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Action Alerts From The Arc US:
Keeping All Students Safe Act (KASSA)
The Keeping All Students Safe Act, reintroduced this May in Congress by Rep. Don Beyer (VA-08), Sen. Chis Murphy (CT), Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03), Chair Patty Murray (WA), and Rep. Donald McEachin (VA-04) would make it illegal for any school receiving federal funds to use dangerous restraint and seclusion practices.
Every child should be safe at school—unfortunately that is not always the case. Each year a staggering number of students are subjected to seclusion and restraint practices. The most current data from the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) shows 101,990 students were subjected to seclusion or restraint during the 2017-18 school year—78 percent of whom were students who have disabilities, disproportionately Black students and boys. The CRDC data may even be an under-estimation of the actual number of incidents due to reporting issues and insufficient quality control measures. It is difficult to truly understand the full scope of seclusion and restraint incidents in schools.
Specifically, the Keeping All Students Safe Act would:
Establish minimum safety standards in schools by:
- Prohibiting seclusion, mechanical restraints, chemical restraints, physical restraint that restricts breathing or is life threatening, and any form of aversive behavioral intervention;
- Requiring certification of staff conducting physical restraint that meets the minimum standards;
- Prohibiting physical restraint as a planned intervention; and
- Requiring parental notification and follow-up meetings if a physical restraint occurs.
Support states by providing better training to ensure student and staff safety and establishing monitoring and enforcement systems by:
- Requiring each state to have its own policies, procedures, monitoring, and enforcement systems in place to meet the minimum standards within two years of the law’s enactment;
- Providing grant funding for states to establish, implement, and enforce the policies and procedures required by the law; and
- Improving state and local capacity to analyze the data and improve school climate and culture.
Increase transparency, oversight, and enforcement to prevent future abuse and death by:
- Requiring states to collect and report data on the use of seclusion and restraint annually; and
- Making data about restraint and seclusion publicly available while protecting student privacy, including data on the number of incidents, injuries, cases of death, and the demographic breakdown.
Contact members of Congress and ask them to pass KASSA!
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Please urge drafters of the reconciliation package to include $900 million for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Section 662, Personnel Preparation.
48 states and the District of Columbia reported a shortage of special educators in the 2020-2021 school year— with this area being the most severe shortage for most states. At least 41 states reported shortages in practitioners serving infants and toddlers with disabilities. The national shortages are persistent and detrimental to children eligible for IDEA services- a growing number of children who are legally required to be served by “qualified personnel.”
Part D Personnel Preparation funds prepare new special educators, early interventionists, and specialized instructional support personnel, replenishing the workforce. Current program estimates indicate a $900 million investment could fully address the growing shortages over the next 10 years.
Call or email your U.S. Senators and Representatives to ensure this funding is a part of the reconciliation budget bill.
Look up your U.S. Senators and Representatives
August Recess Resources
From Our Friends at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities:
Infrastructure
On August 10, 2021, the Senate passed the $1 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. If passed in the House of Representatives, this bill will create historic levels of investment in our national infrastructure and promote an equitable economic recovery that will improve the quality of life for people with disabilities.
Budget Reconciliation
More than 800,000 Americans are currently on waiting lists for home and community based services (HCBS). Additionally, 48 million Americans currently serve as caregivers for their family members, meaning they are not accessing, or are underserved by, HCBS. If Congress is to truly represent its constituents—one in five of whom have a disability—they must prioritize the disability community in the final budget reconciliation process.
Our nation’s infrastructure must include access to HCBS and other supports in one’s community. During recent infrastructure negotiations, Congress deprioritized the $400 billion that was initially pledged for HCBS. Meanwhile, more than 8 million people in the U.S. need assistance with daily care tasks; a number that is growing under the COVID-19 pandemic.
“People with disabilities deserve to have full control and autonomy over their lives and their care decisions. That means having multiple, high-quality options for care from which they can make the best decision for themselves and their families. To make that a reality, we must see the Better Care Better Jobs Act be included, prioritized, and fully funded in the budget reconciliation process” said the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)’s President and CEO Maria Town.
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