Special to the Vanguard
Sacramento, CA – The State Senate took a crucial step toward protecting California’s most vulnerable students by unanimously advancing legislation by Senator Dave Cortese to ban “prone restraints” in K-12 schools.
Senate Bill (SB) 483 will prohibit school personnel from using physical restraint methods on students that involve holding children in a facedown position. These barbaric practices have raised alarm across the U.S. due to their potential to cause injury and death. Research has also found that the restraints are disproportionately applied to students with special needs and children of color.
“SB 483 ends the traumatizing and sometimes fatal practice of prone restraints in our 
schools,” said Senator Cortese (D-San Jose). “Parents should never have to worry about their children’s safety at school.”
“This bill is long overdue and will save the lives of vulnerable children in our state,” said Stacia Langley, a Davis resident whose 13-year-old son Max died after being subjected to a prone restraint. “We need to do everything in our power to keep children safe at school. I appreciate the Senate for recognizing the urgency of SB 483.”
Despite recommendations from the U.S. Department of Education to eliminate prone restraint, its use has persisted. California schools reported 6,785 incidents of physical restraints in the 2022-2023 school year alone, disproportionately affecting students with disabilities and Black students. Click here to look up data categorized by individual school districts.
When SB 483 becomes law, California will join over thirty states that have already banned prone restraints in schools. The measure is sponsored by Disability Rights California.
