To prohibit the use of corporal punishment in schools, and for other purposes.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The bill establishes key definitions for the Act including corporal punishment, exclusionary discipline, positive behavioral interventions and supports, program, and program personnel, authorizes the Attorney General to bring civil actions against schools that violate the corporal punishment ban when parents file written complaints, providing federal enforcement mechanism, and requires the Secretary of Education to refer corporal punishment complaints to the Office for Civil Rights, with enforcement powers including withholding federal funds, compliance agreements, and cease and desist orders. It relies on compliance mandates, reporting requirements, definition changes, and grants. The main policy areas are Education.
Who Benefits and How
Students with disabilities could face reduced risk, Students in federally-funded schools could face reduced risk, and State educational agencies could gain revenue opportunities.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Schools receiving federal funding would take on compliance duties, Department of Education would take on compliance duties, and State educational agencies would take on compliance duties.
Key Provisions
- Establishes key definitions for the Act including corporal punishment, exclusionary discipline, positive behavioral interventions and supports, program, and program personnel.
- Authorizes the Attorney General to bring civil actions against schools that violate the corporal punishment ban when parents file written complaints, providing federal enforcement mechanism.
- Requires the Secretary of Education to refer corporal punishment complaints to the Office for Civil Rights, with enforcement powers including withholding federal funds, compliance agreements, and cease and desist orders.
- Requires schools to notify parents, state educational agencies, and law enforcement within 24 hours if corporal punishment occurs. Provides additional protections for students with disabilities including notification...
- Requires state educational agencies to submit written assurances of compliance and school climate reports to the Secretary of Education.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
The bill establishes key definitions for the Act including corporal punishment, exclusionary discipline, positive behavioral interventions and supports, program, and program personnel, authorizes the Attorney General to bring civil actions against schools that violate the corporal punishment ban when parents file written complaints, providing federal enforcement mechanism, and requires the Secretary of Education to refer corporal punishment complaints to the Office for Civil Rights, with enforcement powers including withholding federal funds, compliance agreements, and cease and desist orders.
Key Policy Areas
Education
Primary Purpose
The bill establishes key definitions for the Act including corporal punishment, exclusionary discipline, positive behavioral interventions and supports, program, and program personnel, authorizes the Attorney General to bring civil actions against schools that violate the corporal punishment ban when parents file written complaints, providing federal enforcement mechanism, and requires the Secretary of Education to refer corporal punishment complaints to the Office for Civil Rights, with enforcement powers including withholding federal funds, compliance agreements, and cease and desist orders.
Policy Domains
General Provisions (Sections 1-3)
Identified Gains
- Students with disabilities
- Students in federally-funded schools
- State educational agencies
- Parents of students
- Private schools without federal funding
Identified Costs
- Schools receiving federal funding
- Department of Education
- State educational agencies
- Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA)
- Bureau of Indian Education schools
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMs. Bonamici (for herself, Mrs. McBath, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Homeschooling families, Military-connected students, Native American students in BIE schools
Private schools without federal funding, Schools receiving federal funding
Positive-direction: Private schools without federal funding
Negative-direction: Schools receiving federal funding
Bureau of Indian Education schools, Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), Department of Education
Department of Education faces effects in multiple directions
Local educational agencies, State educational agencies
Local educational agencies, State educational agencies face effects in multiple directions
Education consultants and training providers, Restorative justice practitioners
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Education
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Education
- "the_attorney_general"
- → Attorney General of the United States
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Education
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Education
- "the_secretary_of_defense"
- → Secretary of Defense
- "the_secretary_of_the_interior"
- → Secretary of the Interior
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A schoolwide, systematic approach embedding evidence-based practices and data-driven decision making to improve school climate and achieve improved academic and social outcomes.
All operations of a local educational agency, vocational education system, Head Start programs, or private elementary/secondary schools serving students receiving special education under IDEA.
Any agent of a program including employees and contractors such as school leaders, teachers, paraprofessionals, and staff, but explicitly excluding law enforcement officers and school security guards.
A deliberate act causing a student physical pain for discipline purposes, including striking, spanking, paddling, requiring painful physical positions, or use of chemical sprays, electroshock weapons, or stun guns.
Any disciplinary action that removes or excludes a student from usual educational setting, including in-school suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, or any removal resulting in lost instructional time.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology