[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3265 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3265
To prohibit the use of corporal punishment in schools, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 8, 2025
Ms. Bonamici (for herself, Mrs. McBath, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Ms.
Pingree, Mr. Beyer, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Takano, Mr. Soto, Ms.
McClellan, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mrs. Hayes, Mr.
Keating, Mr. Courtney, Mr. Lynch, Ms. Scanlon, Mr. Pocan, Mrs. Watson
Coleman, Ms. Jayapal, and Ms. Tokuda) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in
addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit the use of corporal punishment in schools, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting our
Students in Schools Act of 2025''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act are as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Purposes.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
TITLE I--PROHIBITION OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT
Sec. 101. Prohibition of corporal punishment.
Sec. 102. Civil actions by the Attorney General.
Sec. 103. Enforcement by the Office for Civil Rights.
Sec. 104. Parent notification and protection and advocacy systems.
TITLE II--STATE ACTIVITIES AND GRANT PROGRAM
Sec. 201. State plan and enforcement.
Sec. 202. Grant authority.
TITLE III--ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 301. Federal regulations.
Sec. 302. Other schools.
Sec. 303. Limitation of authority.
Sec. 304. Applicability to private schools and home schools.
Sec. 305. Severability.
Sec. 306. Authorization of appropriations.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are to--
(1) eliminate the use of corporal punishment in schools;
(2) ensure, regardless of sexual orientation, gender
identity or expression, sex, race, color, national origin,
disability, or religion, the health and safety of all students
and program personnel in schools and promote a positive school
climate and culture;
(3) assist States, local educational agencies, and schools
in improving school climate and culture by implementing
positive behavioral interventions and supports, and other
models (including models such as restorative justice
interventions, trauma-informed care, multi-tiered system of
supports, crisis and de-escalation interventions, implicit bias
training, and culturally responsive teaching), to address
student behavior and work to eliminate the use of exclusionary
and aversive discipline practices or interventions;
(4) ensure all program personnel have the supports and
training necessary to implement positive behavioral
interventions and supports and other models to address student
behavior and improve school climate and culture; and
(5) collect and analyze data on exclusionary and aversive
discipline practices or interventions in schools.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Corporal punishment.--The term ``corporal punishment''
means, with respect to a student, a deliberate act which causes
the student to feel physical pain for the purpose of
discipline, including an act of physical force, such as
striking, spanking, or paddling, inflicted on a student's body,
requiring a student to assume a painful physical position, or
the use of chemical sprays, electroshock weapons, or stun guns
on a student's body.
(2) ESEA terms.--The terms ``elementary school'',
``evidence-based'', ``local educational agency'', ``outlying
area'', ``parent'', ``secondary school'', ``Secretary'',
``State'', and ``State educational agency'' have the meanings
given the terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
(3) Exclusionary discipline.--The term ``exclusionary
discipline'' means any type of disciplinary action that removes
or excludes a student from the student's usual educational
setting, or from access to education services, including such
disciplinary actions as in-school suspensions, out-of-school
suspensions, expulsions, or any other removal, however labeled,
that results in lost instructional time for the student.
(4) Model.--The term ``model'' means an activity, strategy,
framework, or intervention that is evidence-based, to the
extent practicable.
(5) Positive behavioral interventions and supports.--The
term ``positive behavioral interventions and supports''--
(A) means a schoolwide, systematic approach that
embeds evidence-based practices and data-driven
decision making to improve school climate and culture
in order to achieve improved academic and social
outcomes and increase learning for all students
(including students with the most complex and intensive
behavioral needs); and
(B) encompasses a range of systemic and
individualized positive strategies to teach and
reinforce school-expected behaviors, while discouraging
and diminishing undesirable behaviors.
(6) Program.--The term ``program'' means--
(A) all of the operations of a local educational
agency, system of vocational education, or other school
system;
(B) a program that serves children who receive
services for which financial assistance is provided in
accordance with the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et
seq.); or
(C) an elementary school or secondary school that
is not a public school that enrolls a student who
receives special education and related services under
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20
U.S.C. 1400 et seq.).
