LAST CHANCE: STOP RESTRAINT AND SECLUSION

[Guest guest]

Please consider attending this very important meeting

on Wednesday or send in your public comment. I have been told that they

have received VERY FEW letters. If you want there to be change in Georgia, NOW is

the time to act. I have included the sample letter from the GAO at the

bottom of this e-mail.

Regards,

Debbie

Dobbs, MS

Master of Science

Educational Consultant & Child Advocate

Health Care Consulting Services

678-315-2498 cell

678-475-0280 fax

debbie@...

www.debbiedobbs.com

Join me on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/pub/debbie-dobbs-ms/14/835/14a

CONFIDENTIAL & PRIVELEGED

Information contained in this communication is confidential and

privileged. It is not meant to represent legal or medical advice, but

rather advice given based on my knowledge as the parent of a child with

disabilities, a trained Parent Advocate by the GA Advocacy Office, a member of

the Council of Parent Advocates & Attorneys, by working in the medical

industry for over 20 years, training received from Pete on Special

Education Law and Advocacy, and medical coding and documentation courses.

Please do not forward without my permission.

URGENT!

Attend Hearing on

Restraint and Seclusion of Students in Georgia

Are you

outraged that any student in our public schools can be restrained and secluded

for any reason, at anytime, by any employee of a school district, without

telling the student's family? That any student can be locked in cells in

school for any length of time and no one know that it happened? Do you

want this to CHANGE?

The

State Board of Education must hear from YOU!

ATTEND or

WRITE THEM <http://www.thegao.org/sample.htm> about how they must protect

students and schools from these dangerous practices next Wednesday, June

9th in Atlanta

at 1:00. at the Department of

Education, located at 2053 Twin Towers East, 205 Hill Jr. Drive SE.

Atlanta 30334. (see below for directions)

THE

TIME IS NOW!

Please help us fill the room on June 9,

2010. If you can attend, please RSVP to Rashidah Ansari at GAO at

404-885-1234 or ransari@....

If you are not able to attend in person,

please write to the Board of Education to voice your concerns. A sample

template is here. <http://www.thegao.org/sample.htm>

The Safe

Schools Initiative is hosting a press conference following the public comment

(at 2:15 p.m.). Please stay and join the crowd to show the State that you

support safe learning environments for all students.

Meeting

details are as follows:

The

public hearing is at 1 p.m. at the Department of Education (DOE), which is

located at 2053 Twin Towers East, 205

Hill Jr. Drive SE, Atlanta 30334.

We

recommend you arrive early if you plan to make public comment. There will

be a sign-up sheet as you exit the elevator to the right. There is a food

court located in the building. We suggest you arrive early, sign up to

speak, then have lunch and return to the meeting space.

Please

note that all speakers have only three minutes to speak. For that reason,

we suggest you make a script or have notes to help you stay on track and within

the allotted time.

The Floyd

building is located directly northeast of the State Capitol in the block

between Piedmont Avenue

and Street,

facing Luther King, Jr.

Drive. Parking is available in the Pete Hackney

lot on Street.

To access the Floyd

Building, there is a

bridge on the 5th level of the parking deck. Once you cross the bridge, take

the stairs or elevator to the 3rd level to enter the Building.

For

premium convenience, the Georgia State MARTA Station is located in the Floyd Building.

Traveling

I-75/85 Southbound

Exit

#248A Luther King, Jr., Drive. Turn right onto Luther

King, turn right onto

Street, then right into the Pete Hackney

parking lot.

Traveling

I-75/85 Northbound

Exit #246 Fulton Street.

Turn right onto Fulton, then left onto Capitol

Avenue. Cross over Memorial Drive

turn right onto Luther King,

Jr. Drive. Turn left onto

Street, then right into the Pete

Hackney parking lot.

Traveling

I-20 Westbound

Exit 258A

Capital Avenue.

Turn right onto Capital Avenue

and follow to

Luther King, Jr. Drive

and turn right. Go to the first traffic

light and turn left onto

Street. Parking deck is on the right.

Traveling

I-20 Eastbound

Exit 256B

Windsor/Spring Street

follow straight on this street to

Central Avenue (3rd traffic light). Turn left onto Central Avenue turn

right on Memorial Drive. Go to second traffic light and turn left onto

Capitol Avenue.

Turn right onto Luther King

Jr. Drive. Turn left

onto Street.

Parking deck is on the right.

