June 26, 2014

On Tuesday, June 24, 2014 the APRAIS coalition, of which NDSC is a founding member, TASH, the ACLU and the Congressional Black Caucus Education & Labor Taskforce sponsored a Congressional Briefing on restraint and seclusion. NDSC board member Tonia Ferguson shared her story about restraint of her son, Jared, at school.

Senator Chris Murphy, co-sponsor of the Keeping All Students Safe Act (S.2036/H.R.1893), spoke to the group which included a large number of Senate staffers, to stress the importance of passing this bill. TASH's Executive Director, Barbara Trader, along with filmmaker, Dan Habib, kicked off the Congressional Briefing with highlights from the movie, Restraint and Seclusion: Hear Our Stories.  (http://stophurtingkids.com/the-film/)

Dr. Joe Ryan, Professor of Special Education and Associate Director of Research for the School of Education at Clemson University described the act of restraint and seclusion as insanity, or Einstein's definition of it: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. He shared his research proving that restraint and seclusion does not work to change behavior.

The harmful use of restraint and seclusion is a pervasive, nationwide problem. Federal legislation is essential to provide children in all states, including schools operated by the Department of Defense, equal protection from these dangerous techniques. Currently, the Keeping All Students Safe Act (S.2036/H.R.1893) has 40 co-sponsors in the House and 4 co-sponsors in the Senate. Attendees were asked to encourage their Representative, Senators and bosses to co-sponsor the bill and help protect all students nationwide from restraint and seclusion in schools.

More information about the Keeping All Students Safe Act (KASSA) can be found here (for S.2036) and here (for H.R.1893). Federal legislation is essential to provide children in all states equal protection from these dangerous techniques and create a cultural shift toward preventive, positive intervention strategies.
 
To protect the safety of all students in our schools, please encourage your representatives to cosponsor this bill. The can contact Jacque Chevalier in Representative George Miller's office at jaque.chevalier@mail.house.gov or (202) 226-2068 or Scot Malvaney in Representative Gregg Harper's office at scot.malvaney@mail.house.gov or (202) 225-5031. Senator Tom Harkin is also currently seeking additional cosponsors for the Senate version; please contact Michael Gamel-McCormick at michael_gamel_mccormick@help.senate.gov or (202) 224-5501.
 
We thank you for taking the time to find out more about this important issue. Please contact Susan Goodman at susan@ndsccenter.org if you have any questions or need additional information, and make sure to visit the Stop Hurting Kids website here for additional resources and information about this important topic.

Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard (202-224-3121) to speak to your Representative or Senators today! 

Senator Tom Harkin (D.IA) has introduced the Community Integration Act (S.2515). This bill, if passed into law, would eliminate a government bias toward placing people with disabilities in institutional rather than community-based settings.  Currently, the law requires Medicaid to provide nursing home services to people with disabilities, but does not require that home and community-based options be offered. As a result, many states have long waiting lists for individuals wishing to obtain services in the community.

Furthermore, states receive a higher federal Medicaid reimbursement for institutional placements than for community-based settings.

NDSC will be following this bill closely as it progresses through the Senate.