II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4936 

To prohibit the use of corporal punishment in schools, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 1, 2020 

Mr. MURPHY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To prohibit the use of corporal punishment in schools, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Protecting our Students in Schools Act of 2020’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 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. 


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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. 

Sec. 305. Severability. 

Sec. 306. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

2 The purposes of this Act are to— 

3 (1) eliminate the use of corporal punishment in 

4 schools; 

5 (2) ensure, regardless of sexual orientation, 

6 gender identity or expression, sex, race, color, na7 tional origin, disability, or religion, the health and 

8 safety of all students and program personnel in 

9 schools and promote a positive school climate and 

10 culture; 

11 (3) assist States, local educational agencies, 

12 and schools in improving school climate and culture 

13 by implementing positive behavioral interventions 

14 and supports and other models to address student 

15 behavior and work to eliminate the use of exclu16 sionary and aversive discipline practices or interven17 tions; 

18 (4) ensure all program personnel have the sup19 ports and training necessary to implement positive 


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1 behavioral interventions and supports and other 

2 models to address student behavior and improve 

3 school climate and culture; and 

4 (5) collect and analyze data on exclusionary and 

5 aversive discipline practices or interventions in 

6 schools. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) CORPORAL PUNISHMENT.—The term ‘‘cor10 poral punishment’’ means, with respect to a student, 

11 a deliberate act which causes the student to feel 

12 physical pain for the purpose of discipline, including 

13 an act of physical force, such as striking, spanking, 

14 or paddling, inflicted on a student’s body, requiring 

15 a student to assume a painful physical position, or 

16 the use of chemical sprays, electroshock weapon, or 

17 stun guns on a student’s body. 

18 (2) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘elementary 

19 school’’, ‘‘evidence-based’’, ‘‘local educational agen20 cy’’, ‘‘outlying area’’, ‘‘parent’’, ‘‘secondary school’’, 

21 ‘‘Secretary’’, ‘‘State’’, and ‘‘State educational agen22 cy’’ have the meanings given the terms in section 

23 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

24 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 


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1 (3) MODEL.—The term ‘‘model’’ means an ac2 tivity, strategy, framework, or intervention that is 

3 evidence-based, to the extent practicable. 

4 (4) POSITIVE BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS

5 AND SUPPORTS.—The term ‘‘positive behavioral 

6 interventions and supports’’— 

7 (A) means a schoolwide, systematic ap8 proach that embeds evidence-based practices 

9 and data-driven decisionmaking to improve 

10 school climate and culture in order to achieve 

11 improved academic and social outcomes and in12 crease learning for all students (including stu13 dents with the most complex and intensive be14 havioral needs); and 

15 (B) encompasses a range of systemic and 

16 individualized positive strategies to teach and 

17 reinforce school-expected behaviors, while dis18 couraging and diminishing undesirable behav19 iors. 

20 (5) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means— 

21 (A) all of the operations of a local edu22 cational agency, system of vocational education, 

23 or other school system; and 

24 (B) an elementary school or secondary 

25 school that is not a public school that enrolls a 


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1 student who receives special education and re2 lated services under the Individuals with Dis3 abilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et 

4 seq.). 

5 (6) PROGRAM PERSONNEL.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘program 

7 personnel’’ means any agent of a program, in8 cluding an individual who is employed by a pro9 gram, or who performs services for a program 

10 on a contractual basis, including— 

11 (i) school leaders; 

12 (ii) teachers; 

13 (iii) specialized instructional support 

14 personnel; 

15 (iv) paraprofessionals; or 

16 (v) other staff. 

17 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘program per18 sonnel’’ shall not include a school resource offi19 cer or a school security guard. 

20 (7) PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY SYSTEM.—The 

21 term ‘‘protection and advocacy system’’ means a 

22 protection and advocacy system established under 

23 section 143 of the Developmental Disabilities Assist24 ance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 

25 15043). 


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1 (8) SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER.—The term 

2 ‘‘school resource officer’’ means a sworn law enforce3 ment officer who— 

4 (A) is assigned by the employing police de5 partment to a program; 

6 (B) is contracting with a program; or 

7 (C) is employed by a program. 

8 (9) SCHOOL SECURITY GUARD.—The term 

9 ‘‘school security guard’’ means a contractor or an 

10 employee of a program responsible for addressing 

11 one or more of the following safety and crime pre12 vention activities with respect to a program: 

13 (A) Assisting program personnel in safety 

14 incidents. 

