I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1435 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require 
States to develop policies on positive school climates and school discipline. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 18, 2015 
Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois (for himself, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, 
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. GRI-
JALVA, and Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 to require States to develop policies on positive 
school climates and school discipline. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Supportive School Cli-
mate Act of 2015’’. 
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SEC. 2. POSITIVE SCHOOL CLIMATE AND SCHOOL DIS-
CIPLINE POLICIES. 
(a) STATE PLANS.—Section 1111 of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311) 
is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(3) POSITIVE SCHOOL CLIMATE AND SCHOOL 
DISCIPLINE POLICIES.—In addition to the plan de-
scribed in paragraph (1), a State desiring to receive 
a grant under this part to support positive behav-
ioral interventions and support, shall submit to the 
Secretary a plan that describes how the State edu-
cational agency will— 
‘‘(A) coordinate with the local educational 
agencies and schools served by the State edu-
cational agency to implement positive, preventa-
tive approaches to exclusionary discipline ac-
tions that promote a positive school climate for 
all students and improve engagement for dis-
connected youth, juvenile offenders, and other 
students, while minimizing students’ removal 
from instruction and, if students are removed, 
upon students’ return to the instructional pro-
gram, maximizing students’ opportunities to 
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make up education lost during the period of re-
moval from instruction; 
‘‘(B) provide technical assistance and 
training to local educational agencies to im-
prove and support the development, implemen-
tation, and coordination of comprehensive posi-
tive behavioral interventions and supports car-
ried out under this Act with activities carried 
out under the Individuals with Disabilities Edu-
cation Act; 
‘‘(C) evaluate the effects of providing posi-
tive behavioral interventions and supports for 
all students, including improvement of the 
learning environment, academic achievement, 
disciplinary problems, such as incidents of sus-
pensions, expulsions, referrals to law enforce-
ment, and other actions that remove students 
from instruction, and any other effects the 
State chooses to evaluate; 
‘‘(D) ensure all students are on track to be 
college and career ready by promoting student 
engagement, and preventing dropout; 
‘‘(E) ensure involvement of students in the 
criminal or juvenile justice system is avoided 
when addressing minor misbehavior such as 
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non-threatening, non-violent, and non-criminal 
misbehavior; 
‘‘(F) through preventative and alternative 
approaches, reduce out-of-school suspensions, 
in-school suspensions, expulsions, referrals to 
law enforcement, school-based arrests, and ex-
clusionary discipline practices that remove stu-
dents from instruction and, upon students’ re-
turn to the educational program, maximize stu-
dents’ opportunities to make up education lost 
during the period of removal from instruction; 
‘‘(G) in coordination with the State depart-
ment of corrections or a similar agency, ensure 
re-entering juvenile offenders receive referrals 
to a local educational agency and provide that, 
for any juvenile who commits an offense subject 
to school expulsion and is subsequently com-
mitted to a detention center, secure facility, or 
any other residential placement within the juve-
nile or adult criminal justice system for such of-
fense, the period of expulsion shall run concur-
rently with the period of commitment to the de-
tention center, secure facility, or other residen-
tial placement; 
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‘‘(H) ensure that school discipline policies 
are in compliance with applicable civil rights 
laws, are procedurally fair, and practices are 
applied equally to all students regardless of 
their economic status, English learner status, 
race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, or sex, 
including gender identity, and ensure that 
school discipline policies meet the requirements 
of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 
1973, title II of the Americans with Disabilities 
Act of 1990, the Individuals with Disabilities 
Education Act, and implementing regulations of 
such section, title, and Act, and that the dis-
ciplinary policies and practices are applied in a 
manner that complies with the equal oppor-
tunity requirements of section 504 of the Reha-
bilitation Act of 1973, title II of the Americans 
with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Individuals 
with Disabilities Education Act, and imple-
menting regulations of such section, title, and 
Act; and 
‘‘(I) in coordination with local educational 
agencies and schools, provide annual and public 
reporting on, in the aggregate, in-school suspen-
sions, out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, re-
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ferrals to law enforcement, school-based arrests, 
and disciplinary transfers (including placements 
in 
alternative 
schools) 
in 
the 
State 
(disaggregated by each category of students de-
scribed in subsection (b)(2)(C)(v), except that 
such disaggregation shall not be required in a 
case in which the number of students in a cat-
egory is insufficient to yield statistically reliable 
information or the results would reveal person-
ally identifiable information about an individual 
student).’’; and 
(2) in subsection (h)(6)(B)— 
(A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 
the semicolon; 
(B) in clause (ii), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(iii) the number of incidences of 
school violence, bullying, drug abuse, alco-
hol abuse, in-school student suspensions, 
out-of-school student suspensions, expul-
sions, referrals to law enforcement, school- 
based arrests, disciplinary transfers (in-
cluding placements in alternative schools), 
and student detentions, disaggregated by 
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each category of students described in sub-
section (b)(2)(C)(v) for each such type of 
incident.’’. 
