Ending PUSHOUT Act of 2023

To reduce exclusionary discipline practices in schools, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Ending Punitive, Unfair, School-based Harm that is Overt and Unresponsive to Trauma Act of 2023 Ending PUSHOUT Act of 2023 2. Purpose It is the purpose of this Act to— (1) strengthen data collection related to exclusionary discipline practices in schools and the discriminatory application of such practices, which disproportionately pushes students of color, particularly girls of color, out of school; (2) eliminate the discriminatory use and overuse of exclusionary discipline practices based on actual or perceived race, ethnicity, color, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth, a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth, parenting status, or other stereotype related to sex), or disability; (3) eliminate all unnecessary loss of instructional time due to unsound or excessive use of formal and informal disciplinary removal from instructional settings; and (4) prevent the criminalization and pushout of students from school, especially Black and Brown girls, as a result of educational barriers that include discrimination, adultification, punitive discipline policies and practices, and a failure to recognize and support students with mental health needs or experiencing trauma. 3. Definitions In this Act: (1) Act of insubordination The term act of insubordination (2) Appearance or grooming policy The term appearance or grooming policy (A) restrict or prescribe clothing that a student may wear (including hijabs, headwraps, or bandanas); (B) restrict specific hair styles (such as braids, locs, twists, Bantu knots, cornrows, extensions, or afros); or (C) restrict whether or how a student may apply make-up, nail polish, or other cosmetics. (3) Chemical restraint The term chemical restraint (A) prescribed by a licensed physician, or other qualified health professional acting under the scope of the professional’s authority under State law, for the standard treatment of a student’s medical or psychiatric condition; and (B) administered as prescribed by a licensed physician or other qualified health professional acting under the scope of the authority of a health professional under State law. (4) Corporal punishment The term corporal punishment (5) Culturally sustaining The term culturally sustaining (6) Direct supervision The term direct supervision (7) Disability The term disability 20 U.S.C. 1401(3)(A)(i) 29 U.S.C. 794 (8) Disciplinary alternative school The term disciplinary alternative school (9) Elementary and Secondary Education Act terms The terms elementary school English learner local educational agency secondary school State educational agency 20 U.S.C. 7801 (10) Exclusionary discipline The term exclusionary discipline (11) Gender identity The term gender identity (12) Informal removal The term informal removal (13) Indian Tribe The term Indian Tribe 25 U.S.C. 5304(e) (14) In-school suspension The term in-school suspension (15) Mechanical restraint The term mechanical restraint 42 U.S.C. 290jj(d)(1) student resident (16) Multi-tiered system of supports The term multi-tiered system of supports (17) Out-of-school suspension The term out-of-school suspension (18) Physical escort The term physical escort 42 U.S.C. 290jj(d)(2) student resident (19) Physical restraint The term physical restraint (20) Positive behavioral interventions and supports The term positive behavioral interventions and supports (21) Pushout The term pushout (22) School-based law enforcement officer The term school-based law enforcement officer (A) is— (i) assigned by a law enforcement agency to a secondary or elementary school or local educational agency; (ii) contracting with a secondary or elementary school or local educational agency; or (iii) employed by a secondary or elementary school or local educational agency; (B) has the legal power to detain, arrest, issue a citation, perform a custodial investigation, or refer a person to a criminal or juvenile court; (C) meets the definition of a law enforcement personnel under State law; or (D) may be referred to as a school resource officer sworn law enforcement officer school police officer (23) School official The term school official (24) Seclusion The term seclusion (25) Secretary The term Secretary (26) Serious bodily injury The term serious bodily injury (27) Sexual orientation The term sexual orientation (28) Special education school The term special education school a child with a disability 20 U.S.C. 1401(3)(A)(i) 29 U.S.C. 794 (29) Threat assessment The term threat assessment (30) Time out The term time out 42 U.S.C. 290jj(d)(5) (31) Trauma-informed services The term trauma-informed services (A) recognizes and responds to the impacts of trauma with evidence-based supports and intervention; (B) emphasizes physical, psychological, and emotional safety for both providers of services and survivors of trauma; and (C) creates opportunities for survivors of trauma to rebuild a sense of healing and empowerment. (32) Zero-tolerance policy The term zero-tolerance policy 4. Strengthening civil rights data collection with respect to exclusionary discipline in schools (a) In general The Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights shall annually carry out data collection, while maintaining appropriate safety and privacy standards, authorized under section 203(c)(1) of the Department of Education Organization Act ( 20 U.S.C. 3413(c)(1) (1) Suspension (including the classification of the suspension as in-school suspension or out-of-school suspension), which shall include data with respect to— (A) the number of students who were suspended, disaggregated and cross-tabulated by type of suspension and by— (i) enrollment in a preschool or in an elementary school and secondary school by grade level; (ii) race; (iii) ethnicity; (iv) sex (including, to the extent possible, sexual orientation and gender identity); (v) low-income status; (vi) disability status (including students eligible for disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401 et. seq.) or section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 10 794)); (vii) English learner status; (viii) foster care status; (ix) housing status, to the extent possible; (x) Tribal citizenship or descent, in the