Bipartisan Lawmakers to Introduce Legislation to Protect All Children in Schools from Abuse

Legislation will, for the first time, prevent harmful restraint and seclusion in classrooms.
Contact: Kimberly Betz (McMorris Rodgers) 202.225.2006

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, December 9, U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) will hold a press conference to introduce new legislation to protect all children in schools from misuse of restraint and seclusion. Miller is the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and a member of Democratic leadership, McMorris Rodgers is a member of the Committee and the Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference.

This legislation is the first national effort to prevent and reduce harmful restraint and seclusion in schools. A recent U.S. Government Accountability Office investigation found hundreds of allegations that schoolchildren have been abused, and some even died, as a result of the inappropriate use of restraint and seclusion in classrooms; a disproportionate number of them were children with disabilities. Yet unlike in hospitals, and other medical and community-based facilities that receive federal funding, there are currently no federal policies that prevent the misuse of restraint and seclusion in schools. State regulation and oversight varies greatly; many states provide no guidance or assistance regarding these behavioral interventions.

WHO:            

• U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee
  
• U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), a member of the House Education and Labor Committee and Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference
• Families of children who have been the victims of harmful restraint and seclusion in classrooms
  
• Additional participants TBA

WHAT:         
Press Conference to Introduce Legislation to Prevent Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools

WHEN:         

Wednesday, December 9, 2009
11:00AM EST

WHERE:      

Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.

NOTE TO MEDIA:   Members of the press interested in attending this event must RSVP to Melissa Salmanowitz at Melissa.Salmanowitz@mail.house.gov or 202-226-0853. Television cameras planning to cover the event must arrive no later than 10:30 am for setup.

This press conference will be webcast live from the Education and Labor Committee website at http://edlabor.house.gov/