Sec. 2. Findings
429 words·~2 min read·
/bill/115/hr/7124/ih/section-2·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress finds the following: Restraint and seclusion have resulted in serious physical injury, psychological trauma, and death to children in public and private schools. National research shows students have been subjected to restraint and seclusion in schools as a means of discipline, to force compliance, or as a substitute for appropriate educational and behavioral support. All children have the right to be free from physical or mental abuse, aversive behavioral interventions that compromise health and safety, and any restraint or seclusion imposed solely for purposes of discipline or convenience.
Safe, effective, evidence-based strategies are available to support children who display challenging behaviors in school settings. Training for staff focused on the dangers of restraint and seclusion as well as training in evidence-based positive behavior supports, de-escalation techniques, and physical restraint and seclusion prevention, can reduce the incidence of injury, trauma, and death. School personnel have the right to work in a safe environment and should be provided training, resources, and support to prevent injury and trauma to themselves and others.
Despite the widely recognized risks of restraint and seclusion, a substantial disparity exists among many States and localities with regard to the protection and oversight of the rights of children and school personnel to a safe learning environment. Children are subjected to restraint and seclusion at higher rates than adults. Physical restraint which restricts breathing or causes other body trauma, as well as seclusion in the absence of continuous face-to-face monitoring, have resulted in the deaths of children in schools.
Children are protected from inappropriate restraint and the use of seclusion in other settings, such as hospitals, health facilities, and nonmedical community-based facilities. Similar protections are needed in schools, yet such protections must acknowledge the differences of the school environment. Research confirms that restraint and seclusion are not therapeutic, nor are these practices effective means to calm, discipline, or teach children, and may have an opposite effect while simultaneously decreasing a child’s ability to learn.
The effective implementation of schoolwide positive behavior supports is linked to greater academic achievement, significantly fewer disciplinary problems, increased instruction time, and staff perception of a safer teaching environment. The 2015 bipartisan reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act requires States to support local educational agencies in improving school conditions through reducing the use of aversive behavioral interventions. The report issued by the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate regarding the authorization described aversive behavioral interventions as including seclusion and restraint.
There is bipartisan agreement that schools must reduce seclusion and restraint to improve school conditions for all children.