Making Waves & Systems Change Advocacy is a group of Wisconsin lakeshore mothers working to improve systems for meaningful inclusion, support, and acceptance of people with disabilities. Currently, there aren’t enough efficient and accessible ways for families to share their stories to advocate for real change, and we intend to do our best to turn the tide.
The fight for a safe, effective, equitable education is one that is often lost for children with disabilities. There are so many stories of kids with disabilities being tortured with seclusion and restraint—physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Children are left to sit in the corner with an iPad while their peers learn. Bullying and other trauma. Even death.
Kids do well when they can. So why are they the victims?
Who’s going to believe a kid with a disability over an adult with a college degree? Parents are left scrambling and telling their stories in whispers and support groups. We’re told, “You’re so strong.” We don’t want to be strong. We have to be.
It’s time for the world to hear about these stories. Because you don’t know what you don’t know, and injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
We have created an anonymous Wisconsin Schools Seclusion and Restraint Survey for Wisconsin parents of school-age children. They can attend any type of school or be homeschooled. The survey results will be analyzed, and we will give a summarized report at an upcoming Wisconsin Council on Special Education meeting with the State Superintendent during a public comment session. We intend to advocate for the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to develop and implement a standardized reporting method for seclusion and restraint in schools. The survey data from the report will also be emailed to the Council of Special Education members, other DPI Special Education Personnel, State Superintendent Jill Underly, and Governor Tony Evers.
Schools are already required by law to create a written incident report and inform parents. Why not create a standard form for this that could easily be scanned and uploaded to the DPI so they could better track trends and encourage schools to report with fidelity? With today’s data analysis technology, we believe this could be doable. Currently, the State Superintendent only receives a summarized annual report from each district. When we know better, we can do better.
Please take a moment and complete the survey if you have had experience with restraint and seclusion in Wisconsin schools.
