AUTISM INSURANCE REFORM LEGISLATION IN RHODE ISLAND

Autism Insurance Reform Legislation is Moving Forward in Rhode Island!

House Bill 7260, AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS, sponsored by Representatives Peter Palumbo, Eileen Naughton, Arthur Corvese, J. Russell Jackson and David Caprio would require health insurers to cover the diagnosis and medically necessary treatment of autism spectrum disorder. With fifteen states already requiring health insurers to cover medically necessary autism treatment across the country, and more than twenty currently moving forward with similar legislation, it is time for autism insurance reform to become a reality in Rhode Island.

Numerous advocates and autism organizations have worked to bring this autism insurance legislation to this point. Nevertheless, there is still a great deal of work to be done to ensure the success of HB 7260. Stakeholders and legislators from all over the state remain critical to the momentum HB 7260.

Rhode Island Families Against Restraint and Seclusion showed a presence today at the hearings at the State House in Providence, along with other advocates for health bill reform- Joanne Quinn from The Autism Project, Attorney Lorri Unumb from Autism Speaks, Susan Constable, director of RIDE's R.I. Technical Assistance Project-Autism Support Center, and Nicole Katzman from the Bureau of Jewish Education of Rhode Island. Irwin Jacobowitz of RI FARS and his two children, Dakota and Montana, spoke at today's hearing in support of the bill. RI FARS is aware that children on the Autism Spectrum requires positive behavioral interventions which could be very costly for families. Families should not have to worry about the cost of positive behavioral treatments for their child. If children on the autism spectrum receive positive behavioral interventions from an early age, schools should be less inclined to use restraints and seclusion. Mr. Jacobowitz stated, "Children should no longer have to be unnecessarily restrained or placed in seclusion, because society failed to provide necessary positive behavioral interventions due to cost."

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Summary of the Rhode Island Autism Insurance Reform Bill:
House Bill 7260 - Sponsored by State Representative Peter Palumbo
Would require health insurance companies to provide coverage of the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders.

Coverage of treatments will be provided when prescribed, provided, or ordered for an individual diagnosed with autism by a licensed physician or a licensed psychologist who determines the care to be medically necessary.

Under this bill, health insurance companies would be required to provide coverage of the following:

Diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders - meaning medically necessary assessment, evaluations, or tests to diagnose whether an individual has one of the autism spectrum disorders;

Habilitative or rehabilitative care - meaning professional counseling, and guidance services and treatment programs, including applied behavior analysis that are necessary to develop, maintain and restore the functioning of an individual to the extent possible;

Psychiatric care;

Psychological care;

Therapeutic care - meaning services provided by licensed or certified speech, occupational, or physical therapist;

There are no age caps;

There will be no dollar, or number of visit limitations on covered treatments;

The bill does not affect any obligation to provide services to an individual under an individualized family service plan, an individualized education program (IEP), or an individualized services plan;

The bill applies only to state regulated insurance plans. It does not apply to self-funded insurance plans as these plans are regulated by the federal government under ERISA law;

If passed, this bill will apply to plans issued or renewed immediately.

Houses Approves Bill to Protect School children from Harmful Restraint and Seclusion

GAO Found Hundreds of Cases of Students Being Abused Through Inappropriate Uses of Restraint and Seclusion

March 3, 2010 4:54 PM
familiesagainstrestraint@yahoo.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to a recent government investigation that found widespread allegations that children were being abused through misuses of restraint and seclusion in classrooms, the U.S. House of Representatives approved bipartisan legislation to protect children from inappropriate uses of these practices in schools. The Keeping All Students Safe Act (H.R. 4247) passed by a vote of 262 to 153.

“It’s time to end this nightmare of abuse that has hurt too many students, classmates, families and school communities,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and original sponser of the legislation.

“This critical piece of legislation confronts the unimaginable situation in schools across the country whereby some of our nation’s most vulnerable children are treated in an inhumane and degrading manner," said U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), original sponsor of the legislation.

The Keeping All Students Safe Act would establish, for the first time, minimum federal standards to provide equal protections to all students, in every state across the country.

*It would make clear that physical restraint or locked seclusion should be used only when there is imminent danger of injury and only when imposed by trained staff.

*It would prohibit mechanical restraints, such as strapping children to chairs, misusing therapeutic equipment to punish students or duct-taping parts of their bodies and any restraint that restricts breathing.

*It would also prohibit chemical restraint, which are medications used to control behavior that are not consistent with a doctor’s prescription.

*The bill would prohibit school staff from including restraint or seclusion as planned interventions in student’s education plans, known as Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).

*It would also require schools to notify parents immediately after incidents when restraint or seclusion was used.

In many of the cases GAO examined, parents only learned that their child was being restrained or secluded from a whistle-blowing teacher – or when their child came home bruised.

*The legislation would also allow states the flexibility to tailor their individual laws based on their needs: It would ask states to have their own laws in place, within two years, that either meet or exceed these basic federal standards.

Full list of supporters

Read the GAO’s investigation

Learn more about the bill

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

1. If a parent has a seclusion room, a Rifton chair, a body belt, or an electroshock apparatus in their home to use on his or her child when he or she "misbehaves", the parent is reported for neglect and abuse or arrested. When school personnel uses the same modes of behavioral intervention,neglect & abuse charges are rarely lodged and arrest of school personnel are rarely made.

2. Where does mandatory reporting begin and where does it end?
Agencies will quickly tell a parent that they are mandatory reporters if a parent removes their child from a school program, due to abuse, but agencies will rarely say "we are mandatory reporters and will report you...." when school personnel are involved.

3. If a seclusion room, body belt, rifton chair, or any other apparatus is portrayed as a positive behavioral intervention, then why is a seclusion room subtly called a "Quiet Room"?, why are seclusion rooms dismantled when parents find out that the room exist?, why does the name of the Rifton chair change to a "Therapeutic Device" used to introduce tabletop activities, used for feeding, and used for positioning when the child never had issues with feeding or positioning?

4. When is a child a harm to him or herself or to others?
For example, a child with autism walks out of the classroom, the teacher immediately places the student on the ground and restrains him or her for walking out of the class, who is the harm to others?

550 DAYS OUT OF SCHOOL BECAUSE PARENTS REFUSED TO RESTRAIN THEIR SON WHO IS DIAGNOSED WITH AUTISM ON SCHOOL VAN IN DARTMOUTH, MA.

CHILD WITH AUTISM AND SIBLINGS THROWN OUT OF DART MOUTH PUBLIC SCHOOL AFTER PARENTS REFUSED TO ALLOW THE DISTRICT TO RESTRAIN THEIR SON ON SCHOOL VAN AND ENDED WITH THE SUPERINTENDANT OF DARTMOUTH PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAVING PARENTS ARRESTED ON FALSE CHARGES

Three children remain out of school after U.S. District Court Judge Rya Zorbel in Boston denied the parents petition to assist them in getting their children back into school. The Dartmouth Public School's Special education director, Linda Maniglia, approved Arizona Jacobowitz's placement at South Coast Educational Collaborative-The Hoyle School in Swansea from Dartmouth, but refused to place an experienced aide on the school van that was familiar with children diagnosed with autism, although in the IEP. Maniglia refused to transport Arizona from Dartmouth to Swansea unless the parents agreed to restrain Arizona to his seat on the van. The parents refused to allow the van driver to restrain Arizona and appealed to the Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA) who ruled that the Dartmouth Public School District did not have to provide transportation or an experienced aide, regardless of the IEP, they could restrain Arizona. Dartmouth Superintendant, Stephen Russell, had the three children removed from the custody of the parents and had the parents arrested on false charges. The parents were told by Dartmouth officials that their children cost too much money to educate. It is now a major question of how three children could remain out of school more than 550 days without school officials acting, why the U.S. District Court in Boston did not assist the children safe return back to school, and who will guarantee a safe educational environment when the children return to school? The Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA), the Department of Children and Families, the Office of Civil Rights in Boston, the Child Advocate's Office in Boston, the United States District Court in Boston, and other state agencies in Massachusetts refused to assist the children in obtaining a safe and appropriate education. The children relocated to Rhode Island and their parents are awaiting a meeting with Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist. When school officials decide to restrain a child rather than teach the child, or decide which student will attend school or not, what are the parent's realistic options?

For full story, see the stories page.

EDUCATION COMMISSIONER DEBORAH A. GIST CLEANS HOUSE IN RHODE ISLAND

Drastic changes in Rhode Island School system leads to mass firing of 93 teachers and staff in Central Falls, after only 7 % of 11th graders were found proficient in math, 33 % of the high school students were proficient in writing, and 55% proficient in reading. Education commissioner Deborah A. Gist ordered Central Falls superintendant Frances Gallo to choose from 4 reform options, one was the mass firing. A few weeks ago, Gist stated, "To me, our goal is to ensure we have excellent schools for every child...it's all about quality."

President Barack Obama mentioned the firings in national address on education and sited Central Falls as an example of the need for accountability. President Obama stated, "[I]f a school continues to fail its' students year after year, after year, if it doesn't show any sign of improvement, then there's got to be a sense of accountability."

As Education Commissioner Gist leads the nation with her aggressive reform plan for Rhode Island, Senator George Miller (D-CA) , Senator Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA.), and Senator Chris Dodd leads the nation to provide SAFE schools for ALL children- schools without the unnecessay use of restraints, seclusion, and other abuses. Accountability will be key in the introduction of H.R.4247 "The Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act."

LEGISLATION

New Report! - Seclusion and Restraints from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO-09-719T). Selected Cases of Death and Abuse at Public and Private Schools and Treatment Centers. Testimony Before the Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives. 05/19/09

It is essential that parents and school personnel realize that IDEA provides safeguards for these children. If a child's "behavior" gets in the way of his or her education (or that of others), certain steps must be taken in order to ensure FAPE.
"Something is Very Wrong When are Children are Unsafe at School," said
George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. On December 9, 2009, Congressman Miller and Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) introduced the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act.

Alert! New Law to Prevent Abuse in Schools.
On Wednesday, December 9, 2009, George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) introduced the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act (H.R. 4247). This legislation is intended to protect children from the harmful use of restraint and seclusion at school. Link to this Alert: http://www.wrightslaw.com/nltr/09/al.abuse.hr4247.htm

Proposed Legislation: Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act (H.R.4247), contains a comprehensive overview of the proposed legislation (December 2009) in a new article by Jessica Butler, Esquire.

RHODE ISLAND:

BLOCK ISLAND OFFICIALS DEFEND ROOM IN SCHOOL BASEMENT

10:23 AM EDT on Saturday, June 14, 2008
By Katie Mulvaney Journal Staff Writer


NEW SHOREHAM — Room 20 in the basement of the Block Island School is small and bare. Its concrete floor is painted green, its ceiling sky blue with white clouds, its main window covered with plywood. And, until earlier this week, its knob-less door had double bolts on the outside. An anonymous letter raising questions about the room and a DVD showing it arrived at The Providence Journal, three television stations, and the attorney general’s office last week. In the brief video, a camera silently pans the room, showing the locks.


QUESTIONS LINGER OVER SCHOOL'S ROOM

07:39 AM EDT on Monday, July 7, 2008
By Katie Mulvaney Journal Staff Writer

BLOCK ISLAND- School officials created a room in the basement of the Block Island School as a last resort for a student with mental health and behavioral problems who needed a place to calm down, according to a spokesman for the attorney general’s office.
The Journal first reported on the existence of the room, which until recently could be bolted shut from the outside, after receiving an anonymous letter raising questions about whether unruly students might have been sent there. In a DVD accompanying the letter, a camera slowly pans Room 20 showing door locks, pillows and blankets in a jumble on the floor, an open utility outlet, chipped paint, and fingerprints smudging the walls. Plywood covers one window. The doorknob is missing.


