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Restraint law for public schools
passes
June 23, 2007
By A.J. O'CONNELL
aoconnell@thestamfordtimes.com
REGION — The Connecticut General
Assembly last Thursday unanimously approved a law which will
regulate the use of restraints and seclusion in the schools.
Senate Bill No. 977, "An Act
Concerning Restraints and Seclusions in Public Schools," requires
that restraint and seclusions be used only in cases where a child is
a danger to himself, herself, or others; or if restraint or
seclusion are a part of the child's individualized education program
[IEP].
"The schools will not be able to
seclude a child for discipline or convenience; the parent must be
informed when they do it and why they do it," said parent Maryann
Lombardi. "From a parental perspective, this law has a lot more of
what I would consider teeth." Lombardi, a Wilton mother whose son
has autism, is one of several parents who opposes the current law,
which restricts the use of restraints in private and state
institutions, but does not include public schools; Public Act 99-210
forbids life-threatening restraints, seclusion and medication of
patients in state-authorized schools, hospitals and programs, but
functions only as a set of guidelines for the public schools. She
was one of many parents and guardians from throughout the state who
spoke at a December hearing in Hartford, which was sponsored by the
Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities in
an attempt to change the current law to include public schools.
The new law, which will take effect
on Oct. 1, requires that schools inform parents of state laws
regarding physical restraint and seclusion and that the schools
record each instance of restraint or seclusion.
The bill permits the legislature to
review schools' annual reports on the use of restraints; something
that disappoints the bill's author, Sen. Edward Meyer [D-12] Meyer
of Guilford, had originally written the law so that an annual report
of all restraints and seclusions in the state's schools would be
mandatory, but the bill was amended during the house's debate last
Thursday, making reporting to the state permissive rather than
mandatory.
"We're trying to get a handle on
how many of these restraints and seclusions are used," he said. "I
consider that reporting requirement to be the crux of the bill."
Meyer and Wilton's Sen. Judith
Freedman [R-26] both introduced bills in January intended to include
the public schools in Connecticut's restraint law. The two senators
later joined forces, with Freedman signing on to Meyer's Bill No.
977. The bill passed unanimously in both the senate and the house.
Lombardi understands that Meyer
wants the schools to be accountable to the legislators, but her
concern is accountability to the parents of students who might be
restrained. The current bill offers parents that accountability, she
says.
"It certainly gives us a good deal
more than we had before," she said.
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