The Survival Coalition of Wisconsin Disability Organizations congratulates the Assembly today for passing SB 527 the seclusion and restraint bill, that will further ensure students are protected from harmful practices, support schools and keep parents informed.

The bill includes common sense changes to the state’s current seclusion and restraint law (Act 125) including requiring schools to report annually to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction about how frequently these practices are occurring and requiring schools to provide a written incident report to parents, (current law only requires that parents be notified that the report exists).

This bill is supported by advocacy organizations, public school organizations, and the Department of Public Instruction.

In data reported in the 2013-2014 school year, seclusion and restraint in our Wisconsin Public Schools have been used over 20,000 times with nearly 80% of the incidents happening to students with disabilities. The current law was a good first step in protecting students with disabilities, but changes were needed to the law to continue to reduce the use of seclusion and restraint.

We look forward to Governor’s Evers quickly signing the bill and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction working to implement the annual reporting requirements in the coming year.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email