ISOLATION ROOM DEEMED TO VIOLATE SCHOOL, FIRE RULES

09:22 AM EDT on Thursday, August 21, 2008
By Katie Mulvaney
Journal Staff Writer
Read the New Shoreham Facility Report: http://www.projo.com/news/2008/pdf/new_shoreham_school_facility_report.pdf

BLOCK ISLAND — An isolation room set up in the basement of the Block Island School for students who needed to “chill out” violated state education regulations and the state fire code, according to a report by independent consultants.
The room violated regulations because its door had two sliding bolts on the outside, and also because staff members were unable to observe a student at all times through the small window in the door, the consultants concluded. The district should develop clear policies for dealing with students who need crisis intervention, and all staff in the 150-student school should be trained in “de-escalation strategies.”


MASSACHUSETTS:

TWO TEACHERS CHARGED WITH ABUSING STUDENT

By Will Richmond
Herald News Staff Reporter
Posted Jan 17, 2008 @ 08:13 PM

WESTPORT —Two Macomber Elementary School teachers have been summonsed into court to face charges they physically abused a special education student. Teacher Renee Rego, 47, of 91 Horton St., Fall River, is being charged with a single count of caretaker who permits or commits an assault and battery, and mistreatment or neglect on a disabled person. Assistant teacher Linda Liberty, 46, of 9 Sylvania St., Westport, is facing two counts of simple assault and battery on a mentally retarded child. All three charges are felonies. “My son is not returning until those teachers are removed, but I’m told they are not taking any disciplinary action” the father said. “I’m concerned for his emotional well-being in the classroom and I fear of him getting some kind of action put on him for doing something wrong. My son is autistic, he can’t come home and say ‘Daddy my teachers hurt me.’” “I feel that we’ve been left totally in the dark and ignored,” he said. “I’m chasing them (school officials) and it’s almost like from their point of view that it’s not a big thing and we should just let it go. They have no sense of urgency. ... I would expect the school to be more willing to fix this than to say there’s nothing wrong here.”


SCHOOL OF SHOCK

Eight states are sending autistic, mentally retarded, and emotionally troubled kids to a facility that punishes them with painful electric shocks.

How many times do you have to zap a child before it's torture?

Jennifer Gonnerman June 13, 2008 Features
The Texas Observer

The Rotenberg Center is the only facility in the country that disciplines students by shocking them, a form of punishment not inflicted on serial killers or child molesters or any of the 2.2 million inmates now incarcerated in U.S. jails and prisons. Over its 36-year history, six children have died in its care, prompting numerous lawsuits and government investigations. Last year, New York state investigators filed a blistering report that made the place sound like a high school version of Abu Ghraib. Yet the program continues to thrive—in large part because no one except desperate parents, and a few state legislators, seems to care about what happens to the hundreds of kids who pass through its gates. Massachusetts officials have twice tried to shut the Rotenberg Center down—once in the 1980s and again in the 1990s. Both times parents rallied to its defense, and both times it prevailed in court. The name of the center ensures nobody forgets these victories; it was Judge Ernest Rotenberg, now deceased, who in the mid-'80s ruled that the facility could continue using aversives—painful punishments designed to change behavior—so long as it obtained authorization from the Bristol County Probate and Family Court in each student's case. But even though the facility wasn't using electric shock when this ruling was handed down, the court rarely, if ever, bars the Rotenberg Center from adding shock to a student's treatment plan, according to lawyers and disability advocates who have tried to prevent it from doing so.


DARTMOUTH PUBLIC SCHOOL REFUSED TO PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION FOR STUDENT WITH AUTISM UNLESS HE WAS RESTRAINED ON THE SCHOOL BUS AND HAD PARENTS FALSELY ARRESTED

by Irwin and Pearl H. Jacobowitz
October 17, 2008

DARTMOUTH -JAMES M. QUINN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL- A dispute between the Dartmouth Public School Department and the parents of three children with special needs over transportation resulted in the parents being arrested on false charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest by two Dartmouth Police officers and their three children being removed by the Department of Children and Families in New Bedford. Dartmouth Public Schools superintendent, Stephen Russell, the principal, Lorraine Granda, vice principal, Richard A. Porter III, and Wendy Weidenfeller all stood and watched as the police assaulted the parents and dragged them from the school. Russell issued a restraining order to keep the children out of school. Updated information (2/28/2010) the children have not been allowed to return to school; Judge Rya Zorbel of the U.S. District Court in Boston dismissed a motion to send the children back to school with the assistance of the U.S. Marshalls on February 9, 2010; the criminal case against the against the parents still lingers on after more than one year with the disappearance of videotape, limited discovery by the representing attorneys, the refusal to allow parents to represent themselves, and bias by the third district court in New Bedford.

