I hope that you'll support HR 4247, the Keeping All Students Safe Act, when it
comes to a floor vote shortly.  This bill is on the whole a balanced measure
that allows for the use of physical restraint in school settings only in cases
of emergencies where students would endanger themselves or others if not
restrained.  Students with cognitive disabilities, like all people, respond
best when they are repsected and supported in their positive behaviours, rather
than administered aversive treatments to discourage negative behaviours.

Importantly, this bill also outlaws "chemical restraint," that is, the
off-label use of drugs, without the order of a physician, to render students
docile.  The bill also requires that parents be told the same day of the
emergency use of any physical restraint.  These issues are important to me
because my autistic brother has been a victim of both chemical restraint and
physical abuse in what ought to have been a care setting, and my family wasn't
at the time informed of the physical treatment that my brother was enduring.

I feel less positive about HR 4247's reporting and administrative requirements
in Section 6 and following.  These requirements could place undue burdens on
schools and state authorities that already are short on money and hours.  I
would support an amendment to lessen this reporting burden.  Nevertheless, the
bill on the whole is a good one and it deserves your support.