House votes to limit use of physical and chemical restraints in schools

House bill limits school use of restraints

WASHINGTON — Physically restraining unruly schoolchildren or locking them in isolated spaces would be subject to federal restrictions under legislation passed by the House Wednesday. Lawmakers were responding to reports that abuses of restraint and seclusion methods have resulted in children being injured and even killed.

House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, D-Calif., said the federal government needed to step in because state laws were not always effective. He cited the 2002 case in Texas of a 129-pound, 14-year-old who died after his 230-pound teacher placed him facedown on the floor and lay on top of him.

The bill, which passed 262-153, sets guidelines that allow physical restraint or locked seclusion only when there is imminent danger of injury. It bans mechanical restraints such as strapping children to chairs or duct-taping body parts, and prohibits behavior-controlling medications that aren’t prescribed by doctors.

It applies to public and private schools and preschools that receive federal education money.

“When is it appropriate to lock up or tie up a child or handcuff a child to a desk?” asked Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican co-sponsor.

The main opposition came from Republicans who said the bill was a federal intrusion into school affairs traditionally overseen by state and local authorities, and that it would lead to lawsuits. Supporters said that while 31 states have some kind of rules concerning restraints and seclusion, some are limited in scope, such as referring only to preschoolers or children with autism.

The legislation arose out of a congressional report last year documenting hundreds of cases of apparent abuse over the past two decades. The Government Accountability Office report said many of the cases involved children with disabilities.

Examples included a seven-year-old who died after reportedly being held face down for hours by school officials, five-year-olds being tied to chairs with bungee cords and duct tape and a 13-year-old reportedly hanging himself in a seclusion room after prolonged confinement.

The bill expands to schools the guidelines enacted in 2000 that govern the use of restraints and seclusion on children in hospitals and medical facilities. It bans the denying of water, food or access to bathrooms, or using pepper spray, when such actions compromise health and safety. Schools are required to notify parents when restraint or seclusion is used and states must come up with their own policies to meet the federal standards within two years.

A companion bill has been introduced in the Senate.

Associated Press writer Ann Sanner contributed to this report.

The bill is H.R. 4247.

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