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January 15, 2020

The Honorable Betsy DeVos
Secretary

U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20202

Dear Secretary DeVos:

We are gravely concerned by harmful student seclusion and restraint practices occurring
in schools around our country. We respectfully urge you to update your federal guidancei banning
seclusion, banning restraints that restrict breathing and are life-threatening, and promoting
evidence-based, positive behavior strategies and de-escalation techniques to reduce the use of
physical restraint.

According to a November 2019 report by the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica children
as young as ?ve, disproportionately children with disabilities, are being locked alone in empty
rooms for behavioral concerns or to ?calm down? after misbehavior. In reality, the rooms have the
opposite effect: children throw themselves at the door and scratch at the windows trying to escape.
Some are recorded as urinating on themselves, undressing, attempting to commit suicide, or crying
out that they want to die. Tragically, in some states, children have died in seclusion 

In Illinois alone, 20,000 such seclusions were reported from August 2017 to December
2018, hundreds of which involved children in ?rst grade or younger, according to the November
Tribune article. Not only does this practice cause students to miss valuable classroom time?some
are secluded for hours on end?it can also cause serious physical and trauma. A
December Tribune and ProPublica IL follow?up articleiv found that restraints?including restraints
that can restrict breathing?were being used even when students and staff were not in physical
danger, in violation of Illinois law.

We were relieved that, following the publication of the November report, the Illinois State
Board of Education (ISBE) responded swiftly to ban seclusion in schools across the state.
However, that makes Illinois only the ?fth state to ban seclusion. There are tens of millions of
American children still at risk of experiencing this detrimental practice.

PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER

The use of seclusion and dangerous restraints is putting the well-being and
lives of children at risk every day and must be addressed at the federal level immediately. We
respectfully urge you to update the Department of Education?s 2016 guidance to ban seclusion,
ban restraints that restrict breathing and are life-threatening, and promote evidence?based
alternatives to reduce the use of physical restraint.

We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter.

Sean?ti'asten J. Durbln
Member of Congress United States Senator



Cheri Bustos

Sincerely,

 

 

 

 

United ates Senator Member of Congress

  

 

   

Bradley S. Schneider chakowsky
Member of Congress ber of Congress

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G. ?Chu37? Garcia Bill Foster

ber of Congress Member of Congress
Ayanna Pressley ja oorthi
Member of Congress Member of Congress

 

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