Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Preventing harmful restraint and seclusion in schools

Hello,

On behalf of APRAIS (the Alliance to Prevent Restraint, Aversive Interventions and Seclusion), the Autistic Self Advocacy Network along with other APRAIS organizations is encouraging you to contact your congressional representatives during our National Call-In Day on February 26, 2010 and tell them to support the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act (H.R. 4247, S. 2860).

Recently, the House Committee on Education and Labor voted H.R. 4247 out of committee with a vote of 35 to 10. Your hard work has certainly made a difference, but we need your continued efforts to advance this important legislation. Specifically, we need your assistance to get the bill moved to the floor for a full House vote and to obtain Co-sponsors for the Senate version, S. 2860.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) introduced the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act in the Senate, but we need to increase the number of Senate Co-Sponsors and get this bill out of committee as soon as possible. Once passed, this legislation will provide students with and without disabilities vital protections against abuse in schools.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Ask your Congressional Representative to Co-sponsor H.R. 4247 and your Senators to Co-Sponsor S. 2860 on Friday, February 26th!!

  • To find out the names of your US Senators and Representative, click here [link to www.congress.org]
  • Dial the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for the offices of your US Senators and Representative
  • Ask to speak to the person working on education issues
  • Identify yourself as a constituent and the organization that you represent (if any)
Regards,
Ari Ne'eman
President
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network
http://www.autisticadvocacy.org
info@autisticadvocacy.org
(202) 596-1056