Special Education Law Blog

House Passes Restraint Bill H.R. 4247

The following is a press release from TASH regarding the passage today of the Restraint Bill H.R. 4247 which now goes to the Senate where hopefully it will be taken up in a timely way. 

Judge Rotenberg Center Probed

It has long been known that the Judge Rotenberg Center was using electrical shock as means of behavioral modification for the students, who were residing at this residential school for children with special needs. The Justice Department is finally investigating the use of aversives (electrical shock) to modify behaviors.  It is remarkable that it has taken quite a while and a concerted effort by advocacy groups to pressure the government to investigate and hopefully take enforcement action.

TASH Call-In Needed to Support Restraint and Timeout Bill on February 26,2010

Below is an announcement from TASH for a national call-in to Congress to support the pending bills H.R. 4247, S. 2860  governing use of restraint and timeout.

Restraint and Seclusion Bill H.R. 4247 Passes First Hurdle

The House bill H.R. 4247 regulating restraint and seclusion in schools successfully passed out of committee today.  There are a lot of additional hurdles with the full House yet to vote on the bill, and ultimately conference committee to reconcile the bill with a Senate version. In this process there are many interests that would like to kill or weaken this bill, so we must keep those calls and emails coming to your respective Congressperson. It may seem odd that schools and other lobby groups could array themselves against a clear effort to protect children from harm in school. However, schools view this issue as a matter of law and order, discipline in school and being able to have complete autonomy. Those concerns are the standard arguments which are used to rebut any form of regulation or perceived expansion of parents' rights, in this instance these "concerns" must give way. The objective data has demonstrated the pervasive harm that children have suffered from inappropriate restraint and seclusion. This bill is a key piece of legislation that needs to be passed this term.

Below is a summary of the bill from the House EdLabor committee's  website .

Restraint Legislation Lagging in the States Federal Action Needed Now

Physical restraint and overuse of timeout have had very damaging effects for a number of my clients. Some students report nightmares, suffer school phobia and refuse to attend school, and for too many any chance of  an inclusive education becomes impossible, with the only choice being an out of home school placement. I have fortunately not had any of my clients die as a result of inappropriate restraint, but one child came within a hour of dying from hypothermia after leaving school and becoming lost in cold weather. This near lethal episode occurred following several episodes of physical restraint by staff that had no training or experience in the proper means of intervention.

There has been a lot of attention paid to the need for more stringent laws at the state level dealing with restraint, but according to a recent study states have not acted, according to Disability Scoop:

"Nonetheless, 39 percent of states continue to have no laws or policies guiding restraint and seclusion practices in schools, according to a follow-up report issued by the National Disability Rights Network Tuesday. (Read all of Disability Scoop’s coverage of restraint and seclusion >>

Fortunately Congress is in the final stages of a bill to regulate physical restraint  and other behavioral interventions. Given the reluctance of states to act Federal legislation is obviously necessary. We need legislation also because Arne Duncan has been dragging his feet and not providing any effective leadership on this issue, On February 24, 2010, the committee considering H.R. 4247 is set to be marked up so this is a critical time to call and email in support of this critical legislation. Jessica Butler, an attorney and COPAA officer, has written a thorough analysis of this bill.

Autism and Elopement Behaviors by Nicole Jorwic

Elopement behaviors are among the highest priority behaviors and one of the most difficult challenges facing schools, parents and children with disabilities. The risks from elopement are obvious but too often schools are ill-prepared to address this issue. Children on the autism spectrum are more prone to  not be able to verbalize where they need to go and coming upon a stranger may bring about further anxiety. It is important that steps are taken to prevent such runaways and also that emergency personnel are trained to handle encounters with these children.  Here is a safety tool kit that can be very useful both in school and at home. Of course in this time of high tech devices there are also GPS devices to keep kids from eloping and to track to them if they do.

Common Psychiatric Drugs Linked to Weight Gain and Possible Elevated Cardiac Risks

Some of the most common psychiatric drugs, Abilify, Risperdal, Seroquel and Zyprexa, have been linked with significant weight gain in children. These drugs have also been linked with elevated levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and diabetes and possible long term cardiac risk.  Schools often pressure parents to have students begin taking these powerful drugs. Legally under IDEIA schools should not be having this conversation. Practically, this conversation should only take place between the family and their physician. These medications can be an important part in addressing the symptoms of disability, but decisions about their use must weigh the significant short term and long term risks.

Special Education a Risk Factor for Violence in Chicago Public School's Model

Ron Huberman, the CEO of Chicago Public Schools, has unveiled a plan [Download Students_At_Risk pdf]to address violence in and around schools in the wake of the tragic killing of Derrion Albert, a Chicago Public School student, who is the latest victim of violence that was captured on video and posted online. The plan is based upon statistics that reveal the killings and violence are not totally random.  The data shows that the students at highest risk of violence are:

" most likely black,male, without a stable living environment, in special education,skipping an average of 42 percent of school days at neighborhood and alternative schools, and having a record of in-school behavioral flare-ups that is about eight times higher than the average."

The new model is also leading to a rethinking of the security policy to favor mental health interventions and prevention over policing and punishment. To me the sum total of this model reveals that suspensions, expulsions are simple and summary answers to deep-seated and complex mental health, learning and economic problems. This model is not the first time that the City has studied this issue of school violence. Perhaps the very public death of Derrion Albert will actually lead to more thoughtful data-driven actions that will start to make a difference.

Thank to my cousin Mark Mlawer for bringing this NYTimes article to my attention.

New Approach to Reduce Suicide Attempts Among Teens at Risk

A recently published report addresses a new approach to teenage suicide attempts. The report is summarized as follows:

"A novel psychotherapy used in the study—cognitive behavioral therapy for suicide prevention (CBT-SP—was developed to address the need for a specific psychotherapy that would prevent or reduce the risk for suicide reattempts among teens. CBT-SP consisted of a 12-week acute treatment phase focusing on safety planning, understanding the circumstances and vulnerabilities that lead to suicidal behavior, and building life skills to prevent a reattempt. A maintenance continuation phase followed the acute phase."

The preliminary findings of this report, although based upon a small sample,  show real effectiveness in address this pressing issue. I hope school social worker and psychologists will review the findings and take stock of the need for intensive therapy to addresses the lethal risks.

This past year I have had at least double the number of teen clients who have had severe mental health issues and many of them at risk of suicide. The response from the schools has varied from total denial of the issue, to avoidance of the issue, or claiming it was merely a family issue having nothing to do with the educational needs of the child. I had one school social worker claim that the student was not hearing voices since he had never seen him conversing to someone who was not there. When asked if he had actually asked the student the basic question "are you hearing voices" he finally admitted that he had not, but claimed there was no basis to ask the question since he never observed anything unusual making the whole discussion quite circular.  He persisted in this argument despite the fact that parents had emailed and report their child's unusual behavior to the social worker.

The unfortunate fact is that the risks of suicide for teens are real and apparently increasing. School personnel need to be vigilant and mindful when parents report aberrant behaviors, depressive patterns and other risk factors.

Painful Failure of the Special Education System

The following is a speech given to a local autism support group. The speech is from the parents of a young adult who was diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum in his late 20s, after his time in school had passed, and as discussed below well too late to prevent tragic consequences. I publish this with the permission of the parents of this young adult with the hope that their pain may spare others the same tragedy. There are many lessons to be learned from this story: keep a close eye on your student's use of the internet, social development is often more important than academic, transition planning for self-sufficient and safe outcome can not be emphasized enough, and sex education that is meaningful for students with special needs is even more important than for other students.