When Does Physical Restraint Become Abuse?
August 7th, 2009



The tale of an autistic student in Massachusetts shows the issues that come with restraint practices

By Jessica Calefati | U.S. News and World Report

Most children who get hurt at school can tell their parents what happened, but what about those who cannot? Twelve-year-old Carmen Maggiore is autistic and cannot communicate verbally, so when his mother, Linda Auger, noticed deep purple bruises on her son’s arms and abrasions on his upper chest, lower back, and buttocks, she couldn’t ask him to tell her what happened. Auger, who lives in Braintree, Mass., believes her son suffered what many parents dread: abuse at the hands of his former teacher, an adult Auger trusted with Carmen’s well-being and education. The teacher has said no such abuse took place. It’s an example of the difficult circumstances that parents and schools face when trying to sort out whether abuse occurred in a classroom.

Records maintained by the South Shore Educational Collaborative, a Massachusetts day school for children with special needs that Carmen attended, show that the teacher, who could not be reached for comment, physically restrained Carmen for disciplinary reasons about once a week over a three-month period in early 2008, events Auger believes caused her son’s strange injuries. With special-needs children, restraint is sometimes acceptable, and there is a fine line between proper restraint and abuse. Restraint is a widely accepted response to an emergency situation—such as when a student threatens to run into dangerous highway traffic or expresses the intent to assault a classmate. However, some educators use such techniques regularly as a means to modify seemingly harmless student behavior, blurring the line between necessary restraint and abusive restraint. “A review of the history of [restraint and seclusion] indicates that these procedures are prone to misapplication and abuse, placing students at equal or more risk than their problem behavior,” wrote Robert Horner and George Sugai, directors of the Department of Education’s office responsible for student behavior interventions. In Carmen’s case, his former teacher and former classroom aides have divergent views about whether his teacher’s use of restraint was warranted. Mary Ericson, one of the teacher’s classroom aides, told police that in one instance, the teacher gripped Carmen’s head, lifted him off the ground, and restrained the 4-foot, 60-pound boy over a desk. Carmen’s offense, according to Ericson’s statement, was pinching the teacher after becoming frustrated by her instruction to break one of his classroom routines, a task that can be difficult for a child like Carmen, who also suffers from an obsessive compulsive disorder.

Ericson and two other teacher aides reported what they say was “abuse” witnessed in Carmen’s classroom to officials at the school and the Massachusetts Department of Social Services, according to an investigative action report written by the Randolph Police Department. But when the police department represented Carmen and his classmates at a hearing last fall, the court found there was insufficient evidence to warrant criminal charges against the teacher. The court cited inconsistencies in the aides’ testimony along with overwhelmingly positive testimony about the accused teacher from her colleagues at the day school, men and women who praised her both as a teacher and as a person. Concerns for her son’s safety unassuaged, Auger removed Carmen from the school, and other parents did the same. The teacher continues to work with special-needs students in Massachusetts but now teaches at the middle school level. Because Carmen and his classmates could not speak for themselves and weigh in on what took place in their classroom, their parents may never really know what happened to the students at school. Auger hopes for a law requiring schools to install surveillance cameras in all classrooms where teachers work with nonverbal autistic students, a practice that could offer some objective answers when parents ask, “What happened?” But on the state level, very few if any laws include provisions about cameras.

Auger and other opponents of restraint practices have found some support at the federal level: Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is taking their concerns seriously. Late last week, Duncan followed through on a resolution he made while testifying before the House Education and Labor Committee in May to investigate school districts’ use of physical restraint techniques. He sent a letter to every state school chief asking them formally to submit their state’s policies on the use of restraint in the classroom. Committee Chairman George Miller, a Democrat representing parts of northern California, pledged legislation that would protect students from abusive restraint techniques by summer’s end, though no proposed bills have been made public yet.

