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!

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

NATIONAL BACKGROUND CHECKS (BCI) LEGISLATION HAS BEEN INTRODUCED, YOUR SUPPORT IS NECESSARY TO MAKE SURE IT BECOMES LAW TO HELP PROTECT OUR CHILDREN ON SCHOOL BUSES, SCHOOL CAFETERIAS, ETC.











 (Giarrusso on L, Arizona J. on R)

On January 29, 2014, State Rep. Anthony Giarrusso (R-Dist. 30, East Greenwich, West Greenwich) introduced legislation requiring national background checks for all employees of firms contracting with Rhode Island school districts, with “the full support” of Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin. 

Currently, federal background checks are not required for bus monitors or drivers.  School personnel, such as, teachers, are required to undergo National BCI checks, the requirement should extend to bus personnel that come in contact with our children. “We have a growing trove of criminal background information available to us, locally and nationally, but we fail to take full advantage of it when vetting those who come into contact with school children,” Mr. Giarrusso wrote in a press release.  Investigation revealed a loophole in state law which required background checks only for direct employees of public and private schools and school districts. The new legislation, developed in cooperation with the Attorney General, would expand the definition of employment to include contract employees and employees of third-party contractors, such as school bus drivers and monitors, cafeteria staff, etc.

At the cornerstone of this bill were two incidences that occurred at the end of last year- the assault of 13 year old Arizona Jacobowitz, diagnosed with autism and limited communication skills, on October 7, 2013 by First Student bus monitor, James Canton and First Student bus driver, James Miller, in Barrington, R.I. and the arrest of Scott Sanford, a 35 year old Ocean State Transit School Bus monitor, of East Greenwich, on the afternoon of Oct. 31, along with 10 others, as part of a Rhode Island State Police investigation into child pornography, Mr. Giarrusso’s 11 year old son rode on Sanford’s bus.

“I cannot imagine a scenario in which this legislation does not receive overwhelming support in the House and Senate this year. This bill expands protection of school children across the state, and helps ensure our kids are not placed in vulnerable situations with people hired to care and look after them,” Giarrusso said.  Giarrusso’s bill was co-sponsored by four Democratic legislators, State Representatives Anastasia Williams (D-Providence), John G. Edwards (D-Portsmouth, Tiverton), Patricia Serpa (D- West Warwick, Coventry, and Warwick) and Donald Lally (D-Narragansett, South Kingstown).

Rhode Islanders and citizens from other states that believe children should be protected on the school bus as well as in school should pick up the telephone or send a letter to your legislator requesting that they introduce and/or support this bill and other bills that protect our most important commodity-our children.

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