15 (B) Educating students in crime and ille16 gal drug use prevention and safety. 

17 (C) Developing or expanding community 

18 justice initiatives for students. 

19 (D) Training students in conflict resolution 

20 and supporting restorative justice programs. 

21 (E) Serving as a liaison between the pro22 gram and outside agencies, including other law 

23 enforcement agencies. 

24 (F) Screening students or visitors to the 

25 program for prohibited items. 


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1 (10) STUDENT.—The term ‘‘student’’ means an 

2 individual enrolled in a program. 

3 TITLE I—PROHIBITION OF 

4 CORPORAL PUNISHMENT 

5 SEC. 101. PROHIBITION OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT. 

6 (a) PROHIBITION.—No student shall be subjected to 

7 corporal punishment by program personnel, a school re8 source officer, or a school security guard, while attending 

9 any program that receives Federal financial assistance. 

10 (b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—A student who has 

11 been subjected to corporal punishment by program per12 sonnel, a school resource officer, or a school security 

13 guard, in violation of subsection (a), or the parent of such 

14 student, may file a civil action in any Federal or State 

15 court of competent jurisdiction against the program under 

16 which the violation is alleged to have occurred for attor17 neys’ fees, expert fees, injunctive relief, and compensatory 

18 damages. 

19 (c) NONAPPLICABILITY.—Section 615(l) of the Indi20 viduals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

21 1415(l)) shall not apply to an action filed pursuant to sub22 section (b), regardless of whether or not the student is 

23 seeking relief that is also available under the Individuals 

24 with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.). 


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1 SEC. 102. CIVIL ACTIONS BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. 

2 Whenever the Attorney General receives a complaint 

3 in writing signed by a parent (including a legal guardian) 

4 or a group of parents (including legal guardians) to the 

5 effect that the minor children of such a parent or parents 

6 are being deprived by a program of the right to not be 

7 subject to corporal punishment by program personnel, a 

8 school resource officer, or a school security guard, and the 

9 Attorney General believes the complaint is meritorious, the 

10 Attorney General is authorized, after giving notice of such 

11 complaint to the appropriate program and after certifying 

12 that the Attorney General is satisfied that such program 

13 has had a reasonable time to adjust the conditions alleged 

14 in such complaint, to institute for or in the name of the 

15 United States a civil action in any appropriate district 

16 court of the United States against such parties and for 

17 such relief as may be appropriate, and such court shall 

18 have and shall exercise jurisdiction of proceedings insti19 tuted pursuant to this section. The Attorney General may 

20 implead as defendants such additional parties as are or 

21 become necessary to the grant of effective relief hereunder. 

22 SEC. 103. ENFORCEMENT BY THE OFFICE FOR CIVIL 

23 RIGHTS. 

24 (a) REFERRAL TO OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS.—The 

25 Secretary shall refer any complaint alleging a violation of 


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1 section 101(a) to the Office for Civil Rights of the Depart2 ment of Education for an investigation. 

3 (b) PROCESS FOR REFERRAL.—Not later than 90 

4 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

5 shall develop and implement a procedure for receiving a 

6 complaint alleging a violation of section 101(a). 

7 (c) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—In the event that a pro8 gram has failed to comply with section 101(a), the Sec9 retary shall carry out at least one of the following: 

10 (1) Withhold from such program, in whole or in 

11 part, further payments (including payments for ad12 ministrative costs) under an applicable program (as 

13 such term is defined in section 400(c) of the General 

14 Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1221(c))) in 

15 accordance with section 455 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

16 1234d). 

17 (2) Enter into a compliance agreement in ac18 cordance with section 457 of the General Education 

19 Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1234f). 

20 (3) Issue a complaint to compel compliance of 

21 such program through a cease and desist order, in 

22 the same manner the Secretary is authorized to take 

23 such action under section 456 of the General Edu24 cation Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1234e). 


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1 (d) CESSATION OF WITHHOLDING OF FUNDS.—If 

2 the Secretary determines (whether by certification or other 

3 appropriate evidence) that a program that is subject to 

4 the withholding of payments under subsection (c)(1) has 

5 cured the failure providing the basis for the withholding 

6 of payments on a date that is within one year from the 

7 date on which such payments were first withheld, the Sec8 retary shall— 

9 (1) cease the withholding of payments with re10 spect to that program under such subsection; and 

11 (2) reimburse all the withheld payments under 

12 such subsection to such program. 

