[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 65 (Wednesday, May 9, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H2453-H2454]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   THE KEEPING ALL STUDENTS SAFE ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. George Miller) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, last year, I 
reintroduced the Keeping All Students Safe Act, to protect children 
from abusive seclusion and restraint practices in school.
  Two years ago, this legislation passed the House with bipartisan 
support. Unfortunately, it never became law, and the incidents of 
students who are being abused or inappropriately restrained while in 
school continue to occur. We cannot sit idly by. Congress must step up 
to the plate and protect our Nation's children. In recent months, we've 
been hearing more disturbing stories of students who are being 
dangerously restrained by teachers and staff while in school. In 
several of these cases, students have suffered serious injuries or have 
even died as a result of their injuries.
  In December, in Kentucky, 9-year-old Christopher Baker, who has 
autism, was stuffed into a duffel bag at school as punishment. In 
Connecticut, children have been afraid to go to school because they've 
heard other students screaming in small, windowless rooms. The students 
in these elementary schools refer to these rooms as ``scream rooms.''
  In Texas, 10-year-old Lukas Hines, who suffers from seizures, 
dyslexia, and ADHD, was put in a choke hold while riding home on a 
Texas school bus. For 4 minutes, the school supervisor refused to 
release him into the care of his mother, and instead kept him in the 
dangerous choke hold.
  Then, on April 18, at the Leake and Watts School in New York, 16-
year-old Corey Foster was restrained by the school staff, who were 
trying to remove him from a basketball court. Witnesses reported that 
several staff members piled on top of him. Corey told the staff he 
could not breathe. Tragically, while he was being restrained, he went 
into cardiac arrest and died.
  Corey's story is far too similar to a story I learned of several 
years ago. That was the story of Cedric, a 14-year-old in Texas. Cedric 
was restrained, facedown, with his teacher sitting on top of him. He 
yelled out that he couldn't breathe. Minutes later, Cedric died on the 
floor of his classroom.

                              {time}  1020

  Tragedies like Cory's and Cedric's need to stop. In March, the 
Department of Education released nationwide data showing that tens of 
thousands of children are subject to restraint and seclusion in school 
each year.
  This map shows that 31 States have had reports of abusive incidents 
since the last time that we tried to enact the Keeping All Students 
Safe Act. No corner of the country is immune from abuse. It is 
widespread, and it has gone on far too long. This map shows that we 
need a nationally driven reform, because where States have enacted, 
students are still subject to the worst practices in these educational 
settings.
  According to the report released last month, only 30 States have any 
meaningful protection for the use of seclusion and restraint in school. 
Only 18 States prohibit restraint that restricts breathing. Only 16 
States limit the use of restraining to emergencies involving immediate 
risk or harm. Only 16 States ban the use of mechanical restraints. And 
only 24 States have any requirement that their parents be notified that 
their child was restrained or secluded in school. In fact, children can 
go to school day after day, be restrained, be secluded, be locked in 
dark rooms, kept in those rooms where they urinate on themselves, and 
their parents are never notified.
  When parents are excluded from the information about their students,

[[Page H2454]]

where is that a matter of good public policy? The child and their 
safety should not depend upon what State they live in. The Federal 
Government, this Congress, needs to set minimum standards and model 
standards.
  We have the Federal laws in place to prevent seclusion and restraint 
abuses that happen in hospitals and other health facilities, but 
children do not have any Federal protection against these potentially 
dangerous and torturous practices when they're in school.
  Schools are supposed to be a safe place, a place for children to 
learn, a place for children to socialize, and parents should never have 
to worry about the safety of their children when they're at school. No 
child should be forced to suffer abuse, neglect, injury, or even death 
while they're trying to learn.
  The Keeping All Students Safe Act would set minimum safety standards 
for the use of restraint and seclusion in schools and provide training 
and support for school personnel to reduce the use of seclusion and 
restraint. It makes it illegal to strap children to chairs, put 
children in duffle bags, or restrict their breathing. Seclusion 
restraint practices should only be used in emergency situations by 
trained staff and should end as soon as the emergency has passed. This 
legislation makes it clear that there's no room for torture and abuse 
in America's schools.
  News reports showing children being tied up with duct tape, sat on by 
staff, locked in rooms for hours at a time is unacceptable. Our 
children deserve better. This legislation won't bring back Corey or 
Cedric, but it can prevent future abuses from occurring.
  I've called upon the chairman of the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce to mark up this important legislation so we can move forward 
on passing this critical legislation into law. Our children deserve 
nothing less.

                          ____________________