Category: Restraint
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Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, responds to a question about the use of restraint and seclusion
Recently Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, answered a question about the use of restraint and seclusion at the 5th Annual Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools Conference. Unapologetic disrupter, Mathew Portell, asked the question.
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Time for change in Maryland: Legislation to reduce and eliminate restraint and seclusion
It’s time to ban seclusion in all public schools in Maryland (and everywhere) and have a higher level of accountability and oversight. While Maryland currently has some of the better laws in the nation, they are not enough. More must be done to protect the civil and human rights of children in Maryland schools. There…
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Submitting a public information request related to the use of restraint and seclusion
Suppose you are interested in learning information related to the use of restraint and seclusion in a school system in the United States. In that case, you might search the United States Department of Education Office of Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) website. The CRDC includes a wide range of education data collected from our nation’s public…
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No laws in Nebraska, leads to abuse of seclusion and restraint
Our nation’s schools use seclusion rooms for students as young as five-years old. They don’t call them that of course. It doesn’t sound nice to call them what they are. They sometimes call them alternative learning rooms. Let me pose a question here – how much ‘learning’ can take place in a padded room with…
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Our letter to Superintendent Choudhury on restraint and seclusion
On December 12th, 2021 we sent a letter to State Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury to discuss our concerns about the use of restraint and seclusion in Maryland Schools. While we’ve not received a response as of January 20th, 2022 a December 30th, 2021 press release indicates that the Maryland State Department of Education promises to take…
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Maryland State Department of Education promises to take action to prevent the illegal and discriminatory use of restraint and seclusion in schools
December 30th, 2021 the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) published a press release that says that MSDE will takes active measures to prevent the illegal and discriminatory use of restraint and seclusion in Maryland Schools. MSDE Superintendent Choudhury has directed a top-to-bottom review of state regulations, policies, and procedures on restraint and seclusion; and…
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It’s time for accountability in Frederick County Public Schools
Frederick County Public Schools was recently investigated by the Department of Justice for violating Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by unlawfully restraining and secluding disabled students. There were thousand of instances of restraint and seclusion used in the district that violated the civil rights of disabled students.
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A letter to Frederick County Public Schools’ Board on the Department of Justice settlement
well as the children and families of Frederick County Public Schools. AASR is a Maryland nonprofit corporation operating through a fiscal sponsorship with Players Philanthropy Fund. We are a community of over 16,000 parents, self-advocates, teachers, school administrators, paraprofessionals, attorneys, related service providers, and others working together to influence change in the way we support…
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A letter to New Hanover County Schools’ Board on the district’s excessive use of restraint and seclusion
I am writing to you today on behalf of the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint (AASR) and the children of New Hanover County Public Schools. AASR is a community of over 16,000 parents, self-advocates, teachers, school administrators, paraprofessionals, attorneys, related service providers, and others working together to influence change in the way we support children…
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I kept screaming that I can’t breathe
My trauma started at 2 years old after my parents divorced when my dad would beat me. Having a trauma background, I was 6 years old in the second half of kindergarten, as I had gotten kicked out of the last school I went to that couldn’t deal with me, where I was first secluded…