student; REQUIRES PARENTAL NOTIFICATION for every instance of restraint and seclusion; prohibits the use of restraint and seclusion for property damage short or criminal mischief (which requires intent); provides for documentation of instances of restraint and seclusion to be kept in the child’s file; provides for a debriefing session if requested by parents; and requires a Functional Behavioral Assessment  following all instances of restraint or seclusion.

The following sessions will be available starting March 4. Details on how TASH members may access each session will be posted here on the TASH blog.

Shouldn’t School Be Safe? Preventing and Eliminating the Use of Aversives, Restraint and Seclusion | Pat Amos

The rising tide of Positive Behavior Supports has not lifted all boats, and many students with disabilities continue to be subjected to restraint, seclusion and other aversives as part of their education and behavior intervention plan. Evidence clearly demonstrates that these practices are not education – they are the failure of education. Through their use, students learn that “might makes right” and fail to acquire productive, socially acceptable long-term strategies for communicating and meeting their needs. Participants in this session will learn how to work together to eliminate these highly dangerous and counterproductive techniques.

Pat Amos is a parent and has been an advocate for people with disabilities and their families for more than 25 years. She currently works as an Inclusion Specialist with the Youth Advocate Program’s Autism Institute, and is a member of the TASH Board of Directors.

The Business Case for Reducing Restraint and Seclusion Use | Janice LeBel

By reviewing the limited data on the use of restraint and seclusion in schools, along with greater details from the health care sector, what emerges is a picture of high-risk, costly procedures that claim far more than dollars and cents. A significant price is paid for restraint and seclusion on staff, students and schools. Through this session we’ll examine the fiscal impact of restraint and seclusion and the multiple dimensions of costs incurred at the systemic, organizational and personal levels. We’ll also look at examples of savings from effective changes in organizational culture, and share with participants how to obtain low/no cost materials to support restraint and seclusion prevention in schools.

Janice LeBel is a licensed psychologist with more than 25 years experience in public mental health. She oversees Massachusetts’ $25 million system of inpatient and secure residential care for youth, and leads the Department of Mental Health’s Restraint/Seclusion Prevention Initiative.

Understanding the Effects of Trauma on the Lives of Those We Serve: Developing Trauma Informed Systems of Care | Joan Gillece

Restraint and seclusion are very dangerous practices with serious and long-lasting effects far beyond when the incident occurs. Through this session, we’ll dive deep into the long-term effects of trauma on the lives of people subjected to these practices, including what the research in mental health and child development tells us about enduring psychological harm caused by restraint and seclusion. We’ll also cover positive alternatives and identify techniques for prevention of these practices.

Joan Gillece is the director for the SAMHSA National Center for Trauma Informed Care, and SAMHSA Promoting Alternatives to Seclusion and Restraint through Trauma-Informed Practices. She has 30 years experience working in the behavioral health field.

View a PDF version of this letter

The family of a student in Virginia’s Prince William County filed a complaint against their son’s school with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, alleging that seclusion and physical restraint were inflicted upon students even when they presented no apparent threat to the safety of school personnel, themselves or other students.

The complaint follows an incident in which school officials left a 13-year-old boy from Woodbridge alone in a small, empty room for nearly three hours. It wasn’t the first time seclusion had been used on the student, and the practice isn’t uncommon at PACE East, a school for students with disabilities.

The Washington Post covered the story, which also included a December 2011 incident in which a student refused to leave a bus. The student was then taken to a “quiet room” for nearly five hours, during which time the complaint says the student wet himself. The complaint also cites 115 cases of restraint, and 147 instances of seclusion at PACE East between September 2011 and March 2012. The conduct cited in school logs for the use of restraint and seclusion includes class disruption, profanity, refusing to follow directions, running away, and hitting and kicking staff.

Meanwhile, The Post reports that in nearby Loudoun County, no seclusion room exists, and only one case of seclusion occurred last school year. In Prince George’s County, seclusion is not used. The complaint against Prince William County calls for an overhaul of behavior interventions used at PACE East, and requests for more staff training for de-escalation techniques.

Read the full article here

The Cost of Waiting

By covering the ongoing use of restraint and seclusion in schools, TASH hopes to elevate the national dialogue on these dangerous practices. TASH calls for federal legislation to protect all U.S. students from harmful and unnecessary techniques. The latest report of The Cost of Waiting can be found at http://tash.org/the-cost-of-waiting.

The U.S. Department of Education has issued 15 principles regarding the use of restraint and seclusion in schools, limiting their use to emergency situations, and recognizing that restraint and seclusion should never be used a discipline or educational interventions.

A 2009 Government Accountability Office report that examined the scope and severity of restraint and seclusion found abusive practices were occurring in schools throughout the U.S. The GAO reported that no federal laws exist to restrict restraint and seclusion in schools, and that state laws vary widely if they exist at all.

Shouldn’t School Be Safe? is a TASH-issued parent’s guide on prevention, detection and response to restraint, seclusion and other aversive interventions. This free resource can be downloaded at http://tash.org/shouldnt-school-be-safe.

TASH is the founder of the Alliance to Prevent Restraint, Aversive Interventions and Seclusion (APRAIS). Learn more about APRAIS and find restraint and seclusion resources at http://www.tash.org/aprais.

Children should never be afraid to go to school, and parents should never have to worry that their children will be harmed by the people taking care of them while they are at school.

Forgiveness isn’t possible when negative emotions stick around and cloud my thoughts about restraint and seclusion.  I am trying to forgive, but I will never forget.

Forgiveness can’t be doled out quickly when constant reminders of an offense that happened to my child while in the public school system surrounds me.

As many times as I’ve thought about how to come to terms with the violence my son was subjected to, finding forgiveness hasn’t been one of those things on my list of things to do.

To forgive and let all the pain of what my child and our family went through wash away—the guilt, the pain, the anxiety, the despair seems so difficult to do.

Can I really do that?

Can I truly forget how my son’s downward spiral of regression, depression, anxiety attacks began? He was so little, so innocent and just didn’t know how to cope with everything around him.

Can I honestly forgive the people who abused my child by restraining him over and over and by putting him in seclusion because they didn’t try to understand him, because they didn’t try to understand his disability?

Can I totally forgive the people who turned me away when I asked them to get my son some help?

Can I totally look past their denial of what they did to my son and the retaliation and pain we are still going through today?

Can I forgive myself for overlooking the signs that my son was showing me that “something was wrong”, but I wasn’t seeing because I thought he was in good hands?  If I can’t forgive myself then how can I ever forgive you?

Can I fully embrace the struggles we have gone through to find justice for the violence my son was subjected to at the hands of others?

Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and I ask myself why I didn’t listen to my son when he told me, “No school Mommy, no like.”  He used to love going to school.  What happened to make him so fearful of school?

Here’s what I can accept.  I can accept that all of that did happen to my child, but I will not accept that it had to happen because I know for a fact it did not have to happen.

Here’s something else I haven’t been able to accept.  Not because I turned it down but because this too hasn’t happened yet—no one has yet to apologize to my son for what they did to him.  Instead I have heard nothing but excuses of why he was treated with such violence and that they felt they did what had to be done.  Do you even remember my son?  I’m sure you have moved on with your life and long forgotten my little boy.

What I can’t accept is how these same people continue to destroy him by using unprofessional evaluations that make him look bad so that they can justify what they did to him as being the right thing to do.

Come to think of it, I think my whole family could use an apology.  Shouldn’t someone have said sorry to me and my husband for the extra stress they have caused us, the time lost with our son and the things we’ve been denied as our child’s parents?

When are those apologies coming?  I’m not saying I’m holding out for those before I can forgive and forget, but it sure would be nice for someone to admit that they played a role in my son’s regression, depression, and anxiety attacks that developed from all the restraint and seclusion abuse he went through at the hands of people who were supposed to be helping him?

Forgive and forget.  As much as I’d love to, oh how I’d really love to be able to say to several of  my son’s past school staff, “I forgive you,” but right now, today, this week with what he went through and what we’ve gone through as a family, I’m just not ready to say, “I forgive you.”  In fact, it might be a long time before I am ready to forgive and move on.