13 (e) WITHHELD FUNDS.—The funds appropriated or 

14 made available for the payments that were withheld under 

15 subsection (c)(1) shall be available for expenditure to that 

16 program for not longer than one year from the date upon 

17 which the determination in subsection (d) was made. 

18 (f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec19 tion shall be construed to limit the Secretary’s authority 

20 under the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 

21 1221 et seq.). 

22 SEC. 104. PARENT NOTIFICATION AND PROTECTION AND 

23 ADVOCACY SYSTEMS. 

24 (a) NOTIFICATION.—If a student is subject to cor25 poral punishment committed by program personnel, a 


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1 school resource officer, or a school security guard, at a 

2 program that receives Federal financial assistance, the 

3 program serving such student shall notify, in writing, not 

4 later than 24 hours after such use of force occurs, the 

5 facts of such use of force to— 

6 (1) the parent or parents of such student; 

7 (2) the State educational agency; and 

8 (3) the local law enforcement agency. 

9 (b) NOTIFICATION FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABIL10 ITIES.—In the case of a student described in subsection 

11 (a) who is an individual with a disability (as defined in 

12 section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 

13 (42 U.S.C. 12102)) the program serving such student 

14 shall— 

15 (1) in addition to the notification described in 

16 such subsection, notify, in writing, not later than 24 

17 hours after the use of force described in such sub18 section occurs, the facts of such use of force to the 

19 relevant protection and advocacy system; and 

20 (2) provide any information to the relevant pro21 tection and advocacy system that the protection and 

22 advocacy system may require. 

23 (c) RESTATEMENT OF AUTHORITY.—Protection and 

24 advocacy systems shall have the same authorities and 

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1 mental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 

2 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15041 et seq.) with respect to protections 

3 provided for students under this Act when such students 

4 are otherwise eligible to be clients of the protection and 

5 advocacy system, including investigating, monitoring, and 

6 enforcing such protections. 

7 TITLE II—STATE ACTIVITIES 

8 AND GRANT PROGRAM 

9 SEC. 201. STATE PLAN AND ENFORCEMENT. 

10 (a) STATE REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 18 

11 months after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 

12 two years thereafter, each State educational agency that 

13 receives Federal financial assistance shall provide to the 

14 Secretary— 

15 (1) a written assurance that— 

16 (A) all programs located in such State 

17 have been notified of the requirements of this 

18 Act; 

19 (B) all program personnel of such State 

20 educational agency have received training with 

21 respect to such requirements; 

22 (C) parents of students served by such 

23 State educational agency have been notified of 

24 the requirements, rights, and remedies available 

25 under this Act; and 


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1 (D) the notification required under sub2 paragraph (C) is publicly available on the 

3 website of the State educational agency; and 

4 (2) a school climate report that includes a de5 scription of— 

6 (A) the policies and procedures of the 

7 State educational agency with respect exclu8 sionary and aversive discipline practices or 

9 interventions in such schools; 

10 (B) how the State educational agency 

11 plans to implement, is implementing, or has im12 plemented positive behavioral interventions and 

13 supports and other models to address student 

14 behavior and reduce the use of exclusionary and 

15 aversive discipline practices or interventions in 

16 the public elementary schools and secondary 

17 schools of such State; and 

18 (C) efforts of the State educational agency 

19 to ensure program personnel receive the sup20 ports and training necessary to implement the 

21 interventions, supports, and other models de22 scribed in subparagraph (B). 

23 (b) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY REQUIRE24 MENTS.—Not later than one year after the date of enact25 ment of this Act, and not less than once every two years 


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1 thereafter, each local educational agency shall submit to 

2 the State educational agency a report that includes the 

3 information the State educational agency determines nec4 essary to comply with the requirements of subsection (a). 

5 (c) REPORT.—Not later than two years after the date 

6 of enactment of this Act, and not less than once every 

7 two years thereafter, the Secretary shall— 

8 (1) submit to the Committee on Education and 

9 Labor of the House of Representatives and the Com10 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

11 of the Senate a report summarizing the findings of 

12 the reports under subsection (a)(2); and 

13 (2) make the reports described in paragraph (1) 

14 publicly available. 

