Category: School
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The Keeping All Students Safe Act (2023): Now it’s time to get it passed
Today the Keeping All Students Act was re-introduced by Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA-03) and Representative Don Beyer (D-VA-08)—alongside Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chair of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Patty Murray (D-WA). The legislation aims to protect students from dangerous seclusion and restraint discipline…
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The Dark Side of Rewards, Part 1: Why Incentives Do More Harm Than Good in the Classroom
The use of rewards in the classroom has been a topic of debate for decades. While some argue they can be effective in promoting positive behavior and academic achievement, others believe they can be detrimental to a student’s intrinsic motivation and overall well-being.
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HUUSD, Yes, You Can and Should Ban Seclusion
About a year ago, an educator began raising concerns about the use of prone restraint and seclusion in the Harwood Unified Union School District (HUUSD). It was pretty shocking at the time to learn that Vermont still allowed young disabled children to be forced to the ground and held in a prone restraint, a practice…
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An Open Letter to Harwood Unified Union School District from an Educator
The only reason I have heard from the administration and board for keeping seclusion is “advice from legal counsel” and “liability.” These reasons only protect the adults. What about the students? Are hypothetical scenarios about the district being held liable really worth secluding children? I would say protecting students with disability’s civil rights is worth…
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Children in Connecticut Need Your Help!
If you are a Connecticut resident concerned and outraged by these practices, lawmakers need to hear from you. If you or your child has been affected by these practices, lawmakers need to hear from you. It does not matter if you have any direct connection to these practices; if you are a Connecticut resident who…
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Bal-A-Vis X…Using Rhythm and Connection for Regulation
Balance Auditory Vision Exercises is a series of about 300 exercises created by Bill Hubert, a long-time American educator, that are deeply rooted in rhythm and based on precise physical techniques that anyone can learn and implement with their students and clients immediately.
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First, do no harm: “Unschooling” a Neurodivergent Child (Part 1)
A Breach of Trust Today’s guest author is Ann Gaydos. Ann worked in the software industry in a former life, but she decided to homeschool her four children after her daughter Paige was abused by a teacher within the Cupertino Union School District in California, and she could get no help from the administration or…
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Time to End Seclusion in Connecticut Schools
Hearst Media has recently covered the issue of restraint and seclusion in Connecticut schools. Now legislation is being introduced in Connecticut that would prohibit the of seclusion of special education students and would update the rules around the use of restraint. Representative Theresa Wood and Representative Tiffany Bluemle introduced Bill 1200. The bill is set to have a…
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Trauma Sharing Between Students and Educators
The nature of trauma causes considerable reactions in those who are directly experiencing it and those who are witness to its impact on children. The experience of those who are impacted by trauma is much different from those who are witnesses; however, there are more similarities than we think. Children are impacted more acutely as…
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Without Restraint: How Skiing Saved My Son’s Life
As a toddler, Ryan had difficulty controlling his emotions and was placed in a therapeutic school that relied on detrimental methods of behavior modification, such as physical restraint. Over the next four years, he was restrained hundreds of times at school, and we were advised to restrain him at home. He was also heavily medicated…