To offer forgiveness, if I really, really had to do that today would be a bit jaded.  It would go something like this:

Dear Teacher, Teachers Aide, Principal and Behavior Specialist (and whoever else had a hand in destroying my child’s life),

I know you are all just human, and you thought the violence you subjected my son and other children to was the right thing to do.  I understand that some of you have more professional training under your belt and loads more formal education than I do.  I understand that you have a hard job.  I have a feeling though that your lack of training of my son’s disability, your refusal to help and understand him when I pleaded with you, your power struggle with my son over his behaviors that were not in his control, and your pride muddled your thoughts.  How else did you let what happen to my son happen?  How could you keep restraining him and putting him into seclusion when it was obvious that it was making him worse?  And how did you not see that these violent acts were starting to affect him mentally and were causing him to regress in his academics and social skills?  You had to see he was in mental pain, and yet you continued to restrain him and put him in seclusion.  Why?  Please tell me why so I can try and understand, and if I can understand maybe I can find it in my heart to forgive you and move on.

I totally get that you’re super busy and that you have a lot of children with behavior issues, but that does not make what you did to my son or other children right.  That does not make what you are still doing to children with disabilities right.  Don’t you understand that behaviors are a form of communication for our children who are nonverbal or who can’t express themselves?  Don’t you understand even now that restraint and seclusion doesn’t help children with disabilities and that it can cause long lasting trauma and escalate behaviors.  Clearly you must have been overwhelmed and understaffed.  What other excuse could you give for watching my son go through such mental torment and regression?

I’ve waited a long time to figure out if I need to forgive you, but I’m honestly at a standstill even thinking about it.  I really don’t know how to say this, but I do think it’s time for me to say something.  So, here goes.

I’m sorry you didn’t open your eyes to see the red flags being waved right in front of your face that my son was suffering mentally from your actions and was regressing at a fast pace.  I’m sorry you were clueless and that your ignorance failed my child.  I’m sorry your educational knowledge of children with disabilities failed my son.  I’m sorry you never knew that behaviors are a form of communication.  I’m sorry you refused to update his functional behavior plan.  I’m sorry you were ignorant of my requests to get him help.  I’m sorry you bullied me at several IEP meetings and made me cry.  I’m sorry you wasted my time telling me, ‘He did this and he did that but you never told me what you were doing to him.’  I’m sorry I waited until my son had a breakdown before I pulled him out of school.  I’m sorry you’re still doing the same thing to other children as you did to my son and that you are still bullying parents.  I’m sorry you haven’t learned a thing from your past violent actions.

No parent should feel as alone, scared, worried, angry and as destroyed as I felt the day I picked up my son from school as he cried hysterically begging me to take him home.  No parent should witness what happened to their child like I did.  No one should witness that and later be told, “We didn’t do anything wrong.”

No parent should walk through life not knowing what to do next or not knowing where to turn for help.  No parent should have to face the agonizing decisions I’ve had to.  No parent should have to fight as hard as scores of parents now have to do to keep their children safe when they go to school.  No parent should be left high and dry with nowhere to turn for help like so many other parents have.  No parent should expect or demand an apology from someone who promised to do no harm in the first place.  None.

One more thing.  When one forgives his offender the last part of the apology usually includes not only a renewal for the relationship to be whole again, but also a promise, a promise to never commit the offense again.  See, that’s a problem.  Not on my end but for your apology, when you make it….it won’t be a true apology if you are still doing to children what you did to my son.  You still don’t see the big picture and that what you’re doing to children with disabilities is physically and mentally harmful.

You can’t help make this all go away until you take a step back.  Take a step back and look at the children with disabilities as children who need help with the behaviors that are not in their control because right now you are only looking at them as unruly children.  They are not unruly; they are children with disabilities that have a tough road ahead of them!  When you stop and realize how you played a role in damaging my son’s future, and after you rectify what you are doing is wrong, then we can talk about forgiveness.

It’s with a heavy heart that I apologize that I cannot truly offer any forgiveness to you.  I pray to God that I can because it’s nearly impossible for me to stop thinking about how my son and countless other children ended up where they are today.  Someday I hope to have the strength to completely move past the pain and sadness you brought to my child and my family.  One day I’ll be able to find forgiveness.  Until then I’ll be here waiting for you to offer yours.

Anonymous mom

09/2012

The hearing, entitled Beyond Seclusion and Restraint: Creating Positive Learning Environments for All Students, was led by HELP Committee chair Sen. Harkin (D-Iowa). Sen. Harkin began the discussion by acknowledging that too many U.S. students “have access to the school building, but lack access to the instruction.” He said there were proven alternatives to restraint and seclusion, including practices that promote positive behaviors for students with disabilities.