(b) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY PLANS.—Section 
1112(b)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6312(b)(1)) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (P), by striking ‘‘and’’ 
after the semicolon; 
(2) in subparagraph (Q), by striking the period 
at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(R) where appropriate, a description of 
how the local educational agency will support 
positive behavior interventions and supports 
by— 
‘‘(i) establishing parental notification 
requirements for out-of-school suspensions, 
in-school suspensions, expulsions, school- 
based arrests, referrals to law enforcement, 
and exclusionary discipline practices that 
remove students from instruction, in ac-
cordance with section 444 of the General 
Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 
1232g) (commonly known as the ‘Family 
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Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 
1974’); 
‘‘(ii) establishing systems to engage 
families and community members with the 
school in meaningful and sustained ways, 
such as through case management services 
and mentoring to promote positive student 
academic achievement, developmental, and 
social emotional growth, including non-cog-
nitive skill development; and 
‘‘(iii) establishing best practices for a 
school conduct and discipline code, that— 
‘‘(I) protects students and staff 
from harm; 
‘‘(II) provides constructive oppor-
tunities for students to learn from 
their mistakes rather than exclude 
them from the learning community; 
‘‘(III) fosters a positive learning 
community by providing a continuum 
of interventions, supports, and strate-
gies within a tiered prevention frame-
work; 
‘‘(IV) keeps students in school; 
and 
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‘‘(V) shows mindful consideration 
of negative impacts that may have oc-
curred as a result of involvement with 
the criminal justice system.’’. 
(c) PREVENTION
AND INTERVENTION PROGRAMS 
FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH WHO ARE NEGLECTED, DE-
LINQUENT, OR AT RISK OF DROPPING OUT.—Part D of 
title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6421 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) in section 1414— 
(A) in subsection (a)(2)— 
(i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 
(ii) in subparagraph (C)(iv), by strik-
ing the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 
and’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(D) provide assurances that the State 
educational agency has established— 
‘‘(i) procedures to ensure that each 
student who has been placed in the juve-
nile justice system is promptly re-enrolled 
in secondary school or placed in a re-entry 
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program that best meets the education and 
social needs of the student; 
‘‘(ii) procedures for facilitating the 
transfer of credits that such student 
earned during placement; and 
‘‘(iii) opportunities for such student to 
participate in postsecondary and career 
pathways.’’; and 
(B) in subsection (c)(9)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘encourage’’ and in-
serting ‘‘require, to the extent prac-
ticable,’’; 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘and following’’ after 
‘‘youth prior to’’; and 
(iii) by inserting ‘‘and that transition 
plans are in place’’ before the semicolon at 
the end; 
(2) in section 1416(4), by inserting ‘‘and the 
development and implementation of transition plans’’ 
before the semicolon at the end; 
(3) in section 1423— 
(A) by striking paragraph (4) and insert-
ing the following: 
‘‘(4) a description of the activities that the local 
educational agency will carry out to facilitate the 
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successful transition of children and youth in locally 
operated institutions for neglected and delinquent 
children and other correctional institutions into 
schools served by the local education agency or, as 
appropriate, into career and technical education and 
postsecondary education programs, including sup-
port services to help ensure the success of those chil-
dren and youth after leaving an institution, such 
as— 
‘‘(A) personal, career, and academic coun-
seling; 
‘‘(B) placement services designed to place 
those youth in a university, college, or commu-
nity college program, including academic eval-
uations; 
‘‘(C) information concerning, and assist-
ance in obtaining, available student financial 
aid; and 
‘‘(D) job placement services;’’; and 
(B) by striking paragraph (10) and insert-
ing the following: 
‘‘(10) as appropriate, a description of how the 
local educational agency will address the needs of 
children and youth who return from institutions for 
neglected and delinquent children and youth or from 
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other correctional institutions and attend regular or 
alternative schools;’’; 
(4) in section 1425— 
(A) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘and’’ 
after the semicolon; 
(B) in paragraph (11), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(12) develop an initial educational services 
transition plan for each child or youth served under 
this subpart upon entry into the correctional facility, 
in partnership with the child’s or youth’s family 
members and the local educational agency that most 
recently provided services to the child or youth (if 
applicable), consistent with section 1414(a)(1); and 
‘‘(13) consult with the local educational agency 
for a period jointly determined necessary by the cor-
rectional facility and local educational agency upon 
discharge from that facility, to coordinate edu-
cational services so as to minimize disruption to the 
child’s or youth’s achievement.’’; and 
(5) by striking section 1426 and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘SEC. 1426. ACCOUNTABILITY. 
