Dive Brief:
- Seclusion of students in schools would be prohibited and certain restraint practices would be banned under bicameral and bipartisan legislation filed Dec. 12 in the House and Senate.
- The bill would provide grants to states to train school personnel to address school behaviors with evidence-based, proactive strategies. It also calls for more transparency and oversight to prevent the abuse of students, and it would require states to monitor the law's implementation.
- About 105,700 public school students were physically restrained, mechanically restrained or placed in seclusion at schools during the 2021-22 school year, according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Department of Education's Civil Rights Data Collection. Some lawmakers and researchers said restraint and seclusion practices in schools are likely underreported.
Dive Insight:
The Keeping All Students Safe Act would make it illegal for any school receiving federal taxpayer money to seclude students or carry out restraint practices that restrict a student's breathing, such as restraining students facedown or on their backs. Physical restraint would only be allowed when it is necessary to protect the safety of students and staff.
There is currently no federal law dictating restraint and seclusion practices. Congress has attempted to pass similar legislation since at least 2009.
Sen Chris Murphy, D-Conn., has been a sponsor of several reintroductions of the Keeping All Students Safe Act and is a co-sponsor of the current legislation in the Senate.
"No kid should be locked alone in a room or forcibly restrained while at school. Yet a shocking amount of schools continue to use unnecessary force to discipline kids, particularly those with disabilities," Murphy said in a Dec 12 statement. "Our bill will protect kids from abuse while giving teachers and staff the tools they need to address disruptive behavior to keep all students safe.”
According to a statement from Democrats on the House Education and Workforce Committee, the bill is endorsed by nearly 60 organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Council for Exceptional Children, the Autism Society of America and the National Down Syndrome Congress.
"These protections are long overdue for our most vulnerable students, especially those with disabilities," said Guy Stephens, founder and executive director of the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint, in a Dec. 12 statement. "Through mandatory training, data reporting, and support for evidence-based alternatives, it paves a practical path to safer, trauma-informed classrooms that every child deserves."
According to the Civil Rights Data Collection, Black students, boys and students with disabilities are disproportionately restrained or secluded. Although Black students represented 15% of K-12 student enrollment in 2021-22, they accounted for 19% of students secluded and 26% of students physically restrained.
Boys comprised 51% of K-12 student enrollment that same school year, but accounted for 80% of students physically restrained and 80% of students secluded. And students with disabilities served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act made up 14% of student enrollment but accounted for 68% of students secluded and 76% of students who were physically restrained in 2021-22.
In addition to improving student safety, the current bill attempts to enhance state reporting procedures by making data about restraint and seclusion publicly available — including the number of incidents, injuries, cases of death, and the demographic breakdown — while keeping students' personal information private.
In 2020, a U.S. Government Accountability Office report found data quality control processes for restraint and seclusion were largely ineffective or nonexistent. For example, GAO researchers found that for the 2015-16 CRDC, 70% of districts reported zero incidents of restraint and seclusion.
Over the years, several states, such as Virginia, California and Illinois have enacted legislation to curb restraint and seclusion practices. Additionally, many districts have refined their policies to ensure restraint and seclusion are only used in emergency situations.
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