A CALL FOR
IMMEDIATE ACTION
Please take a few minutes now
to make the world
better
and help stop abuse
It is so easy to help!!!
Support and assist
children and youth
in
SPEAK OUT and HELP STOP
inhumane “behavioral
interventions”
on our youth!
You know better - and you can
help!
TAKE ACTION TODAY
AND keep this moving
to everyone
you know
Inhumane treatment affects all of us.
PLEASE RESPOND BY
Please
help!
You CAN
make a difference
today.
It is easy.
Concerned citizens (stakeholders and
peers) must write about 1,000 letters to impact this concern. We can do
it if YOU write a letter and get one other person to write a
letter also.
Following are facts and sample letters
to help you.
After you send your letter, you may (IF
YOU WISH) call The Mental Patients Liberation
Here is a sample of a form letter that
you can use. It is BEST to compose your own, original letter… HOWEVER, it
is understood that not everyone can do that easily.
You may print out the following letter
to use OR use the helpful sample format provided later in the packet (in blue).
Most importantly,
SEND A LETTER TODAY!
Dr. Rebecca H. Cort
Deputy Commissioner
Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with
Disabilities
Room 1606,
Attention: Comments – Proposed
Behavioral
Intervention Regulations
Dear Dr. Cort:
As a concerned resident of
I urge you to prohibit the dangerous, forced, and cruel interventions and
punishments proposed in the New York State Education Department Regarding
Proposed Regulations for Aversive, Timeout Rooms, and Physical Restraints AND
PROTECT OUR CHILDREN.
There currently are a multitude of settings in
Thank you for taking the needed time to consider my comments in this
important matter.
Sincerely,
_____________________________ Signature
_____________________________ Name
_____________________________ Street
Address
_____________________________ Phone Number (optional)
FACT SHEET
Proposed
regulations to the Rules of the Board of the Board of Regents and the Regulations
of the Commissioner of Education relating to behavioral interventions were
adopted at a Board of Regents meeting in June 2006 as an emergency action,
effective
Ø The proposed amendments to regulations generally
“prohibit” corporal punishment [and certain behavioral interventions]
and use of aversives WITH PROVISION AND PROCEDURES
FOR EXCEPTIONS
A civilized society will not bear cruel acts upon its members.
Ø EXCEPTIONS to
the proposed legislation include situations without threat of IMMINENT,
SERIOUS, PHYSICAL HARM, such as:
- the protection of
school property
- to restrain or
remove a pupil whose behavior is
interfering with the orderly
exercise and performance of school functions
- creation of a behavioral
intervention plan for certain
students “whenever the
student exhibits persistent behaviors that impede his or her learning…” that
allows for treatments and procedures otherwise prohibited
Ø Definitions from
proposed amendments:
Corporal Punishment: “any act of
physical force
upon a pupil for
the purpose of punishing that
pupil”
Aversive
[behavioral intervention}:
- “application of
noxious, painful, intrusive stimuli or activities intended to Induce pain
such as electric skin shock, ice applications, hitting, slapping, pinching,
kicking, hurling, strangling, shoving, deep muscle squeezes or other similar
stimuli;
- any form of
noxious, painful or intrusive spray, inhalant or tastes;
- withholding
sleep, shelter, bedding, bathroom facilities or clothing;
- contingent food programs
that include withholding meals or
limiting essential nutrition or hydration
or intentionally altering staple
food or drink in order to make it
distasteful;
- movement
limitation used as a
punishment, including but not limited to
helmets and mechanical restraint
devices;
- the placement of a child unsupervised or
unobserved in a room from which the
student cannot exit without assistance;
- or other similar
stimuli or actions.”
Torture is wrong for EVERY person
in EVERY
circumstance.
NOTE: [Aversive behavioral interventions] “The term does not
include such interventions as voice control, limited to loud, firm
commands; time-limited ignoring of a specific behavior; token fines as
part of a token economy system; brief physical prompts to interrupt or prevent
a specific behavior; interventions medically necessary for the treatment or
protection of a student; or similar interventions.
LETTER:
This is an example format of a letter that you may use to express your
opposition to the New York State Education Department regarding the
proposed AMENDMENT TO THE REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION, pursuant
to Education Law sections 207, 210, 305, 4401, 4402, 4403, and 4410 [regulations
for aversive, timeout rooms, and physical restraints].
Date
Dr. Rebecca H. Cort
Deputy Commissioner
Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with
Disabilities
Room 1606,
Attention: Comments – Proposed Behavioral Intervention Regulations
Dear Dr. Cort:
State your purpose in writing the letter - Include: “I oppose
the appalling use of aversives,
violence, and
unregulated seclusion....
Who do you represent? Include: Group affiliations and
population
you represent
Why do you oppose the amendments?
Ø Aversives, restraints, and
seclusion are inhumane and violate human rights
Ø There are safer and more
effective means to engage people who are acting out that protect them and
others, deescalate crisis situations, protect property, and teach acceptable
behaviors conducive to learning
Added Facts:
Ø The highest risks of
injury (to staff and youth) occur when restraints are applied
Ø Physical restraint is
the use of bodily force. The regulations do not distinguish between forced
physical contact and consensual, solicited, or unintentional touch.
Ø The reporting
requirements and oversight of the proposed legislation is inadequate.
Ø The “exceptions” for
expanded use of aversives, restraint, and seclusion
are vague, arbitrary, and contradict the implied restrictions.
Ø Aversives are torture:
“intended to induce pain”
Ø Restraint is a violent
procedure
Ø Seclusion is often
traumatic to the recipient and ineffective
In conclusion: Summarize main points; thank Dr. Cort
for her
time and attention to this matter
Closing: Sign letter - Include contact information: name,
address,
and phone number (optional)
Email Dr. Rebecca H. Cort
at vesidspe@mail.nysed.gov
Children and Youth are OUR
responsibility!
Cruel and unusual punishments are human
rights violations.
YOU KNOW BETTER…
YOU CAN HELP!
1. Write and send your letter TODAY (email or snail
mail or both!) to oppose the use of aversives, restraints,
and time out rooms on the children and youth of
2. Contact family, friends, and neighbors;
urge them to do the same (we are all in this
together).
3. Learn more - a
summary of the regulations can be found at:
http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/behavioral/requirements606.htm#sum
more information is available at:
http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/behavioral/publichearing.htm
For more information from a Youth Leader, contact Stephanie Orlando,
Statewide Youth Coordinator, Families Together in
At (518) 598-2467 x21 or by Email: Sorlando@ftnys.org
It is appalling that the Rules of the Board of Regents and the Regulations
of the Commissioner of Education would allow unconscionable acts
against our children and youths.
Consider that any parent would be criminally prosecuted for administering
the “aversive behavioral interventions” listed
in the proposed regulations…
and rightly so.
PLEASE take action TODAY
__._,_.___