Tell Us Why You Support the Keeping All Students Safe Act
and why others should as well
We have an opportunity right now to protect children, support educators, and change the culture of our schools. The Keeping All Students Safe Act has strong support from disability, civil rights, and education organizations, but it will only become law if we build a loud, sustained public demand for action. Please take a few minutes today to record and submit your 30 to 60-second video sharing why you support KASSA. Together, we can help end restraint and seclusion and keep all students safe.
Our Mission
Our mission is to inform changes in policy and practice to reduce and eliminate the use of punitive discipline and outdated behavioral management approaches and end the school-to-prison pipeline. (Learn more about our mission)
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About seclusion and restraint
Restraint and seclusion are crisis management strategies that are used in many schools across the nation and the world. Physical Restraint is exactly what it sounds like; it is a personal restriction that immobilizes or reduces the ability of a student to move his or her torso, arms, legs, or head freely. Seclusion is the involuntary confinement of a student alone in a room or area from which the student is physically prevented from leaving. These interventions are dangerous and have led to serious injuries and even death in students, teachers, and staff.
According to federal guidance, restraint and/or seclusion should never be used except in situations where a child’s behavior poses an imminent danger of serious physical harm to self or others, and restraint and seclusion should be avoided to the greatest extent possible without endangering the safety of students and staff.
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If Not Seclusion and Restraint, Then What? A Better Way Forward for Students and Educators
You are not alone if your first reaction to criticism of restraint and seclusion is, “You don’t understand the kids we support,” or, “What do you expect us to do when a child kicks us?” Many educators arrive at “If not seclusion and restraint, then what?” from a place of exhaustion, moral injury, and fear.…
News and Stories
Read some of our latest news and stories. We publish stories every week from parents, caregivers, self-advocates, teachers, administrators, occupational therapists, social workers, school counselors, psychologists, and other related professionals.
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A Difficult Truth: I May Never Know What Happened to My Daughter
When I read that three former employees from Greensburg Salem School District’s Nicely Elementary School pleaded guilty and received only probation for abusing disabled students, my heart sank. This wasn’t just another news story. One of those employees had been my daughter’s preschool teacher, and another had been her Therapeutic Staff Support (TSS). In this…
Time to read:
10–15 minutes -
Behavior Is Not the Brain: Why My Childhood Made Me Question Behaviorism
When people hear me criticize behaviorism, they often assume I’ve never taken the time to understand it. They tell me to read B.F. Skinner. They recommend Israel Goldiamond’s Constructional Approach. They point me toward nonlinear contingency analysis and explain that ABA has changed. The implication is usually the same: If you understood modern behavior analysis,…
Time to read:
8–12 minutes -
Trends in Restraint and Seclusion Practices in U.S. Schools: A Civil Rights Data Analysis (2015–2021)
The current study investigates the prevalence of restraint and seclusion within U.S. public school systems at both the national and state levels, using CRDC data collected during the school years 2015-2016, 2017-2018, and 2020-2021. A descriptive analysis with a repeated cross-sectional study design was used to investigate changes in physical restraints, mechanical restraints, and seclusion…
Time to read:
15–23 minutes -
See the Child Behind the Story: Jojo’s Story
Our son, Jojo, is a bright, loving six-year-old with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI), multiple vision disabilities, and a history of early childhood trauma. Like every child, he has unique strengths and challenges. With appropriate accommodations, supports, and trauma-informed care, we believed he could learn, grow, and thrive alongside his peers in…
Time to read:
5–7 minutes -
Owning Our Truths to Show Up Authentically for Our Children
We can not meet our children on a level of creating potential if we have no sense of what it means to meet them in their full, unique truth. The truth is: we were taught to move away from our truth. Culture has created and sustained behaviorism, and faith that it would teach us how…
Time to read:
8–12 minutes -
Evaluating Disability‑Inclusive Education Frameworks Across Countries
This paper provides a comprehensive comparative analysis of inclusive education frameworks across New Zealand, Australia, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom, benchmarked against the United States’ Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Drawing exclusively from country‑specific policy documents and scholarly literature, the paper examines each nation’s legislative foundations, implementation structures, and conceptual approaches to disability.…
Time to read:
30–44 minutes
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Research
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Make a Donation
Your contribution is more than just a donation; it helps us create safer schools for students, teachers, and staff. Your donation helps us promote a trauma-informed, neuroscience-aligned, relationship-driven approach to supporting all children. We can and must do better for our children.