‘‘The State educational agency— 
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‘‘(1) shall require correctional facilities or insti-
tutions for neglected or delinquent children and 
youth to annually report on the number of children 
and youth released from the correctional facility or 
institution who returned or did not return to school, 
the number of children and youth obtaining a high 
school diploma or its recognized equivalent, and the 
number of children and youth obtaining employment; 
and 
‘‘(2) may require correctional facilities or insti-
tutions for neglected and delinquent children and 
youth to demonstrate, after receiving assistance 
under this subpart for 3 years, that there has been 
an increase in the number of children and youth re-
turning to school, obtaining a high school diploma or 
its recognized equivalent, or obtaining employment 
after such children and youth are released.’’. 
(d) NATIONAL PROGRAM FOR TECHNICAL ASSIST-
ANCE.—Section 4121 of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7131) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) NATIONAL PROGRAM FOR TECHNICAL ASSIST-
ANCE.—From funds made available to carry out this sub-
part, not more than 5 percent shall be made available to 
the Secretary to provide technical assistance to State chief 
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executive officers, State agencies, local educational agen-
cies and other recipients of funding under this part to sup-
port these entities in achieving the goals and outcomes de-
scribed in this part. Such activities for technical assistance 
may include developing comprehensive, evidence-based 
professional development and training program for rel-
evant school staff and contractors to improve school safety 
and climate for students and staff that may include— 
‘‘(1) implementation of a schoolwide, multi- 
tiered system of behavioral support, with a con-
tinuum of interventions and supports to address the 
needs of all students; 
‘‘(2) effective classroom management strategies 
that recognize appropriate behavior and provide de-
velopmentally appropriate conflict resolution prac-
tices, incident de-escalation techniques and data- 
based decisionmaking; 
‘‘(3) crisis management techniques; 
‘‘(4) effective strategies for asserting authority 
with adolescents that recognize age-appropriate be-
havior and provide developmentally-appropriate re-
sponses; 
‘‘(5) training in prevention of racial bias and 
culturally responsive pedagogy, and training on how 
a student’s disability can affect the student’s behav-
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ior, in accordance with title II, the Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act, and section 504 of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973; 
‘‘(6) trauma-informed approaches and interven-
tions, with particular attention to recognizing the 
signs of trauma ; 
‘‘(7) for schools in need of improvement with 
high or significantly disparate disciplinary rates 
based on race, ethnicity, sex (including gender iden-
tity), disability, providing technical assistance and 
support to identify the root causes of such rates or 
disparities through diagnostic analysis of data or as-
sessing schoolwide discipline issues, and imple-
menting evidence-based practices to reduce such 
rates or disparities; 
‘‘(8) developing, implementing, and evaluating 
comprehensive programs and activities, in coordina-
tion with other schools and community-based serv-
ices and programs, rooted in holistic and positive ap-
proaches, that encompasses a ‘strategy or frame-
work’ based on positive discipline strategies that 
limit the use and scope of exclusionary discipline 
strategies; and 
‘‘(9) developing guidelines regarding the use of 
law enforcement in a school setting, and, in par-
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ticular, distinguishing between incidents to be han-
dled by educators and those to be handled by law en-
forcement officers.’’. 
Æ 
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