15 (d) ENFORCEMENT.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

17 (A) USE OF REMEDIES.—If a State edu18 cational agency fails to comply with subsection 

19 (a), the Secretary shall carry out at least one 

20 of the following: 

21 (i) Withhold, in whole or in part, fur22 ther payments under an applicable pro23 gram (as such term is defined in section 

24 400(c) of the General Education Provi25 sions Act (20 U.S.C. 1221(c))) in accordVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Dec 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4936.IS S4936

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1 ance with section 455 of such Act (20 

2 U.S.C. 1234d). 

3 (ii) Enter into a compliance agree4 ment in accordance with section 457 of the 

5 General Education Provisions Act (20 

6 U.S.C. 1234f). 

7 (iii) Issue a complaint to compel com8 pliance of the State educational agency 

9 through a cease and desist order, in the 

10 same manner the Secretary is authorized 

11 to take such action under section 456 of 

12 the General Education Provisions Act (20 

13 U.S.C. 1234e). 

14 (B) CESSATION OF WITHHOLDING OF

15 FUNDS.—If the Secretary determines (whether 

16 by certification or other appropriate evidence) 

17 that a State educational agency that is subject 

18 to the withholding of payments under subpara19 graph (A)(i) has cured the failure providing the 

20 basis for the withholding of payments within 

21 one year from the date on which such payments 

22 were first withheld, the Secretary shall— 

23 (i) cease the withholding of payments 

24 with respect to the State educational agen25 cy under such subparagraph; and 


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1 (ii) reimburse all the withheld pay2 ments under such subparagraph to such 

3 State educational agency. 

4 (2) WITHHELD FUNDS.—The funds appro5 priated or made available for the payments that 

6 were withheld under paragraph (1)(A)(i) shall be 

7 available for expenditure to that program for not 

8 longer than one year from the date upon which the 

9 determination in paragraph (1)(B) was made. 

10 (3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

11 subsection shall be construed to limit the Secretary’s 

12 authority under the General Education Provisions 

13 Act (20 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.). 

14 SEC. 202. GRANT AUTHORITY. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—From the amount appropriated 

16 under section 306, the Secretary may award grants to 

17 State educational agencies to improve school climate and 

18 culture by implementing positive behavioral interventions 

19 and supports and other models to address student behav20 ior and reduce the use of exclusionary and aversive dis21 cipline practices or interventions in public elementary 

22 schools and secondary schools. 

23 (b) DURATION OF GRANT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A grant under this section 

2 shall be awarded to a State educational agency for 

3 a three-year period. 

4 (2) REAPPLICATION.—At the end of a grant pe5 riod described in paragraph (1), a State educational 

6 agency desiring a subsequent grant under this sec7 tion may be eligible for such grant if such State edu8 cational agency— 

9 (A) submits an application under sub10 section (c); and 

11 (B) demonstrates— 

12 (i) that such State educational agency 

13 effectively used grant funds to carry out 

14 the required activities under subsection (e) 

15 during the previous grant period; and 

16 (ii) with respect to such State edu17 cational agency, a decrease in at least one 

18 of the following: 

19 (I) Exclusionary and aversive dis20 cipline practices or interventions, in21 cluding in-school suspensions, out-of22 school suspensions, and expulsions. 

23 (II) School-related arrests. 

24 (III) Referrals of students to law 

25 enforcement. 


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1 (3) DATA.—A State educational agency shall, 

2 with respect to the data used under paragraph 

3 (2)(B)(ii)— 

4 (A) cross-tabulate such data and 

5 disaggregate by race, gender, disability, and 

6 English learner; and 

7 (B) redact all personally identifiable infor8 mation from such data. 

9 (c) APPLICATION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State educational 

11 agency desiring a grant under this section shall sub12 mit an application to the Secretary at such time, in 

13 such manner, and accompanied by such information 

14 as the Secretary may require, including— 

15 (A) information on how the State edu16 cational agency will carry out the required ac17 tivities specified in subsection (e); 

18 (B) a description of how the State edu19 cational agency will improve school climate and 

20 culture by reducing the use of exclusionary and 

21 aversive discipline practices or interventions; 

22 (C) a description of how the State edu23 cational agency will implement positive behav24 ioral interventions and supports and other mod25 els to address student behavior and reduce the 


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1 use of exclusionary and aversive discipline prac2 tices or interventions; and 

3 (D) a description of how the State edu4 cational agency will develop and implement 

5 high-quality training for program personnel de6 signed to improve school climate and culture 

7 and increase the use of positive behavioral 

8 interventions and supports and other models to 

9 address student behavior and reduce the use of 

10 exclusionary and aversive discipline practices or 

11 interventions. 

