April is a meaningful month for me and for the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint. On April 23rd, it will be seven years since I started AASR. What began as a small effort to speak out against the harmful use of restraint and seclusion has grown into a national nonprofit and community working every day to change laws, policies, and practices so that children are supported, not punished, when their behaviors are misunderstood.
We are still a small organization, but together we have helped move legislation forward, influenced district and state policy, and shifted conversations in schools and communities toward trauma‑informed, neuroscience‑aligned, and neurodiversity‑affirming approaches. Families, educators, and advocates regularly tell us that our work has given them language, tools, and hope they did not have before. When you donate to AASR, you are directly fueling this work for culture change in schools and systems across the country.
Right now, your support powers several critical projects. Through our State Law Project, we are building a first‑of‑its‑kind database of state laws related to the use of restraint and seclusion. This resource will allow families, advocates, educators, and policymakers to quickly see what each state allows or prohibits, compare practices across states, and use that information to push for stronger protections for children. When you give, you help us research, maintain, and freely share this vital tool so that no one has to navigate these laws alone.
Your donation also supports the development of our OCR Data Explorer, a project that will make the latest public data from the U.S. Office for Civil Rights accessible and understandable by individual schools, districts, and states. This tool will help anyone seeking to understand how restraint, seclusion, and other forms of punitive and exclusionary discipline are being used across the nation. With your help, we can turn complex federal data into something that families, journalists, and advocates can actually use to demand transparency and change.
Beyond these tools, your support sustains our ongoing work to change laws and policies across the nation; to create educational content such as articles, videos, and trainings; and to speak at events and conferences to shift hearts, minds, and practices. It also allows us to continue walking alongside those directly impacted by restraint, seclusion, and other punitive or exclusionary discipline—listening to their stories, offering guidance, and amplifying their voices so they are not silenced or ignored.
None of this happens without support. We do this work on a very lean budget, and we are at a critical juncture. To continue advocating, educating, building tools like the State Law Project and OCR Data Explorer, and pushing for systemic change, we urgently need your help. If AASR has informed, encouraged, or empowered you in any way, I am asking you, personally, to consider making a one‑time donation or becoming a member to support our ongoing work.
Your support, at any level, truly matters. It allows us to keep showing up for children, families, and educators across the country, to build practical tools that drive transparency and accountability, and to push for a future where all children are safe, understood, and supported. Thank you for standing with us, for believing that we can, and must, do better, and for investing in this important work.
