SAA Opposes Seclusion & Restraint Bill
Senate Bill 468, relating to the use of seclusion and restraint techniques, was introduced on January 22nd and will receive a public hearing before the Senate Committee on Education as early as Thursday, February 11th.
The School Administrators Alliance (SAA) strongly opposes SB 468. It is highly prescriptive and mandate-driven, will impose a significant fiscal burden on school districts, and will not, if passed, result in a common sense approach to protecting the safety of all Wisconsin school children and staff.
The SAA has the following major concerns about the bill:
- Federal legislation on the use of seclusion and restraint techniques has been introduced in the House (HR 4247) and the Senate (S 2860) and has considerable support. Federal law supersedes state law. A side-by-side analysis of the federal legislation and SB 468 uncovers numerous conflicts. Forcing school districts to administer conflicting state and federal laws would be a frustrating waste of time, energy and limited financial resources. The SAA recommends we postpone state legislative efforts until Congress passes legislation. The SAA has publicly pledged to participate in a stakeholder process on a state law once federal action is completed.
- The mandated training, reporting and other requirements imposed by the bill create a significant fiscal and operational burden that is difficult to justify at a time when schools are already cutting teaching staff and stretching resources in order to balance budgets.
- We believe that if the bill is enacted school districts will be so constrained by the bill’s restrictions, and the potential liability, that they will simply turn to law enforcement whenever they face an unruly or violent student. We do not believe that this would be in the best interests of children. And yet, this concern is validated by anecdotal evidence provided by school administrators in other states that have adopted legislation similar to SB 468.
Questions or comments? Contact John Forester at (608) 242-1370 or john.forester@wsaa.org.
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