first or second degree, of an Indian Tribe, to the extent possible; and (xi) pregnant and parenting student status, to the extent possible; (B) the number and length of suspensions; (C) the reason for each such suspension, including— (i) a violation of a zero-tolerance policy and whether such violation was due to a violent or nonviolent offense; (ii) a violation of an appearance policy, dress code, or grooming policy; (iii) an act of insubordination; (iv) willful defiance; and (v) a violation of a school code of conduct; and (D) the number of days of lost instruction due to each out-of-school and in-school suspension. (2) Expulsion, including agreements to withdraw a child from school in lieu of an expulsion process, which shall include data with respect to— (A) the number of students who were expelled, disaggregated and cross-tabulated as outlined under clauses (i) through (xi) of subsection (a)(1)(A); and (B) the reason for each such expulsion, including— (i) a violation of a zero-tolerance policy and whether such violation was due to a violent or nonviolent offense; (ii) a violation of an appearance policy, dress code, or grooming policy; (iii) an act of insubordination, willful defiance, or violation of a school code of conduct; (iv) the use of profane or vulgar language; (v) an act of insubordination; and (vi) a violation of a school code of conduct. (3) The number of students subject to an out-of-school transfer to a different school, including alternative education placements or a virtual school, disaggregated and cross-tabulated as outlined under clauses (i) through (xi) of subsection (a)(1)(A), and the primary reason for each such transfer. (4) The number of students subject to a referral to law enforcement or threat assessment process, disaggregated and cross-tabulated as outlined under clauses (i) through (xi) of subsection (a)(1)(A), including the primary reason for each such referral, and whether such referral resulted in an arrest. (5) The number of students arrested at school, including at school-sponsored activities, disaggregated and cross-tabulated as outlined under clauses (i) through (xi) of subsection (a)(1)(A), and the primary reason for such arrest. (6) The number of students subject to a referral to or placement in a residential facility, including for temporary or short-term holds (such as 48-hour or 72-hour holds) disaggregated and cross-tabulated as outlined under clauses (i) through (xi) of subsection (a)(1)(A). (7) The number of students subject to placement in juvenile or criminal legal confinement or other institutionalized settings, including diversion to arrest programs and mental and psychiatric programs, disaggregated and cross-tabulated as outlined under clauses (i) through (xi) of subsection (a)(1)(A). (b) Report (1) In general Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights shall submit to Congress a report on the data collected under subsection (a). (2) Requirements The report required under paragraph (1) shall— (A) identify, with respect to the data collected under subsection (a), schools, local educational agencies, and States that demonstrate a pattern of the overuse and discriminatory use of exclusionary disciplinary practices; (B) be disaggregated and cross tabulated, except that such disaggregation shall not be required in the case of a State, local educational agency, or a school in which the number of students in a subgroup is insufficient to yield statistically reliable information or the results would reveal personally identifiable information about an individual student, by— (i) enrollment in a preschool or in an elementary school and secondary school by grade level; (ii) race; (iii) ethnicity; (iv) sex (including, to the extent possible, sexual orientation and gender identity); (v) low-income status; (vi) disability status (including students eligible for disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401 et. seq.) or section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ( 29 U.S.C. 794 (vii) English learner status; (viii) foster care status; (ix) housing status, to the extent possible; (x) Tribal citizenship or descent, in the first or second degree, of an Indian Tribe; and (xi) pregnant and parenting student status, to the extent possible; (C) be publicly accessible in multiple languages, accessibility formats, and provided in a language that parents, families, and community members can understand; and (D) be presented in a manner that protects the privacy of individuals consistent with the requirements of section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1232g Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 5. Grants to reduce exclusionary school discipline practices (a) In general The Secretary shall award grants (which shall be known as the Healing School Climate Grants (b) Eligible entities In this section, the term eligible entity (1) one or more local educational agencies (who may be partnered with a State educational agency), including a public charter school that is a local educational agency under State law or local educational agency operated by the Bureau of Indian Education; or (2) a nonprofit organization (defined as an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, which is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code) with a track record of success in improving school climates and supporting students. (c) Application An eligible entity seeking a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, including an assurance that the eligible entity shall prioritize schools with high rates of disparities in exclusionary discipline, such as suspensions, expulsions, law enforcement referrals, and school-based arrests, for students of color, students with disabilities, LGBTQI+ students, English language learners, students experiencing homelessness, students involved in the foster care system, and students living at the intersections of these identities, and historical patterns of disparities in exclusionary school discipline. The Secretary shall make applications publicly accessible in an appropriate digital format. (d) Program requirement An eligible entity that receives a grant under subsection (a) shall prohibit the use of— (1) out-of-school suspension or expulsion for any student in preschool through grade 5 for incidents that