Gentile Calls for NY to Remove All Children From Rotenberg Shock Punishment School
GENTILE
CALLS ON CHANCELLOR TO REMOVE ALL NYC CHILDREN FROM CONTROVERSIAL SCHOOL ONCE AND
FOR ALL
CITY HALL – In light of recent developments, Councilman Vincent J. Gentile, a long-time advocate for New York’s most vulnerable, is calling on New York City Department of Education Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott to remove all New York children from the infamous Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, Massachusetts once and for all.
The Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) sent a letter to the Massachusetts
Executive Office of Health and Human Services saying it would no longer allow
federal Medicaid money to be used by anyone who lives at a facility that
employs electric shock intervention, even if that person is not receiving the
treatment themselves. Massachusetts has begun notifying the families of its
students that they must either move to a new facility or unenroll from state
benefits immediately.
“CMS made the right decision – no federal tax dollars should be going to an institution
that uses these electric shock techniques on children. It’s time New York State
and New York City to do the same – no city or state money should go to support
an institution which subjects its students to these cruel and unusual forms of
‘behavior modification’. The Rotenberg Center in Massachusetts where 120 NYC
developmentally disabled students currently attend, is in gross violation of
the most fundamental standards of humane treatment of people with
disabilities”, Councilman Gentile said. “With CMS pulling its funding, we
are one step closer to shutting down Rotenberg once and for all.”
As a New York State Senator, Councilman Gentile introduced legislation to mandate oversight and accountability when developmentally disabled students are sent out-of-state for education and treatment. Then, in late 2009, Councilman Gentile sponsored “Billy’s Law” which requires the Department of Education to provide the City Council with bi-annual reports monitoring all out-of-state residential facilities that house New York State children for specialized educational services – both pieces of legislation passed unanimously.
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