12 (2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

13 section, the Secretary shall give priority to State 

14 educational agencies— 

15 (A) with a high percentage of in-school 

16 suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, expul17 sions, school-related arrests, and referrals of 

18 students to law enforcement; 

19 (B) that lack positive behavioral interven20 tions and supports and other models to improve 

21 school climate and culture; or 

22 (C) that are in most need of assistance re23 lating to improving school climate and culture 

24 by reducing the use of exclusionary and aversive 


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1 discipline practices or interventions, as deter2 mined by the Secretary. 

3 (d) AUTHORITY TO MAKE SUBGRANTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency 

5 receiving a grant under this section may use such 

6 grant funds to award subgrants, on a competitive 

7 basis in accordance with subsection (e)(2), to local 

8 educational agencies. 

9 (2) APPLICATION.—A local educational agency 

10 desiring to receive a subgrant under this section 

11 shall submit an application to the applicable State 

12 educational agency at such time, in such manner, 

13 and containing such information as the State edu14 cational agency may require, including the informa15 tion described in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of 

16 subsection (c)(1). 

17 (e) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency 

19 receiving a grant, or a local educational agency re20 ceiving a subgrant, under this section shall use such 

21 grant or subgrant funds to carry out the following: 

22 (A) Developing and implementing high23 quality training for program personnel designed 

24 to— 

25 (i) improve school climate and culture; 


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1 (ii) increase use of positive behavioral 

2 interventions and supports and other mod3 els to address student behavior; and 

4 (iii) reduce the use of exclusionary 

5 and aversive discipline practices or inter6 ventions and the discriminatory and dis7 proportionate impact such practices have 

8 on students based on their race, ethnicity, 

9 gender, or disability. 

10 (B) Providing technical assistance to im11 prove school climate and culture by imple12 menting positive behavioral interventions and 

13 supports and other models to address student 

14 behavior and reduce the use of exclusionary and 

15 aversive discipline practices or interventions, 

16 such as restorative justice interventions, trau17 ma-informed care, crisis and de-escalation inter18 ventions, implicit bias training, and culturally 

19 responsive teaching. 

20 (C) Researching, developing, implementing, 

21 and evaluating models, policies, and procedures 

22 to reduce the use of exclusionary and aversive 

23 discipline practices or interventions in public el24 ementary and secondary schools. 


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1 (2) PRIORITY.—A State educational agency or 

2 local educational agency shall prioritize carrying out 

3 the activities specified in subparagraphs (A) through 

4 (C) of paragraph (1) in public elementary schools 

5 and secondary schools— 

6 (A) in which a disproportionately high per7 centage of students who have been subjected to 

8 disciplinary proceedings or have otherwise expe9 rienced the application of such a school’s dis10 cipline policies, practices, and procedures, rel11 ative to such school’s total student population, 

12 are students of color or students with disabil13 ities (as defined in section 602 of the Individ14 uals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

15 1401)); 

16 (B) with a high percentage of in-school 

17 suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, expul18 sions, school-related arrests, and referrals of 

19 students to law enforcement; 

20 (C) that lack positive behavioral interven21 tions and supports and other models to improve 

22 school climate and culture; or 

23 (D) that have demonstrated meaningful 

24 community engagement in selecting models to 

25 improve school climate and culture. 


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1 (f) EVALUATION AND REPORT.— 

2 (1) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY REPORTS.— 

3 Each local educational agency receiving a subgrant 

4 under this section shall, at the end of the subgrant 

5 period for such subgrant, prepare and submit to the 

6 State educational agency a report that— 

7 (A) evaluates the progress of the local edu8 cational agency toward carrying out the re9 quired activities under subsection (e); and 

10 (B) includes any additional information the 

11 State educational agency determines necessary 

12 to complete the report required under para13 graph (2). 

14 (2) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY REPORTS.— 

15 Each State educational agency receiving a grant 

16 under this section shall, at the end of the three-year 

17 grant period for such grant, prepare and submit to 

18 the Secretary a report that— 

19 (A) evaluates the State’s progress toward 

20 carrying out the required activities under sub21 section (e); 

22 (B) includes data on the impact of the 

23 grant program on school climate and culture 

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1 spect to the State educational agency, data on 

2 the prevalence of, and increase or decrease in— 

3 (i) exclusionary and aversive discipline 

4 practices or interventions, including in5 school suspensions, out-of-school suspen6 sions, and expulsions; 

7 (ii) school-related arrests; and 

8 (iii) student referrals to law enforce9 ment; 

10 (C) includes the number of high-quality 

11 school climate and culture trainings conducted 

12 for program personnel during such grant pe13 riod; 

14 (D) describes the models implemented to 

15 improve school climate and culture during such 

16 grant period; 

17 (E) specifies the number of subgrants 

18 made under subsection (d) and the local edu19 cational agencies that were awarded such sub20 grants; and 

21 (F) includes such information as the Sec22 retary may require. 

