Dianne Feinstein Resonse from August, 2012

The bill being referred to has been stalled and vetoed, you can thank the union representing school administrators. 

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Dear Ms. Brandenburg:

Thank you for your letter expressing your support for the "Keeping All Students Safe Act" (S. 2020).  I appreciate the time you took to write and welcome the opportunity to respond.

As you mentioned, there is no federal law regulating the use of seclusion and restraints in schools, which have been used in some situations to address violent or noncompliant behavior by children.  A 2009 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that in the last two decades there have been hundreds of cases of alleged abuse or deaths related to the use of these methods in the classroom.  State laws and regulations vary widely on this issue, and in California, it is required that teachers and administrators receive training before using restraints and that a parent receive notice after restraints have been used.

On December 16, 2011, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced the "Keeping All Students Safe Act," which would establish minimum standards prohibiting school personnel from using physical restraint or seclusion, unless such measures are required to eliminate an imminent danger of serious physical harm to the student or others.  The bill would also authorize the Secretary of Education to award competitive State grants to establish, implement, and enforce policies to meet the new standards and to improve state and local capacity to collect and analyze data related to physical restraint and seclusion.  S. 2020 is currently pending in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

Please be assured that I have noted your support for this bill and will be sure to keep your comments in mind should it come before the full Senate for consideration. 

Again, thank you for writing.  If you have any additional questions or comments, please feel free to contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841.  Best regards.

Sincerely yours,


  Dianne Feinstein
         United States Senator

Further information about my position on issues of concern to California and the nation are available at my website,Feinstein.senate.gov.  You can also receive electronic e-mail updates by subscribing to my e-mail list. Click here to sign up.  And please visit my YouTube, Facebook and Twitter for more ways to communicate with me.