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 Respect ABILITY Law
Center
CALL TO ACTION:
ELIMINATE OPEN CARRY FIREARMS IN MICHIGAN SCHOOLS
When it comes to
guns, Michigan is an “open carry” state. This means that
people who lawfully purchase handguns generally may wear
them in outside holsters whether or not they have a license
to carry a concealed handgun. In Michigan, open carry
practices allow lawful gun owners to openly carry rifles and
shotguns as well as handguns. Michigan law creates
“gun free zones” [MCL 750.234d] and “weapons free school
zones” [MCL 750.237a] where gun possession or use is
severely restricted.
Click here to download the call to action.
Click here to download a sample letter you can use.
New Article:
HOW DO WE KNOW THEY ARE LEARNING?
© 2015 Patricia D. Luker - There is a lot of talk today
about assessing i.e. measuring what a student has learned.
The basic question is “What particular areas of knowledge do
you intend to assess?” Up until recently, you could count on
most people agreeing that schools exist and are funded to
teach children the three C’s ... Communication through
reading, Communication through writing, and Calculation. (If
you are really quite ancient, you’d probably call these the
three R’s for reading, ’riting, and ’rithmetic.)
TAKE
ACTION: CONTACT YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS
Every
student deserves to learn and grow in a safe, supportive
environment, yet each day children across the U.S. continue
to be subjected to restraint and seclusion abuse. We can do
more to protect our kids, and we can start by advocating for
federal policy that puts an end to restraint and seclusion
abuse.
As a
partner organization of the Stop Hurting Kids campaign, Our
Children Left Behind is asking you to contact your
congressperson in the U.S. House of Representatives with a
simple message: stop hurting kids. It takes just minutes to
make a difference, and you can do it right from the Stop
Hurting Kids campaign website at
http://stophurtingkids.com.
We’re
reaching out to members of the House because HR 1893 – known
as the Keeping All Students Safe Act – has already been
introduced, and has a chance of being included as an
amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. All
it takes is for Congress to vote “yes” to include this
amendment, and the provisions
outlined in the bill will be included in the House’s
version of ESEA.
What
You Can Do …
Contact
your member of Congress to urge them to vote yes to include
the Keeping All Students Safe Act as an amendment to the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act. You can visit
the Stop Hurting Kids website or send a message from the
campaign’s Facebook page at http://stophurtingkids.com/fbcongress.
A sample
message is included at the Stop Hurting Kids website, along
with additional information about HR 1893 – the Keeping All
Students Safe Act – and other resources.
We also
invite you to share your personal experiences with us and
we have been posting collections of these stories on the
Stop Hurting Kids campaign blog. If you email your stories
to us at
tluker@ralawcenter.com we will forward them to the
campaign blog for inclusion. If you haven’t already, you
may see the campaign blog here: http://stophurtingkids.com/tag/share-your-story/
Please
help us end restraint/seclusion and abuse of children in our
nation’s public schools. The children need your voice.
(Added June 26, 2013)
Teacher Punching Special Needs Student Caught on Video
Restraint and Seclusion in Schools HB 4676
introduced May 24, 2011
Superintendent's Letter to the Governor: "This is Why I'm
Proposing to Make My School a Prison"
Shouldn’t School Be Safe?
A parent’s guide on prevention, detection and response to
restraint, seclusion or other aversive interventions. The
process of finding help when a child is abused is not always
clear, and many parents are discouraged or overwhelmed by the
patchwork of laws and regulations handling restraint and
seclusion in schools. Shouldn’t School Be Safe? is a free
resource developed for parents and by parents that offers
insight and advice to respond to and prevent restraint and
seclusion.
Download the
report here.
Learn More About Us
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BIOS
Calvin has been a lawyer since 1981 and has concentrated
exclusively on issues related to people with disabilities
since 1990, including 10 years with the Michigan Protection
and Advocacy Service. Calvin specializes in individual
representation in Special Education; end of life issues;
fair housing law; guardianship/ conservatorship law; juvenile
justice; and other legal areas when they directly impact his
clients with disabilities. Calvin also has been involved in
issue/ systems work through governmental lobbying, non-profit
and parent group advocacy. He has presented seminars and
workshops locally and nationally on many disability-related
issues including special education; housing law;
alternatives to guardianships and conservatorships; respite
care; advocacy strategies; positive behavior support;
alternatives to restraint and seclusion; ADA; and ADHD.
Calvin is a disabled Vietnam veteran.
Tricia is and always will be Jessica's Mom. Beginning
in 1975, Tricia obtained her expertise in special education,
community supports and parent advocacy through her direct
efforts for Jessica and her family. She was the Director of
Training at Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service for 6
years, and the Director of Family Services for Michigan's
Parent Training and Information Center. Tricia has worked as
a consultant for the Beach Center on Disability at the
University of Kansas and at Exceptional Parent Magazine. She
also has created and managed parent training programs for
the Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan. Tricia was a core
member/consultant for MI Department of Education Positive
Behavior Support (PBS) Pilot Project, where she co-wrote
state PBS manual, conducted PBS awareness seminars for
parents and professionals and acted as a PBS coach at a
pilot inner city middle school. Tricia has presented
seminars nationally on special education, service delivery,
PBS, alternatives to restraint and seclusion and other
issues important to children and young adults who have
disabilities and the families who support them. Tricia’s
work as a legal advocate concentrates on special education
and Medicaid home and community-based waivers for children
and adults.
Calvin and Tricia are proud founders and team members
of Our Children Left Behind, created in 2003 to preserve the
protections in IDEA '97. They also have been active in
efforts in Michigan and nationally to eliminate the use of
seclusion, restraints and aversives in public and charter
schools; and have made presentations on the dangers of
restraint/seclusion/aversives nationally.
The Respect ABILITY Law Center is a vehicle Tricia
and Calvin created in 2001 to advance the civil, service and
support rights of and for people with disabilities and their
families. The Respect ABILITY Law Center is a founding
member of the Alliance to Prevent Aversive Intervention and
Seclusion [APRAISE], a national organization dedicated to
the enactment and implementation of national legislation to
eliminate the use of seclusion, restraint and aversives in
all schools. |