Among those called to testify during the hearing was Dr. Daniel Crimmins, director of the Center for Leadership in Disability at Georgia State University. Crimmins outlined the steps taken by the State of Georgia – first in 2008 to ban restraint and seclusion in special education, and then broadened in 2010 for all students in all schools – and recalled the tragic story of Jonathan King, a 13-year-old Georgia student who hanged himself in a seclusion room with a cord a teacher gave him to hold up his pants.

Download the full testimony of Daniel Crimmins

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Dr. Michael George, director for the Centennial School in Bethlehem, Penn., then spoke of the remarkable turn around that schools can achieve when positive supports replace aversive interventions in schools. George discussed the culture change that took place rapidly at the Centennial School, which in one year saw physical restraints go from 233 in the first 40 days of the school year down to 1 for the last 40 days.

Download the full testimony of Michael George

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Cyndi Pitonyak, the coordinator of PBIS for Montgomery County Public Schools in Virginia, and a longtime TASH member, addressed the success her district has had by adopting a model of inclusion, early intervention, positive supports and individualized planning. Cyndi stated during the hearing that “We spend more time talking about how to make kids successful, rather than where to send them.” Cyndi is a firm believer that positive, evidence-based practices exist as tools for schools across the U.S.

Download the full testimony of Cyndi Pitonyak

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The final witness was Deborah Jackson, a parent for Easton, Penn., who recalled the story of her son and his struggle with teachers and schools that refused to understand his need to explain things that happen. Rather, she said, they shut him down – a response that often led to confrontation and restraints. After being supported in a positive environment, and having his behavioral needs addressed at the Centennial School, Jackson’s son has made a smooth transition into his local public school, where he excels in academic as well as social and extracurricular pursuits.

Download the full testimony of Deborah Jackson

Open publication

TASH is pleased by the HELP Committee’s attention to the needs and rights of children in U.S. schools, as we thank all witnesses who shared their expertise and personal accounts during this hearing. Find additional details about restraint and seclusion by visiting the APRAIS website, which contains numerous links to tools and resources.

Witnesses for the hearing meet with Sen. Harkin (D-Iowa) following the Senate Help Committee Hearing on Restraint and Seclusion. (Left to Right) Daniel Crimmins, Kelly Price, Sen. Harkin, Cyndi Pitonyak, Deborah Jackson and Michael George

The witness list of this hearing includes:

Daniel Crimmins, Director, Center for Leadership in Disability, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Ga.

Cyndi Pitonyak, Coordinator of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, Montgomery County Public Schools, Christiansburg, Va.

Michael George, Director, Centennial School, Bethlehem, Penn.

Deborah Jackson, Parent, Easton, Penn.

The following is a list of materials TASH will be providing during the hearing. Please download and share these important resources:

1) Letter of support for The Keeping All Students Safe Act from the APRAIS coalition – view/download

2) A survey of restraint and seclusion incidents published in Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, the TASH journal – view/download

3) TASH’s response to the American Association of School Administrators report that supported the use of restraint and seclusion in schools – view/download

4) Summary of the findings from the Department of Education on education inequities - view/download

5) TASH’s report on The Cost of Waiting to implement federal policy that prevents restraint and seclusion – view/download

6) Dept. of Health and Human Services report on the business case for preventing restraint and seclusion – view/download

The lack of protections for all students limiting the use of aversive behavioral strategies, restraint and seclusion has proven to be a disastrous missing component of our national education policy for children and parents.  It is time to align federal education policy with all other federal policy related to human services and for the nation’s youngest, most vulnerable citizens.

The Keeping All Students Safe Act, S. 2020, represents a culmination of years of advocacy against abusive behavioral interventions that dehumanize and harm students. The time to pass this bill is now – we can no longer endure harm to vulnerable children as a result of abusive practices when decades of research equip education professionals with positive, safe and effective alternatives.

This is a great time to ask your Senators to co-sponsor S. 2020 and your Representative to co-sponsor HR 1381 (which has similar provisions) by visiting www.senate.gov and www.house.gov and entering your ZIP code, which links you to the correct e-mail address. You can find additional resources here.

Simply write “Please co-sponsor S. 2020” or “Please co-sponsor HR 1381” and, if you can take the time, include a brief paragraph about yourself and why you care about this issue.

