State legislators must act to protect kids with disabilities
Florida kids with disabilities who spend their school day in self-contained classrooms, separated from typically developing children, are screaming for our help, but will our state legislators step up to the plate this legislative session to finally bring safety into our schools for those who are most fragile?
For the past 13 years, parents have been begging the state Legislature to protect their children via a bill that would set parameters, guidelines and restrictions on the use of restraint and seclusion.
Imagine having a child who cannot communicate, is physically restrained, placed in a padded room, and sometimes removed from school through the Baker Act process. The police are called, and the child is transferred to a hospital or facility in a squad car — alone, confused and scared. There is no wonder why so many children with disabilities exhibit signs of post-traumatic stress syndrome.
A variety of news reports have exposed what many families have long felt — that there are incidents of abuse in our schools of children who cannot go home and tell their parents what has occurred, what hurts or how scared they are about going back. Published investigations include evidence of verbal, physical and mental abuse from South Florida to the Panhandle.
Because of this, and more, parents are seeking cameras to be placed in classrooms where all of the students have complex needs — for the protection of their children, and to promote the placement of greatly needed classroom supports.
Florida Senate Bill 1644 and House Bill 1231 were written and introduced this legislative session to address restraint, seclusion and cameras in our schools.
Gaining support by every senator and representative in the first five committees, these bills were on the move. The parent community was excited at the prospect that children with complex needs were finally being represented by their state legislators, but the bill still needs to be placed on the agenda of the Senate Appropriations committee.
The good news is that the House unanimously passed the bill on Tuesday. Families from across the state are hoping that the Senate will do what it takes to finally put a law in place that will protect both students and teachers, regardless of their ZIP code or diversity.
Sadly, no federal law regulates the use of restraint and seclusion, and in the state of Florida, there is no requirement for schools to report to the Department of Education information leading up to or the process of Baker Acts initiated by their schools. Currently, 19 states prohibit secluding children in locked rooms, four have banned any type of seclusion at all, and three states have passed legislation placing cameras in classrooms where 100 percent of the children have disabilities (serving to protect both student and teacher).
The wake of trauma from such experiences infects the lives of children for a lifetime, but imagine when that child cannot let others know how they are feeling and has little to no hope that the treatment will end; or worse yet, begins to think that this is the norm.
Call your senators and encourage them to vote in favor of SB 1644, and speak up for those who desperately need to be heard.