I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3596 
To prohibit the use of corporal punishment in schools, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 23, 2023 
Ms. BONAMICI (for herself, Mrs. MCBATH, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. 
MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. CHU, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. STEVENS, 
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. 
ROSS, Ms. CROCKETT, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mrs. CHERFILUS- 
MCCORMICK, Mr. BEYER, Ms. KUSTER, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. BOWMAN, Ms. 
JACOBS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. POCAN, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. 
COURTNEY, Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania, Ms. OMAR, Mr. TRONE, Ms. LEE 
of California, Ms. MENG, Mr. KEATING, Mr. CASAR, Ms. TOKUDA, Mr. 
DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. GALLEGO, Mrs. HAYES, and Mr. IVEY) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
the 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 com-
mittee 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 Representa-
tives 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 2023’’. 
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(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, na-
tional 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 
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and supports, and other models (including models 
such as restorative justice interventions, trauma-in-
formed care, multi-tiered system of supports, crisis 
and de-escalation interventions, implicit bias train-
ing, 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 sup-
ports 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 ‘‘cor-
poral 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 
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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 agen-
cy’’, ‘‘outlying area’’, ‘‘parent’’, ‘‘secondary school’’, 
‘‘Secretary’’, ‘‘State’’, and ‘‘State educational agen-
cy’’ 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 discipli-
nary action that removes or excludes a student from 
the student’s usual educational setting, or from ac-
cess to education services, including such discipli-
nary actions as in-school suspensions, out-of-school 
suspensions, expulsions, or any other removal, how-
ever labeled, that results in lost instructional time 
for the student. 
(4) MODEL.—The term ‘‘model’’ means an ac-
tivity, 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’’— 
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(A) means a schoolwide, systematic ap-
proach 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 in-
crease learning for all students (including stu-
dents with the most complex and intensive be-
havioral needs); and 
(B) encompasses a range of systemic and 
individualized positive strategies to teach and 
reinforce school-expected behaviors, while dis-
couraging and diminishing undesirable behav-
iors. 
(6) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means— 
(A) all of the operations of a local edu-
cational agency, system of vocational education, 
or other school system; 
(B) a program that serves children who re-
ceive 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 re-
lated services under the Individuals with Dis-
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abilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et 
seq.). 
(7) PROGRAM PERSONNEL.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), the term ‘‘program personnel’’ 
means any agent of a program, including an in-
dividual who is employed by a program, or who 
performs services for a program on a contrac-
tual basis, including— 
(i) school leaders; 
(ii) teachers; 
(iii) specialized instructional support 
personnel; 
(iv) paraprofessionals; or 
(v) other staff. 
(B) EXCLUSION.—Notwithstanding sub-
paragraph (A), program personnel shall not in-
clude a law enforcement officer or a school se-
curity 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 Assist-
ance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 
15043). 
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(9) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—The term 
‘‘law enforcement officer’’— 
(A) means any person who— 
(i) is a State, Tribal, or local law en-
forcement officer (as defined in section 
1204 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Con-
trol 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 em-
ployed 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 re-
sponsible 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 ille-
gal drug use prevention and safety. 
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(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 pro-
gram 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 enforce-
ment officer, or a school security guard under any pro-
gram which receives Federal financial assistance. 
(b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—A student who has 
been subjected to corporal punishment by program per-
sonnel, 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 attor-
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