Thank you.

-TASH

Click the image to download Transforming School Culture

Participants included TASH Board Members: Bill Smith, Gail Fanjoy, Emily Titon, Micah Fialka-Feldman, Terri Ward, Pat Amos, Carol Quirk, David Westling, Nila Benito, Diane Ryndak, Charles Dukes, Jean Trainor, Mary Morningstar, Lisa Mills, Michael Callahan, Lewis Jackson, and Shirley Rodriguez. They were also joined by TASH supporters Debbie Taub, Debbie Gilmer, Kym Grosso, Kayleen Symmonds, Nancy Molfenter, and Hope DeBevoise.

TASH Public Policy Agenda

Although meetings could include a number of topics, there were for strategic areas highlighted in each.

1. Protecting youth with significant disabilities from abuse by establishing federal restrictions on the restraint and seclusion practices in schools.

2. Promoting stronger accountability and inclusive education requirements for all students.

3. Supporting the view that all people with significant disabilities can work and participate in competitive, integrated employment.

4. Ensuring Medicaid supports help people to live, work and achieve optimal self-sufficiency in the community.

In total, more than 60 meetings were held with Senate and House offices representing states across the U.S., including:

Rep. Charles Bass, New Hampshire; Sen.  Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire; Sen. Kelly Ayotte, New Hampshire; Rep. John Tierney, Massachusetts; Sen. Richard Durbin, Illinois; Sen. Mark Kirk, Illinois; Rep. Patrick Meehan, Pennsylvania; Sen. Bob Casey, Pennsylvania; Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa; Sen. Tom Harkin Iowa; Rep. David Loebsack, Iowa; Rep. Kevin Yoder, Kansas; Sen. Pat Roberts, Kansas; Sen. Jerry Moran, Kansas; Sen. Herb Kohl, Minnesota; Sen. Ron Johnson, Minnesota; Rep. Jackie Speier, California; Rep. Nancy Pelosi, California; Sen. Diane Feinstein, California; Sen. Barbara Boxer, California; Rep. Lynn Woolsey, California; Rep. Duncan Hunter, California; Rep. Henry Waxman, California; Rep. Howard McKeon, California; Sen. Bill Nelson, Florida; Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida; Rep. Dennis A. Ross, Florida; Sen. Charles Schumer, New York; Rep. Richard Hanna, New York; Rep. Paul Tonko, New York; Rep. John Sarbanes, Maryland; Rep.  CA Dutch Ruppersberger, Maryland; Sen. Benjamin Cardin, Maryland; Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, District of Columbia; Rep. Heath Shuler, North Carolina; Sen. Richard Burr, North Carolina; Sen. Kay Hagen, North Carolina; Rep. Sue Myrick, North Carolina; Rep. Virginia Foxx, North Carolina; Rep. Cliff Stearns, Florida; Rep. Gregg Harper, Mississippi; Rep. Michael Michaud, Maine; Sen. Susan Collins, Maine; Rep. Chellie Pingree, Maine; Rep. Corey Gardner, Colorado; Sen. Mark Udall, Colorado; Sen. Michael Bennet, Colorado; Rep. Frederica Wilson, Florida; Rep. Ted Deutch, Florida; Rep. David Cicilline, New Jersey; Rep. Jack Reed, Rhode Island; Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island; Rep. Jim Langevin, Rhode Island; Rep. Robert E. Andrews, New Jersey; Rep. Rush D. Holt, New Jersey; Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., New Jersey; Rep. Gerald Connolly, Virginia; Sen. Jim Webb, Virginia; Sen. Mark Warner, Virginia; Rep. Robert C. Scott, Virginia; Rep. Robert Hurt, Virginia.

Board member Gail Fanjoy (left) and Debbie Gilmer meet with Congressman Mike Michaud, a co-sponsor of the TEAM legislation in the House.

Board members Nila Benito (left) and Diane Ryndak prepare to enter Rep. Kathy Castor's office.

Board member Emily TIton meets with Rep. Jack Reed of Rhode Island.

Thanks to everyone who made this a success! A complete recap of TASH’s advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill will be provided in the upcoming issue of TASH Connections. If you’d like information to share with your Senator or Representative about TASH’s public policy agenda, please contact us at info@tash.org.