"Our nation was conceived as a place wherein all people could exercise their basic human rights in an atmosphere of freedom," stated the Texas Bishops in their statement Education Opportunity for All. "Among these rights is equal access to educational opportunities and resources so that each person can fully develop his or her potential."
The TCC supports the protection and safety for all students. However, H.R. 4247, the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act, imposes burdensome data collection, internal monitoring and reporting, and unprecedented federal certification requirements on private school personnel, rather than focusing directly on dangerous types of situations.
Please act by the end of Tuesday, March 2, 2010.
ACT NOW:
Please contact your member of the U.S. House of Representatives today or tomorrow March 2 to convey your opposition to H.R. 4247, Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act, in its current form. To find out who represents you in the U.S. House of Representatives, click here and insert your address. The following page will list all of your elected officials.We have a Legislator Contact form on our website here that you can download and print to have this information for later use.Feel free to write to us at info@txcatholic.org to let us know about your calling experience and about any responses you receive.
This bill is tentatively scheduled for a full vote by the House of Representatives on Thursday, March 4.
Sample Message:
I support Congress’ desire to protect and enhance the safety and well-being of all students enrolled in both public and private schools. However, I urge you to vote against H.R. 4247 in its present form.
I believe it would be unprecedented and intrusive for the Federal government to involve itself in some of the activities that would be required by H.R. 4247, such as:
- Collecting and analyzing data from private schools;
- Extending the requirements of this legislation to every private school which has even one student or one teacher participating in a program administered by the U.S. Department of Education; and
- Requiring school personnel to be certified in crisis intervention, although federal education law has never before imposed certification requirements on private school educators.
I urge you to vote against H.R. 4247 in its present form, and to alter the scope of this intrusive legislation so that it focuses directly on dangerous types of situations, rather than imposing burdensome data collection, internal monitoring and reporting, and unprecedented federal certification requirements on private school personnel. Thank you for your time."
For more information, contact the Secretariat of Catholic Education at 202-541-3132.
Legislative Links:
-Texas Catholic Conference Legislative Agenda
-Outcomes of the 81st Legislative Session
-Texas Catholic Conference Staff Blog
-Testimony and Letters
-Capitol Comments
The Texas Catholic Conference tries to be judicious in issuing alerts and does so when contact from constituents will make a difference at a critical moment in a bill's movement through the legislature. You may direct questions to Maria Huemmer, public relations and outreach coordinator at maria@txcatholic.org.
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