SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 13

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2010

INTRODUCED BY

Mary Jane M. Garcia

FOR THE LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION STUDY COMMITTEE

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THAT THE PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, IN COLLABORATION WITH DIRECTORS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND OTHER APPROPRIATE SCHOOL PERSONNEL, ADVOCACY GROUP REPRESENTATIVES, PARENTS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS, FORM A WORK GROUP TO EXAMINE THE ISSUES AND CONCERNS RELATED TO RESTRAINT AND SECLUSION OF PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS.

     WHEREAS, since 2006, attention to issues of physical restraint and seclusion of students has risen across the United States as a result of published accounts of alleged abuse; and

     WHEREAS, a recent report issued by the United States government accountability office found that there are no federal laws restricting the use of seclusion and restraint of students in public or private schools; and

     WHEREAS, a report issued by the New Mexico public school insurance authority indicated that a total of two hundred seventy-one restraint and seclusion instances occurred over a ten-year period in New Mexico schools, at a cost of over four million four hundred thousand dollars ($4,400,000) in liability; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico law addresses physical restraint and seclusion of children only in the Children's Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Act, which applies only to children in hospitals or psychiatric residential treatment or habilitation facilities, not to students in public schools; and

     WHEREAS, the public education department reports that two guidance documents have been issued to school districts related to restraint and seclusion; and

     WHEREAS, those documents state that although physical restraint may be justified in certain instances, that type of intervention may pose a serious risk to the student, as well as to persons applying the restraint;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the public education department be requested to create a work group to examine the issues and concerns related to restraint and seclusion of public school students to ensure that every student in every school under state jurisdiction is safe and protected from being unnecessarily or inappropriately restrained or secluded; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the work group include representation from directors of special education and other appropriate school personnel, organizations that advocate for the rights of children on this issue, parents and other appropriate stakeholders; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the work group identify positive behavioral interventions and support systems for improving important academic and behavioral outcomes for all students; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the work group present its findings and recommendations to the legislative education study committee and other appropriate interim legislative committees during the 2010 interim; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of public education and the director of the legislative education study committee.

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