23 (3) DATA.—A State educational agency shall, 

24 with respect to the data described in paragraph 

25 (2)(B)— 


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1 (A) cross-tabulate and disaggregate the 

2 data in the same manner as under subsection 

3 (b)(3)(A); and 

4 (B) redact all personally identifiable infor5 mation from such data. 

6 (4) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

7 each report under paragraph (2) publicly available 

8 on the website of the Department. 

9 (g) FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF

10 THE INTERIOR.—From the amount appropriated under 

11 section 306, the Secretary shall allocate— 

12 (1) 0.5 percent of such funds to the Secretary 

13 of the Interior for activities under this section with 

14 respect to schools operated or funded by the Depart15 ment of the Interior, under such terms and condi16 tions as the Secretary may prescribe; and 

17 (2) 0.5 of such funds for activities under this 

18 section with respect to schools operated in the out19 lying areas, under such terms and conditions as the 

20 Secretary may prescribe. 

21 TITLE III—ADDITIONAL 

22 PROVISIONS 

23 SEC. 301. FEDERAL REGULATIONS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

25 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 


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1 such regulations as are necessary to reasonably ensure 

2 compliance with this Act. 

3 (b) NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING PROCESS.—In car4 rying out subsection (a), the Secretary shall use a nego5 tiated rulemaking process described in section 1601 and 

6 section 1602 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

7 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6571; 6572) except subparagraph 

8 (A) of subsection (b)(3) of such section 1601 shall apply 

9 by substituting ‘‘establish a negotiated rulemaking proc10 ess;’’ for the text of such subparagraph. 

11 SEC. 302. OTHER SCHOOLS. 

12 (a) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.—The Secretary of 

13 Defense shall ensure that schools operated or funded by 

14 the Department of Defense Education Activity or other15 wise operated or funded by the Department of Defense 

16 for the education of military-connected dependents comply 

17 with the regulations promulgated by the Secretary pursu18 ant to this Act. 

19 (b) DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.—The Secretary 

20 of the Interior shall ensure that schools operated or fund21 ed by the Department of the Interior comply with the reg22 ulations promulgated by the Secretary pursuant to this 

23 Act. 


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1 SEC. 303. LIMITATION OF AUTHORITY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall be con3 strued— 

4 (1) to restrict or limit, or allow the Secretary 

5 to restrict or limit, any other rights or remedies oth6 erwise available to students or parents under Fed7 eral, State, or local law or regulation; or 

8 (2) to restrict or limit Federal, State, or local 

9 laws, regulations, or polices that provide for more 

10 stringent prohibitions or limitations on the use of 

11 corporal punishment than the prohibitions or limita12 tions that are provided for in this Act. 

13 (b) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER DUTIES.—Noth14 ing in this Act shall be construed to prevent a sworn law 

15 enforcement officer from carrying out the duties of the 

16 officer under otherwise applicable law. 

17 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION ON DATA COLLEC18 TION.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect 

19 the collection of information or data authorized under the 

20 statutes and regulations implementing title VI of the Civil 

21 Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), title IX 

22 of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 

23 et seq.), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 

24 U.S.C. 794 et seq.), or the Department of Education Or25 ganization Act (20 U.S.C. 3401 et seq.). 


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1 SEC. 304. APPLICABILITY. 

2 (a) PRIVATE SCHOOLS.—Nothing in this Act shall be 

3 construed to affect any private school that does not receive 

4 Federal financial assistance. 

5 (b) HOME SCHOOLS.—Nothing in this Act shall be 

6 construed to— 

7 (1) affect a home school, whether or not a home 

8 school is treated as a private school or home school 

9 under State law; or 

10 (2) consider parents who are schooling a child 

11 at home as program personnel. 

12 SEC. 305. SEVERABILITY. 

13 If any provision of this Act or the application of such 

14 provision to any person or circumstance is held to be un15 constitutional, the remaining provisions of this Act and 

16 the application of such provisions to any person or cir17 cumstance shall not be affected thereby. 

18 SEC. 306. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

20 as may be necessary to carry out this Act for fiscal year 

21 2021 and each fiscal year thereafter. 

Æ 


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