Parents push for changing how disabled are taught

By Tiffany Lankes
Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Florida parents are pushing for a law that could dramatically change how teachers treat students with disabilities, banning techniques such as secluding children in isolated rooms, strapping them into chairs and spraying them with liquids.

The bill would require school districts to train teachers non-physical strategies for working with special needs students. It also would require teachers to file reports and notify a child's parents when restraints are used in emergency situations.

If the bill is passed, Florida would have one of the toughest laws in the country for regulating the treatment of the state's 376,000 students - about 14 percent - who qualify for special education.

"What we're talking about here is creating safety for teachers and children ," said Sylvia Smith, with Florida's Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities.

A similar proposal died last year after critics said it was vague and could restrict teachers too much. And this time around, the state is dealing with a severe budget shortage, also putting the future of the bill in doubt.

"Anything that is going to have a fiscal impact in this kind of year is going to be a problem," said Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee.

But supporters are pinning their hopes on a growing advocacy movement among parents, who say techniques referenced in the bill are dangerous. The movement gained steam after a former Venice Elementary teacher was found not guilty of abusing her profoundly disabled students, even after admitting to hitting them in the head with objects and strapping them in chairs to control their movement.

"There's just been too much going on," said Sharon Boyd, a Charlotte County parent who has been at the forefront of the push for the legislation. "We're done with it."

Hundreds of supporters plan to rally for the bill in Tallahassee on Developmental

Disabilities Awareness Day on Tuesday.

Florida's Department of Education has been trying for more than a year to implement its own rules, but each time it has brought a proposal to the table parents and advocates have said it is not strict enough.

Some of the techniques banned in the bill may seem surprising to people unfamiliar with special education classrooms, where teachers sometimes use unconventional strategies to teach students with extreme learning challenges and to control their behavior.

But the state does not have any policies or laws regulating what techniques teachers can use, even though there are rules for people who work with the disabled in health care settings.

The state allows school districts to decide, but most do not have specific written guidelines.

Parents and advocates say properly trained teachers can manage behavior without getting physical.

There is no way to know how widespread the use of restraints is in Florida classrooms.

Most school districts do not require teachers to record instances, or report them to anyone - including parents.

Some parents say they have no idea their children are being restrained until they come home with injuries.

"No one knows what goes on behind those doors," said Boyd, whose 9-year-old son has autism.

Even educators debate the legitimacy of restraints.

Administrators in Sarasota County say they do not allow teachers to use most of the techniques that would be outlawed in the bill.

"When I review the bill I didn't see it as an additional burden," said Sonia Figaredo-Alberts, who oversees Sarasota's special education services.

The Florida Education Association has not taken a position on the bill, but spokesman Mark Pudlow said the organization has a lot of concerns .

The bill has not yet been scheduled for a hearing before either of the Legislature's education committees, but Detert said her staff is conducting an analysis of its costs and its impact.

Advocates say that school districts already spend money on training and could redirect their resources.

They also say if teachers are using the correct techniques the need to use physical restraints, and file the accompanying paperwork, will be rare.

Source: http://www.gainesville.com/article/2...ed-are-taught-

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