Source: http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/2009/08/05/when-does-physical-restraint-become-abuse.html


Worcester Teacher Accused Of Abusing Autistic Boy
March 23rd, 2010



Reporting Beth Germano | WBZ TV

A Worcester special needs teacher is being investigated by the state Department of Children and Families after allegedly grabbing one of her students and dragging him in an incident March 1.

The four year old boy, Andrew Stanley, is autistic and now afraid to go school according to his mother Stephanie who wants the teacher fired.

“He’s regressed, he’s more leery of people, certain people,” she said.

He’s also started kicking and spitting which are behaviors he never engaged in before, she tells WBZ-TV.

Stanley says she knew something was wrong at school when the boy came home with mysterious bruises on his leg last September, and she slowly saw the changes in his behavior.”

“She dragged him across the gymnasium floor yelling and screaming at him. I don’t think she should be allowed near any children,” the mother said.

Notes from school indicate Andrew frequently cries in the classroom.

“I’ve had to take him out of class terrified. Everyday is a battle,” Stanley said.

The superintendent of schools Dr. Melinda Boone issued only a statement. “Worcester public schools takes student safety very seriously and has taken immediate and appropriate action.”

Stanley says she’s now removed her son altogether, and is requesting a new public school for him. “If you can’t deal with kids then you shouldn’t be working, especially with special needs kids. He can talk, but he can’t articulate what happened to him.”

Source: http://wbztv.com/local/worcester.teacher.investigation.2.1581507.html



CONNECTICUT:

PLAINFIELD SCHOOL ACCUSED OF DENYING FOOD TO STUDENTS AND USING A 'JAIL CELL'.

Parents, ex-staffer say program mistreated special education students.
by Emily Groves
Norwich Bulletin

PLAINFIELD, CONN.-

Withholding food, a “jail cell” time-out room and unnecessary restraint of special education students are among the allegations being made against Shepard Hill Elementary School’s Clinical Day Treatment Program by paraprofessionals, parents and a Board of Education member.

“It’s an ugly mess,” Board of Education Vice Chairwoman Angela Klonoski said. “It’s just been a nightmare.”

The Shepard Hill program is one of five in the district for children with emotional or intellectual disabilities, Plainfield Superintendent of Schools Mary Conway said.

Philip LaFemina, coordinator for the programs, said the Shepard Hill program includes eight students who spend most of their day with the program. It also provides support services for another five to six students who spend most of their day in regular classrooms. He said eight full and part-time paraprofessionals work in the program, though other paraprofessionals assist when students are immersed into classrooms.
To read full story click on link: cell">http://www.norwichbulletin.com/news/x324650860/Plainfield-school-accused-of-food-denial-using-jail-cell


OTHER STATES:

PENNSYLVANIA:

A 'QUIET ROOM' UPROAR

Published: Sunday, May 24, 2009
By DANIELLE LYNCH, Staff Writer

INSIDE THE SECLUSION ROOM IN THE K-1 AUTISTIC SUPPORT ROOM

EAST GOSHEN — Parents at East Goshen Elementary School in West Chester,PA say they are outraged that special-needs children were being put into small rooms without their knowledge. The parents have referred to these places as seclusion rooms but West Chester Area School District officials have called them quiet rooms. "Seclusion means that the children were left in the room on their own without a teacher or adult," said Communications Director Rob Partridge. "The children were never put in the rooms by themselves." But parents say the issue is that they were unaware of the rooms until earlier this month. The two rooms are in a part of the special-education area of the school used for autism support programs. Parents said they were given a tour of the rooms during the meeting. They described the rooms as being the size of a closet with cement walls. They said the rooms were not ventilated. Partridge said, "In every case, when rooms were needed for individual student needs, parents were contacted and kept fully informed." Jane Thurston, coordinator of the Chester County Autism Spectrum Disorder Support Group: "It's unbelievable that in 2009 they (administrators) think this is appropriate.""What they (West Chester Area officials) don't realize is these rooms are a failure of the school district." Thurston said these rooms can be effective if they are used appropriately. She said proper uses of rooms include sensory toys, padded walls and the presence of a behavioral support specialist. The hard floors and unpadded walls in the rooms at East Goshen Elementary could have been a death hazard for the students. "In a very informal way, the people from the state conducting the review indicated they were OK with the rooms as they saw them," Partridge said.


