Tell Congress to Pass The Keeping All Students Safe Act
[ [link removed] ]Take Action Now
[ [link removed] ]TAKE ACTION
Dear Friend,
Cornelious Fredrick was a 16-year-old Black student who was killed for
throwing a sandwich at another student. Frederick was thrown to the ground
by staff and held down for 10 minutes. Frederick repeatedly said he could
not breathe until he lost consciousness and died of cardiac arrest¹. He
should still be here and leave behind family and loved ones who are
devastated.
Every child should be safe and protected while in school. Yet hundreds of
incidents of child abuse, some resulting in death, are due to the use of
seclusion and restraint practices that continue in schools unchecked.
Restraint and seclusion are practices used in public schools as a response
to student behavior that limits their movement and aims to de-escalate
them, by either physically limiting their movement (restraint) or
isolating them from others (seclusion). They are meant to be used as a
last resort but are used much more frequently.
[ [link removed] ]Protect Our Children! Pass The Keeping All Students Safe Act!
The Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) has found that students with
disabilities and students of color are disproportionately targeted for the
use of physical and seclusion practices. Students with disabilities make
up 80.2% of students subjected to physical restraints and 77% of students
subjected to isolation. Overall, students with disabilities make up only
13% of the student population²
Anthony Corona, an 18-year-old with autism, died of asphyxiation from
being held down by a bus aide. He struggled, as his upper body was
restrained, but eventually fell limp and died. During his time at Bright
Futures Academy in Riverside, California, Corona was restrained 20 times
during his 11 years at the school. Not a single incident was reported to
his family¹.
These are just a glimpse into the numerous stories of abuse occurring in
our schools.
[ [link removed] ]We can and should do better. Tell Congress to Pass the Keeping All Kids
Safe Act!
In 2017-2018, it was reported that over 100,000 students had endured
physical restraints and isolation practices by educators.
That was just in a single year.
The Keeping All Students Safe Act would make it illegal for any school
receiving federal funds to seclude a child or use dangerous restraint
practices that restrict breathing, such as prone or supine restraint. The
bill would also prohibit schools from physically restraining children,
except when necessary to protect the safety of students and staff. Lastly,
the bill would better equip school personnel with the training to address
school-expected behavior with evidence-based proactive strategies.
The Keeping All Students Safe Act would:
* Establish requirements in schools by:
* Prohibiting seclusion, mechanical restraints, chemical restraints,
and physical restraint that restricts breathing or is
life-threatening including prone and supine restraint;
* Requiring certification of staff conducting physical restraint that
meets the additional requirements;
* Prohibiting physical restraint as a planned intervention; and
* Requiring parental notification and follow-up meetings if a
physical restraint occurs.
* Support states to provide training to better ensure students’ and
staffs’ safety and to establish monitoring and enforcement systems
by:
* Requiring each state to have its own policies, procedures,
monitoring, and enforcement systems in place to meet the
requirements within two years of the law’s enactment;
* Allowing states to apply for competitive grants for support in
establishing, implementing, and enforcing the policies and
procedures required by the law; and
* Improving state and local capacity to analyze the data and
improving school climate and culture.
* Increase transparency, oversight, and enforcement to prevent future
abuse and death by:
* Requiring states to collect and report data on the use of seclusion
and restraint annually;
* Making data about restraint and seclusion publicly available while
protecting student privacy, including data on the number of
incidents, injuries, cases of death, and the demographic breakdown.
[ [link removed] ]Tell Congress to Pass The Keeping All Students Safe Act, NOW!
Together we can create safer schools for students, teachers, and staff
while reducing and eliminating the use of restraint and seclusion. The
Keeping All Students Safe Act is the first step in building safer and more
inclusive schools for vulnerable students. We can and must do better!
Thanks for all you do,
--Beatriz, Kelsey, Monifa, Kristin, and the whole MomsRising.org &
MamásConPoder Team
P.S.–[ [link removed] ]Please also consider taking action to tell Congress to pass the
Counselors Not Criminalization Act!
References:
[1] [ [link removed] ]The stories of 13 young people who died after restraint or
seclusion
[2] [ [link removed] ]What Is Restraint and Seclusion? An Explainer
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