do not involve serious physical injury; (2) out-of-school suspension or expulsion for any student in preschool through grade 12 for insubordination, willful defiance, vulgarity, truancy, tardiness, chronic absenteeism, or as a result of a violation of a grooming or appearance policy; (3) corporal punishment; (4) seclusion; (5) a mechanical or chemical restraint on a student; or (6) a physical restraint or physical escort that is life threatening, that restricts breathing, or that restricts blood flow to the brain, including prone and supine restraint, on a student, except when each of the following requirements are met: (A) The student’s behavior poses an imminent danger of serious physical injury to the student, program personnel, or another individual. (B) Before using physical restraint, less restrictive interventions would be ineffective in stopping such imminent danger of serious physical injury. (C) Such physical restraint is imposed by— (i) program personnel trained and certified by a State-approved crisis intervention training program; or (ii) program personnel not trained and certified as described in clause (i), in the case of a rare and clearly unavoidable emergency circumstance when program personnel certified as described in clause (i) is not immediately available due to the unforeseeable nature of the emergency circumstance. (D) Such physical restraint ends immediately upon the cessation of the imminent danger of serious physical injury to the student, any program personnel, or another individual. (E) The physical restraint does not interfere with the student’s ability to communicate in the student’s primary language or primary mode of communication. (F) During the physical restraint, the least amount of force necessary is used to protect the student or others from the threatened injury. (G) The physical restraint does not affect or interfere with, with respect to a student, a disability, health care needs, or a medical or psychiatric condition documented in a— (i) health care directive or medical management plan; (ii) a behavior intervention plan; (iii) an individualized education program or an individualized family service plan (as defined in section 602 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1401 (iv) another relevant record made available to the State or eligible entity involved. (e) Use of funds (1) Required uses An eligible entity that receives a grant under this section shall use funds to— (A) evaluate the current discipline policies of schools under the eligible entity and, in partnership with students (including girls of color), the family members of students, and the local community of such school, develop discipline policies for such schools to ensure that such policies are not exclusionary or discriminately applied toward students; (B) provide training and professional development for school officials to avoid or address the overuse and discriminatory disproportionate use of exclusionary discipline practices in schools and to create awareness of implicit and explicit bias and use culturally sustaining practices, including training in— (i) identifying and providing support to students who may have experienced or are at risk of experiencing trauma or have other mental health needs; (ii) administering and responding to assessments on adverse childhood experiences; (iii) providing student-centered, trauma-informed services and positive behavior management interventions that create safe and supportive school climates; (iv) using restorative practices; (v) using culturally and linguistically responsive intervention strategies; (vi) developing social and emotional learning competencies; and (vii) increasing student engagement and improving dialogue between students and educators; (C) implement and evaluate evidence-based alternatives to suspension or expulsion, including— (i) multi-tier systems of support, such as positive behavioral interventions and supports; (ii) social, emotional, and academic learning strategies designed to engage students and avoid escalating conflicts; and (iii) other data-driven approaches to improving school environments; (D) improve behavioral and academic outcomes for students by creating a safe and supportive learning environment and school climate, which may include— (i) restorative practices with respect to improving relationships among students, school officials, and members of the local community, which may include partnering with local mental health agencies or nonprofit organizations; (ii) access to mentors and peer-based support programs; (iii) extracurricular programs, including sports and art programs; (iv) social and emotional learning strategies designed to engage students and avoid escalating conflicts; (v) access to counseling, mental health programs, and trauma-informed services, including suicide prevention programs; and (vi) access to culturally responsive curricula that affirms the history and contributions of traditionally marginalized people and communities; (E) hire social workers, school counselors, trauma-informed care personnel, and other mental health personnel who shall not serve as proxies for school-based law enforcement officers; and (F) support the development, delivery, and analysis of school climate surveys. (2) Prohibited uses An eligible entity that receives a grant under this section may not use funds to— (A) hire or retain school-based law enforcement personnel, including school resource officers; (B) purchase, maintain, or install surveillance equipment, including metal detectors or software programs that monitor or mine the social media use or technology use of students; (C) arm educators, principals, school leaders, or other school personnel; and (D) enter into formal or informal partnerships or data and information sharing agreements with— (i) the Secretary of Homeland Security, including agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or U.S. Customs and Border Protection; or (ii) State, local, or other law enforcement agencies, including partnerships that allow for hiring of school-based law enforcement. (f) Technical assistance The Secretary, in carrying out subsection (a), may reserve not more than 2 percent of funds to provide technical assistance to eligible entities, which may include— (1) support for data collection, compliance, and