PADDED CELL?

PADDED CELL?
National Disability Rights Network Report- School Is Not Supposed to Hurt

SECLUSION ROOM OR QUIET ROOM?

SECLUSION ROOM OR QUIET ROOM?
EAST GOSHEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WEST CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA

TO BE PRONE OR NOT TO BE PRONE? THAT IS THE QUESTION.

TO BE PRONE OR NOT TO BE PRONE? THAT IS THE QUESTION.
Abbie was Restrained 14 times in one day for noncompliance issues

POSITIVE BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION COST TOO MUCH! RESTRAIN HIM IN THE RIFTON CHAIR INSTEAD.

POSITIVE BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION COST TOO MUCH! RESTRAIN HIM IN THE RIFTON CHAIR INSTEAD.
CCIU/EAST BRADFORD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WEST CHESTER, PA.

QUIET ROOM OR CELL?

QUIET ROOM OR CELL?
NAA: The Restraint and Prevention Symposium

ABUSE IS ABUSE, REGARDLESS OF WHO IT IS

ABUSE IS ABUSE, REGARDLESS OF WHO IT IS
Man Arrested For Abusing His Autistic Son

WELCOME TO RHODE ISLAND FAMILIES AGAINST RESTRAINT AND SECLUSION

The abuse of children at the hands of school personnel has risen over the last two decades and the nation is outraged. The children most likely to be abused are children with disabilities. Children who are poor and homeless are not excluded from the abuse.

The abuse presents itself in various forms -restraints, seclusion, suffocation, and sometimes even death. Last year, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation found hundreds of allegations that children have been abused and some have died as a result of the misuses of restraints and seclusion in public and private schools, often by untrained staff. United States representatives George Miller and Cathy McMorris Rodgers introduced the "Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in School Act" (HR 4247) and senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut introduced it's sister bill, (S. 2860). This legislation is the first national effort to address the problem and ensure the safety of students and school staff.

The abuse of a child in school can easily escalate into retaliation against the parent(s), caretaker(s), or advocate. Retaliation can include the denial educational services, the denial of a child to attend school, an illegal eviction from your residence, neglect and abuse charges filed against you by the school, a loss of employment, removal of the child from the caretaker by child protective services, false charges against the parent, caregiver, or advocate that can lead to an arrest, etc.

We must stop asking, "What are they (everyone else) going to do about the abuse of our nation's children?" While the rest of America sits blind, not necessarily their fault, they are under the assumption that their tax dollars are paying for an education without abuse, restraints, seclusion, or retaliation. American citizens believe that when they send their children to school, they will be safe, not abused or killed by school personnel.

It is our belief that all children are entitled to a free, appropriate, and SAFE education in the public and private school system, as specified under IDEA. We need your support in effecting change within the system.

Thank you!

Sunday, November 17, 2013

STATE REPRESENTATIVE ANTHONY GIARRUSSO OF EAST GREENWICH CALLS FOR NATIONAL BCI CHECKS FOR BUS DRIVER’S AND MONITORS IN R.I.


 
 
Anthony Giarrusso (Photo Google Images) on top left and James Hopkins (Photo by KDKA) on the  bottom left. Following the arrest of an East Greenwich school bus monitor on child pornography charges, State Rep. Anthony Giarrusso has called for the requirement of national BCI checks for bus drivers and bus monitors.  The bus monitor passed the Rhode Island BCI check, but a national BCI check was never performed.  According to NBC10, Giarrusso will introduce legislation that will require school bus driver’s and monitors to have national background checks prior to being employed.  Giarrusso’s son was a student on the bus of an East Greenwich bus monitor that was arrested on October 31, 2013 on child pornography charges.

(Photo Credit: KDKA)On September 5, 2013, Trina Orlando of KDKA reported that First Student bus monitor, James Hopkins, 74, was accused of inappropriately touching a 16 year old girl with Down’s Syndrome on three occasions between February and June of this year. Surveillance video showed that he allegedly asked her to touch him as well.  The police were alerted when the bus driver went to the superintendent to report the incidences.  First Student stated that when Hopkins was hired in 2007, he passed all federal, state, and local background checks.  Hopkins was arraigned and released on $50,000. Bail.  When the allegations surfaced, First student fired Hopkins.

Matthias Gafni of the Contra Costa Times reported that during March of this year a settlement of $4.75 million dollars were reached in a case in which an 8 year old special needs girl was sexually assaulted by her school bus driver, Richard Evans, in 2010.  Surveillance video on the school bus captured the assault.  Prior to being hired, Evans was convicted of having sex with a prostitute. "Despite his criminal conviction for lewd conduct while on the job as a professional driver he was eligible to drive a school bus," the victim’s attorney, John Manly said.

 John Manly, hopes the settlement will force school districts to better check bus personnel’s backgrounds, and that it will prompt a state investigation.  The times also report that Manly stated, "It also sends a clear message to every school district in California -- protect our children from dangerous predators or suffer the consequences."  A Superior Court jury found Lodi Unified School negligent in hiring Evans and 90 percent liable.  The surveillance video allowed the jury to see and hear what the 8 year old victim went through during the assault.

In order to secure the safety of our children while being transported to and from school, it takes a combination of National BCI checks are necessary, cameras on school buses, comprehensive training, diligent staff that recognize that they are mandated reporters and will be held liable if they do not report abuse, and substantial lawsuits. http://www.turnto10.com/story/23934065/ri-rep-wants-background-checks-for-bus-monitors.

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2013/09/05/bus-monitor-accused-of-inappropriately-touching-special-needs-student/.
  
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