No Rollback of Protections for Kids (New Hampshire)

It’s unbelievable: in an age when students and educators alike are afraid to enter schoolhouse doors for numerous reasons, that we would give them one more thing to fear. Yet that is exactly what HB 1688 does. The bill seeks to make it easier to lay hands on kids (restraint) and easier to force kids into solitary confinement (seclusion).

There is a myth that restraint and isolation procedures are necessary to keep kids and caregivers safe. There is no research – none – indicating that that is the case. In fact, it is when kids are being restrained and secluded that they and their caregivers are at greatest risk for being hurt. There are many, many schools dealing with equally difficult kids that never use restraint and isolation/seclusion. Those schools and school systems recognize that restraint and isolation are failed, obsolete practices.

New Hampshire was on the right track last session with HB 653 (engrossed, but died in chamber), establishing a pilot program for schools to implement training that address students' challenging behavior in proactive, not reactive ways.

Training is the answer - not more physical management of kids. Oppose HB 1688.