(7) Program personnel.--
(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the
term ``program personnel'' means any agent of a
program, including an individual who is employed by a
program, or who performs services for a program on a
contractual basis, including--
(i) school leaders;
(ii) teachers;
(iii) specialized instructional support
personnel;
(iv) paraprofessionals; or
(v) other staff.
(B) Exclusion.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (A),
program personnel shall not include a law enforcement
officer or a school security guard.
(8) Protection and advocacy system.--The term ``protection
and advocacy system'' means a protection and advocacy system
established under section 143 of the Developmental Disabilities
Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15043).
(9) Law enforcement officer.--The term ``law enforcement
officer''--
(A) means any person who--
(i) is a State, Tribal, or local law
enforcement officer (as defined in section 1204
of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10284));
and
(ii) is assigned by the employing law
enforcement agency to a program, who is
contracting with a program, or who is employed
by a program; and
(B) includes an individual referred to as a
``school resource officer'' if that individual meets
the definition in subparagraph (A).
(10) School security guard.--The term ``school security
guard'' means an individual who is not a sworn law enforcement
officer and who is responsible for addressing one or more of
the following safety and crime prevention activities in and
around a program:
(A) Assisting program personnel in safety
incidents.
(B) Educating students in crime and illegal drug
use prevention and safety.
(C) Developing or expanding community justice
initiatives for students.
(D) Training students in conflict resolution and
supporting restorative justice programs.
(E) Serving as a liaison between the program and
outside agencies, including other law enforcement
agencies.
(F) Screening students or visitors to the program
for prohibited items.
(11) Student.--The term ``student'' means an individual
enrolled in a program.
TITLE I--PROHIBITION OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT
SEC. 101. PROHIBITION OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT.
(a) Prohibition.--No student shall be subjected to corporal
punishment by program personnel, a law enforcement officer, or a school
security guard under any program which receives Federal financial
assistance.
(b) Private Right of Action.--A student who has been subjected to
corporal punishment by program personnel, a law enforcement officer, or
a school security guard in violation of subsection (a), or the parent
of such student, may file a civil action in any Federal or State court
of competent jurisdiction against the program under which the violation
is alleged to have occurred for attorneys' fees, expert fees,
injunctive relief, and compensatory damages.
SEC. 102. CIVIL ACTIONS BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.
Whenever the Attorney General receives a complaint in writing
signed by a parent (including a legal guardian) or a group of parents
(including legal guardians) to the effect that the minor children of
such a parent or parents are being deprived by a program of the right
under this Act to not be subject to corporal punishment by program
personnel, law enforcement officers, or school security guards and the
Attorney General believes the complaint is meritorious, the Attorney
General is authorized, after giving notice of such complaint to the
appropriate program and after certifying that the Attorney General is
satisfied that such program has had a reasonable time to adjust the
conditions alleged in such complaint, to institute for or in the name
of the United States a civil action in any appropriate district court
of the United States against such parties and for such relief as may be
appropriate, and such court shall have and shall exercise jurisdiction
of proceedings instituted pursuant to this section. The Attorney
General may implead as defendants such additional parties as are or
become necessary to the grant of effective relief hereunder.
SEC. 103. ENFORCEMENT BY THE OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS.
(a) Referral to Office for Civil Rights.--The Secretary shall refer
any complaint alleging a violation of section 101(a) to the Office for
Civil Rights of the Department of Education for an investigation.
(b) Process for Referral.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop and implement a
procedure for receiving a complaint alleging a violation of section
101(a).
(c) Failure To Comply.--In the event that a program has failed to
comply with section 101(a), the Secretary shall carry out at least one
of the following:
(1) Withhold from such program, in whole or in part,
further payments (including payments for administrative costs)
under an applicable program (as such term is defined in section
400(c) of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C.
1221(c))) in accordance with section 455 of such Act (20 U.S.C.
1234d).
(2) Enter into a compliance agreement in accordance with
section 457 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C.
1234f).
