Ensuring student safety in the classroom is paramount. Inappropriate uses of seclusion and restraint against students are never acceptable, but a one-size-fits-all mandate handed down from Washington is the wrong way to ensure students’ safety.
“When an authority figure in the classroom has to take measures to keep order and safety, several things are happening at once . . . In the best of situations, the teacher has to make an in-the-moment judgment call to address the disruptive or potentially disruptive situation in a way that protects everyone in the room,” Rep. Rick Allen (R-GA) Republican Leader of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education said in his opening statement at the subcommittee hearing on seclusion and restraint practices.
States are responsible for crafting laws and policies that address individual community needs and protect students from inappropriate uses of seclusion and restraint. In fact, when the Every Student Succeeds Act was drafted, the bill language required states to work with school districts to reduce these practices, with the bill’s conference report stating that each state must work with school districts to “reduce techniques, strategies, interventions, and policies that compromise the health and safety of students, such as seclusion and restraint.”
To date, 44 states have laws or policies governing the appropriate use of seclusion and restraint in the classroom with an additional three states providing local school districts with guidance on the topic. Additionally, the Departments of Education and Justice are responsible for providing states with guidance on this topic.
Ms. Jacqueline Nowicki, Director of Education, Workforce, and Income Security for the Government Accountability Office testified, “[The Department of] Education has issued guidance stating that restraint or seclusion should never be used except in situations where a child’s behavior poses imminent danger of serious physical harm to self or others. Further, Education has said that schools’ or districts’ use of restraint and seclusion could result in a denial of a student with disability’s right to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE), which is required by Education’s regulations.”
Republicans and Democrats are united in the belief that the improper use of seclusion and restraint practices has no place in education moving forward, but a federal one-size-fits-all mandate is not the right way to keep students safe.
Rep. Allen concluded his opening statement by saying, “I’m grateful to today’s witnesses for making the time to be here today to share your experience and expertise on this emotional and difficult issue. I am eager to hear how far we have come in moving away from problematic discipline practices while simultaneously protecting educators’ ability to respond swiftly, effectively, and safely in rapidly changing circumstances to ensure the safety of all students and personnel.”
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