Press Releases
03/18/2021
Attorney General Tong Urges Federal Passage of the Keeping All Students Safe Act
(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong today joined a coalition of 17 attorneys general led by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul in urging Congress to pass the Keeping All Students Safe Act (KASSA), which prohibits any school receiving federal funds from placing children in seclusion or using dangerous restraint practices.In today’s letter to Congressional leadership, the coalition argues that isolated confinement and the restraint practices banned by the KASSA are inherently dangerous behavior interventions that may exacerbate existing mental health conditions and cause emotional trauma, serious physical injury, and even death to youth in schools.
“Schools should a be safe environment where no student fears abuse or is subjected to practices that risk their emotional or physical wellbeing,” Attorney General Tong said. “Congress must pass this legislation to help to ensure that school districts receiving federal funding are keeping their students safe.”
Although seclusion and restraint are intended to be measures of last resort, the coalition explains that they are sometimes imposed in the absence of imminent danger of serious physical harm to punish or discipline students, compel compliance or retaliate for non-compliance, or for convenience of staff. Reports have revealed that thousands of children each year, some as young as five, are locked away alone in empty rooms for misbehaving, in some instances for hours at a time, for infractions as minor as spilling milk or refusing to do class work. Similarly, it has been reported that children have been physically restrained in ways that restrict their breathing or otherwise harm them.
Under the KASSA, any school receiving federal funds will be prohibited from secluding children or using mechanical, chemical, or physical restraint practices that are life threatening or restrict breathing, including prone and supine restraint. In recognition of the disproportionate use of these interventions on students with disabilities, the bill also prohibits the use of physical restraint that is contraindicated by a student’s disability or educational plan.
States will be required to implement the law by collecting and analyzing data, establishing policies and procedures to ensure compliance, and improving schools’ climates and cultures by implementing positive behavior interventions and supports. The bill provides support to states by authorizing federal grants, to be awarded for three-year periods based on relative need. Additionally, federal funds could be withheld from school systems that violate the statute, in order to hold these school systems accountable and ensure students are protected.
Joining Raoul and Tong in the letter are the attorneys general of the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
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