More information:

Parent to Parent:

http://www.p2pga.org/index.php?option=com_content & view=article & id=92 & catid=48 & Itemid=66

Georgia

Advocacy Office:

http://www.thegao.org/SafeSchools.htm

SAMPLE LETTER:

May

, 2010

VIA

E-Mail to ameyer@... and US

Mail

Allan

Meyer

Assistant Director, Policy

Georgia Department of Education

2053 Twin Towers East

205 Hill Jr. Drive, SE

Atlanta, GA

30334

RE:

Rule 160-5-1-.35 Seclusion and Restraint

Dear Mr.

Meyer:

I am

writing to provide feedback regarding the Rule 160-5-1-.35 “Seclusion and

Restraint for all Students.” I appreciate the opportunity to

comment on the draft rule and to be involved in the development of the rule

prior to its proposal. I care about this issue because… As

such, I am committed to the development of a rule that supports schools to

educate children in safe and positive environments that foster learning and

growth.

I support

the Department’s decision to address the issue of restraint and seclusion

through the development of a rule. In particular, I support GDOE’s

prohibition on seclusion, prone restraint, mechanical restraint, and chemical

restraint. The comments below are designed to impose significant

limitations on the use of physical restraint and to build safeguards into the

process by which school personnel use restraint on a student.

(Please

choose one, all, or none of the following bulleted points. Please add any

comments you wish to share with the Department of Education).

Physical restraint, an inherently dangerous

practice, should only be used in situations of risk of serious

bodily injury and is only justified based on actual behavior of the

student in the time of emergency.

Physical restraint may never be used for

disciplinary purpose, convenience of faculty or staff, or as a substitute

for appropriate positive teaching strategies, techniques, and

supports.

Restraint is prohibited to those situations when

less intrusive efforts are not effective and there is danger of serious

bodily injury to self or to others.

Schools should use Positive Behavior Supports as

an intervention for students with disruptive or challenging behaviors.

Early identification and intervention are key to effective

utilization.

Physical restraint should only be applied to

students by school personnel who have been trained and certified in a

State-approved training program consisting of instruction not only in

applying restraint, but also in de-escalation strategies and problem

solving techniques.

School systems should be required to document and

report each specific instance of physical restraint on a student in their

school.

Behavioral support for students must promote the

right of all students to be treated with dignity and to be educated in a

safe environment.

Data should be collected using uniform

methodology and regularly reviewed at the local, district, and state level

to ensure system wide compliance and transparency.

Data results and comparisons should be made

readily available to the Department of Education, parents and other

stakeholders in order to promote opportunities for training, education,

and development.

Standards of data collection concerning the use

of physical restraint should be uniform across all districts.

Districts with reduced incidences in accordance with set standards should

be recognized for achievement and highlighted for training opportunities;

conversely, districts who fail to decrease and/or exhibit an increase in

incidences of restraint and seclusion should be subject to further

investigation, probation, and appropriate re-training.

Individual incident counts should be an integral

facet of data collection in order to accurately trend schools and

districts effectively and/or excessively utilizing the approved practices

of restraint. The specific nature of this collection will serve to

promote accountability and awareness for administrators, facilitators, and

parents.

Again,

thank you for the opportunity to provide commentary on this initiated

rule. We respectfully request the School Board members resend the current

rule and strengthen the accountability and enforcement provisions and

reinitiate the rule in the June 2010 meeting to continue this important

work. I look forward to continuing to work with you to help keep the

children of Georgia

safe.

Sincerely,

Family

Doe

cc:

O'Hara

Associate Superintendent

Innovative Instruction

1752 Twin Towers East

205 Hill Jr. Drive, SE

Atlanta, GA

30334

nohara@...

Debbie Gay

Director, Special Education Services

1870 Twin Towers East

205 Hill Jr. Drive, SE

Atlanta, GA

30334

DGay@...

Kim Hartsell

Director, Special Education Supports

1870 Twin Towers East

205 Hill Jr. Drive, SE

Atlanta, GA

30334

khartsell@...

Ruby

Executive Director

Georgia

Advocacy Office

Safe Schools Initiative

150 E. Ponce de Leon Ave., Suite

430

Decatur, Georgia 30030

info@...

K.

Lipson, JD

Director, Parent Leadership Support Project

The Georgia

Advocacy Office

One Decatur Town Center

150 E. Ponce de Leon Ave., Suite

430

Decatur, GA

30030

(404) 885- 1234 or 1 (800) 537- 2329 (voice or TDD)

llipson@...

www.thegao.org