analysis of the activities of the program authorized under subsection (a); and (2) informational meetings and seminars with respect to the application process under subsection (c). (g) Report by grantees Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this section, an eligible entity receiving a grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary, and to the public, a report on the activities funded through the grant. The Secretary shall make each such report publicly accessible in an appropriate digital format. Such report shall include, at a minimum, a description of— (1) the evaluation methods of disciplinary practices prior to the grant; (2) training and professional development services provided for school officials, including school-based law enforcement officers, to address discriminatory discipline practices, implicit and explicit bias, and other uses described in subsection (e)(1); (3) aggregated and de-identified behavioral, social emotional, and academic outcomes experience by students; (4) any instance of physical restraint used on a student with an explanation of a circumstance described in subsection (d)(6); (5) the number of students who were referred to some form of alternative practice described in subsection (e)(1)(C); (6) disaggregated data on students suspended, expelled, arrested at school, and referred to the juvenile or criminal legal system, except that such disaggregation shall not be required in the case of a State, local educational agency, or a school in which the number of students in a subgroup is insufficient to yield statistically reliable information or the results would reveal personally identifiable information about an individual student, cross tabulated by— (A) reason for disciplinary action; (B) type and length of disciplinary action; (C) grade level; (D) race; (E) ethnicity; (F) sex (including to the extent possible, sexual orientation and gender identity); (G) low-income status; (H) disability status; (I) English learner status; (J) foster care status; (K) housing status, to the extent possible; (L) Tribal citizenship or descent, in the first or second degree, of an Indian Tribe; and (M) pregnant and parenting student status, to the extent possible; and (7) any other information required by the Secretary. 6. Joint task force to end school pushout of girls of color (a) Establishment The Secretary and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish and operate a joint task force to end school pushout (in this section referred to as the Joint Task Force (b) Composition (1) Chairs The Secretary and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall chair the Joint Task Force. (2) Members (A) In general The Joint Task Force shall include 21 total members and be composed of— (i) 6 students, including 2 Black, Brown, and Indigenous girls; (ii) 2 educators; (iii) 3 parents, including foster parents, legal guardians, and caregivers with children enrolled in public school; (iv) 3 public school officials; (v) 3 representatives from the civil rights community, including civil rights and disability organizations; (vi) 2 psychologists, social workers, trauma-informed personnel, and other mental health professionals with expertise in child and adolescent development; and (vii) 2 researchers with experience in behavioral intervention with children and youth. (B) Law enforcement officers The Joint Task Force shall not include law enforcement officers. (3) Advisory members In addition to the members under paragraph (2), the Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice and the Director of the Bureau of Indian Education shall be advisory members of the Joint Task Force. (4) Member appointment Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall appoint the members of the Joint Task Force— (A) in accordance with paragraph (2); (B) using a competitive application process; and (C) with consideration to the racial, ethnic, gender, disability, and geographic diversity of the Joint Task Force. (c) Study and recommendations The Joint Task Force shall— (1) conduct a study to— (A) identify causes for disparities in school discipline administration that push girls of color out of schools; (B) identify best practices for reducing the overuse and discriminatory use of exclusionary discipline practices; (C) identify interventions and accountability for local and State educational agencies when disparities in school discipline are found; and (D) determine to what extent exclusionary discipline practices contribute to the criminalization of— (i) girls of color; (ii) English learners; (iii) Indigenous girls; (iv) LGBTQI+ students; (v) students experiencing homelessness; (vi) students involved in the foster care system; and (vii) students with disabilities; and (2) develop recommendations based on the study conducted under paragraph (1). (d) Report Not later than 360 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and biannually thereafter, the Secretary and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit to Congress a report on the recommendations under subsection (c)(2). The report shall be— (1) available to the public through the public website of the Department of Health and Human Services and by request; (2) accessible in accordance with the requirements of the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 ( 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq. (3) available in multiple languages. 7. Authorization of appropriation (a) In general There is authorized to be appropriated $500,000,000 for each fiscal year after the date of enactment of this Act to carry out sections 5 and 6. (b) Additional funding to the Office for Civil Rights There is authorized to be appropriated $500,000,000 for each fiscal year after the date of enactment of this Act to carry out section 4.

Summary: Ending Punitive, Unfair, School-based Harm that is Overt and Unresponsive to Trauma Act of 2023 or the Ending PUSHOUT Act of 2023 This bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to award grants to local educational agencies and nonprofit organizations for the purpose of reducing suspension and expulsion of students (i.e., exclusionary disciplinary practices). The bill requires ED to collect data on exclusionary discipline in schools. It also establishes a joint task force to end school pushout.