In 2018 in Loudoun County, a nonspeaking child named Gigi was secluded in a makeshift room created with classroom furniture. In 2019, Fairfax County made national news for the misuse and misreporting of restraint and seclusion. In June 2019, Governor Northam signed Gigi’s Law, requiring the Virginia Department of Education to create regulations to limit restraint and seclusion. HB 1229 codifies these regulations—making them consistent statewide, enforceable, and not subject to change or rollback through regulation alone. This remains urgent. Recently in Virginia Beach, an 11-year-old was reportedly secluded for more than two hours in a similar makeshift space, repeatedly injuring himself, in an incident that may have contributed to his death. We would support a full ban on seclusion, as FCPS has done and Virginia Beach SEAC is now calling for, but in the meantime - Codifying these regulations as they are will protect students, support staff, and ensure consistent accountability. We urge you to support this bill.

Public Comment in Support of HB1229- VOTE YES! I’m writing in support of HB1229 because Virginia’s students deserve consistent, enforceable protections when it comes to the use of seclusion and restraint in schools. These practices carry real physical and emotional risks, especially for young children and for students with disabilities. The Board of Education’s existing regulations were created for a reason—they set clear limits, require documentation, and emphasize prevention and de‑escalation. Codifying these protections in law ensures they cannot be weakened, ignored, or inconsistently applied across divisions. Families need to know that when a child is in crisis, the response will follow evidence‑based standards focused on safety, dignity, and de‑escalation. Without these safeguards in statute, students—particularly our most vulnerable learners—are at greater risk of harm. HB1229 strengthens accountability and transparency by making these protections part of the law rather than leaving them solely to regulation. This bill does not prevent schools from responding to emergencies. It simply ensures that any use of seclusion or restraint is governed by clear, statewide rules designed to protect children and guide staff toward safer, more effective practices. For the well‑being of students and the peace of mind of families, I urge you to support HB1229.

According to data for 2024-2025 posted on the Virginia Department of Education website, 66 school divisions (of 131) did not restrain any students, and 104 did not seclude any students. What can be learned from the schools that didn't find it necessary to restrain and/or seclude students? This bill seems to be based on existing VDOE regulations, which rely on outdated behaviorism approaches. A more preventative approach would focus on trauma-informed, neurodiversity affirming, neurodevelopmentally appropriate, brain science aligned practices that recognize the impact of stress on brain functioning and differentiate between intended (chosen) behaviors and stress reactions (fight, flight, freeze, fawn), since different responses are required. It is disturbing that the bill presumes that a child with a disability may be likely to “require” restraint and seclusion.

1229 while hard to understand the context got a thumbs up from fellow autistics. That’s good enough for me. And 298 I’ve been getting voters’ attention about for weeks. I wish we had both these bills when I was a student.

I support this bill because it draws a firm, necessary line between protecting students and harming them. HB 1229 does not ban schools from intervening in emergencies. It preserves the ability of staff to act when a student or others are in immediate danger. What it does is make sure that those interventions are rare, clearly justified, humane, and transparent. For too long, restraint and seclusion have lived in a gray area where practices varied widely from school to school, parents were sometimes notified late or not at all, and students, particularly students with disabilities, bore the risk. This bill replaces that uncertainty with clear rules, strong safeguards, and real accountability. It prioritizes: De-escalation over force Safety over convenience Transparency over discretion Support over punishment Just as important, it protects educators by setting clear standards and training expectations, rather than leaving them exposed to inconsistent policies or after-the-fact scrutiny. At its core, this bill says something simple but powerful: Emergency measures should never become routine, and safety should never come at the cost of dignity. That is a principle worth supporting.