BILL REQUIRES STRICTER REGULATIONS OF 'SECLUSION' ROOMS

Monday, February 8, 2010
By Danielle Lynch, Journal Register News Service

The U.S. House Education and Labor Committee recently passed a bill that will require stricter regulations for restraint and "seclusion rooms" in public schools.

The bill, known as the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act, was passed by the committee in a 34-10 vote on Thursday. The bill prohibits the use of life-threatening restraints in schools and establishes clear standards for training teachers. At the local level, there was controversy regarding these rooms at East Goshen Elementary School in the West Chester Area School District. In May 2009, parents were outraged and upset that these rooms were installed without their knowledge. U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, D-7th, of Edgmont, a member of the House Education and Labor Committee, said the new bill does not allow IEPs to include the methods anymore. He said restraint and seclusion can only be used if the child or teacher is in imminent danger. "You have to notify parents right after these incidents," Sestak said. Efforts to improve the law at the federal level were led by U.S. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. State Sen. Andy Dinniman, D-19th, of West Whiteland, introduced legislation regarding seclusion rooms following the controversy at East Goshen Elementary. A few weeks later, the state Senate Education Committee passed the bill.


THE ONLY BEHAVIORAL SUPPORT THE WESTCHESTER AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT PROVIDED FOR 10 YEAR OLD ARIZONA WAS A SEAT IN THE RIFTON CHAIR USING THE TABLE TOP AS A RESTRAINT

"When the Parents advocated for their son, Arizona, the West Chester Area School District had the dad thrown in prison for 10 days with the help of a local judge."

Arizona was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2 years old. He was denied admission to the Delaware Autism Program at age 3. From 4-7 years old, Arizona was enrolled with the Chester County Intermediate Unit (CCIU) in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. The CCIU refused to provide behavioral interventions and an aide for Arizona claiming that it cost too much money. Unknown to the parents, Arizona's teachers were restraining him in a Rifton chair. When Arizona attended East Bradford Elementary School in West Chester, Pennsylvania, his teacher, Padgett Kissler Smith, continued to restrain Arizona in a Rifton Chair for 2-3 hours each day without the parents' knowledge or consent. Arizona's parents found out that Arizona was being restrained when Smith mistakenly sent home pictures of Arizona in the chair and Arizona repeatedly said, "broken, broken." Smith stated, "We put him in the chair and he broke our chair, what are you going to do about it?"

To read the full story go to Stories pages.
This story first appeared on Sen. James Buckheit's (PA.) website during August, 2007.

February 28, 2010
by Irwin and Pearl H. Jacobowitz



VIRGINIA:

THIS ABUSE MUST STOP!"
PARENTS PULL SON FROM SCHOOL OVER RESTRAINT ISSUE

By Donna C. Gregory NEWS EDITOR

Priscilla and Chip Greene share some family time with their three sons (from left), Travis, 6, Coleman, 9, and Parker, 11.

December 19, 2007 - A Clover Hill Elementary second-grader is getting a longer than normal holiday break after his parents withdrew him from school amid claims of physical abuse. Chip and Priscilla Greene have removed their son, Coleman, from Clover Hill following a series of incidents where he was allegedly physically restrained by a special education aide. The situation escalated on Nov. 30 when the Greenes received a call from school, asking them to come pick up Coleman, who suffers from Down's Syndrome and ADHD. When Chip Greene arrived at school, a staff member who the family chose not to identify, advised him to check Coleman for bruises. A physician later confirmed bruising on Coleman's back, shoulder and chest and a scratch on his neck. Coleman has not been back to school since.