(3) Issue a complaint to compel compliance of such program
through a cease and desist order, in the same manner the
Secretary is authorized to take such action under section 456
of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1234c).
(d) Cessation of Withholding of Funds.--If the Secretary determines
(whether by certification or other appropriate evidence) that a program
that is subject to the withholding of payments under subsection (c)(1)
of this section has cured the failure providing the basis for the
withholding of payments on a date that is within one year from the date
on which such payments were first withheld, the Secretary shall--
(1) cease the withholding of payments with respect to that
program under such subsection; and
(2) reimburse all the withheld payments under such
subsection to such program.
(e) Withheld Funds.--The funds appropriated or made available for
the payments that were withheld under subsection (c)(1) shall be
available for expenditure to that program pursuant to this subsection
for up to one year from the date upon which the determination in
subsection (d) was made.
(f) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to limit the Secretary's authority under the General
Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.).
SEC. 104. PARENT NOTIFICATION AND PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY SYSTEMS.
(a) Notification.--If a student is subject to corporal punishment
committed by program personnel, a law enforcement officer, or a school
security guard at a program, the program serving such student shall
notify, in writing, not later than 24 hours after such use of force
occurs, the facts of such use of force to--
(1) the parent or parents of such student;
(2) the State educational agency; and
(3) the local law enforcement agency.
(b) Notification for Students With Disabilities.--In the case of a
student described in subsection (a) who is an individual with a
disability (as defined in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102)) the program serving such student shall--
(1) in addition to the notification described in such
subsection, notify, in writing, not later than 24 hours after
the use of force described in such subsection occurs, the facts
of such use of force to the relevant protection and advocacy
system; and
(2) provide any information to the relevant protection and
advocacy system that the protection and advocacy system may
require.
(c) Restatement of Authority.--Protection and advocacy systems
shall have the same authorities and rights provided under subtitle C of
title I of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights
Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15041 et seq.) with respect to protections
provided for students under this Act when such students are otherwise
eligible to be clients of the protection and advocacy system, including
investigating, monitoring, and enforcing such protections.
TITLE II--STATE ACTIVITIES AND GRANT PROGRAM
SEC. 201. STATE PLAN AND ENFORCEMENT.
(a) State Requirements.--In accordance with the schedule specified
in subsection (c), each State educational agency that receives Federal
financial assistance shall provide to the Secretary--
(1) in the case of a State that did not prohibit corporal
punishment in schools before the date of enactment of this Act,
a written assurance that--
(A) all programs located in such State have been
notified of the requirements of this Act;
(B) all program personnel of such State educational
agency have received training with respect to such
requirements;
(C) parents of students served by such State
educational agency have been notified of the
requirements, rights, and remedies available under this
Act; and
(D) the notification required under subparagraph
(C) is publicly available on the website of the State
educational agency;
(2) in the case of a State that prohibited corporal
punishment in schools before the date of enactment of this Act,
a written assurance that all programs located in such State
have been notified of the requirements of this Act; and
(3) a school climate report that includes a description
of--
(A) the policies and procedures of the State
educational agency with respect to exclusionary and
aversive discipline practices or interventions in such
schools;
(B) how the State educational agency plans to
implement, is implementing, or has implemented positive
behavioral interventions and supports and other models
to address student behavior and reduce the use of
exclusionary and aversive discipline practices or
interventions in the public elementary and secondary
schools of such State as required under section
1111(g)(1)(C) of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(g)(1)(C)); and
(C) efforts of the State educational agency to
ensure program personnel receive the supports and
training necessary to implement the interventions,
supports, and other models described in subparagraph
(B).
(b) Local Educational Agency Requirements.--In accordance with the
schedule specified in subsection (c), each local educational agency
shall submit to the State educational agency a report that includes the
information the State educational agency determines necessary to comply
with the requirements of subsection (a).
(c) Submission Schedule.--States and local educational agencies
shall make the submissions required under subsections (a) and (b) as
follows:
(1) The initial submissions shall be made not later than
one year after the date of enactment of this Act and on an
annual basis during each of the 3 years followi