I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3027 
To end the use of corporal punishment in schools, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 22, 2011 
Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York (for herself, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. POLIS, 
Mr. ELLISON, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. PAYNE, and Mr. FILNER) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
the Workforce 
A BILL 
To end 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. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ending Corporal Pun-
ishment in Schools Act of 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Behavioral interventions for children must 
promote the right of all children to be treated with 
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dignity. All children have the right to be free from 
any corporal punishment. 
(2) Safe, effective, evidence-based strategies are 
available to support children who display challenging 
behaviors in school settings. 
(3) School personnel have the right to work in 
a safe environment and should be provided training 
and support to prevent injury and trauma to them-
selves and others. 
(4) According to the Department of Education’s 
Technical Assistance Center on School-Wide Positive 
Behavior Interventions and Support, outcomes asso-
ciated with school-wide positive behavior support are 
decreased office discipline referrals, increased in-
structional time, decreased administrator time spent 
on discipline issues, efficient and effective use of 
scarce resources, and increased perception of school 
safety and sustainability through a team approach. 
(5) Nineteen States continue to permit corporal 
punishment in public schools. 
(6) According to Department of Education sta-
tistics, each year in the United States, hundreds of 
thousands of school children are subjected to cor-
poral punishment in public schools. School corporal 
punishment is usually executed in the form of ‘‘pad-
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dling’’, or striking students with a wooden paddle on 
their buttocks or legs, which can result in abrasions, 
bruising, severe muscle injury, hematomas, whiplash 
damage, life-threatening hemorrhages, and other 
medical complications that may require hospitaliza-
tion. 
(7) Gross racial disparity exists in the execution 
of corporal punishment of public school children, and 
African-American schoolchildren are disproportion-
ately corporally punished. The most recent available 
statistics show that African-American students make 
up 17.1 percent of the national student population, 
but 35.6 percent of all students subjected to physical 
punishment at school. 
(8) Public school children with disabilities are 
subjected to corporal punishment at disproportion-
ately high rates, approximately twice the rate of the 
general student population in some States. 
(9) Corporal punishment is used in many in-
stances for minor disciplinary infractions, such as 
being tardy or violating the dress code. 
(10) Corporal punishment has resulted in phys-
ical injury and psychological trauma to children in 
public and private schools. Social skills development 
after the use of corporal punishment may be severely 
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altered, leading to aggressive behaviors. National re-
search shows students have been subjected to cor-
poral punishment in schools as a means of discipline, 
to force compliance, or as a substitute for appro-
priate educational support. 
(11) Children are protected from corporal pun-
ishment in other settings, such as hospitals, health 
facilities, Head Start programs, and nonmedical 
community-based facilities. Similar protections are 
needed in schools. 
(12) Prisoners in Federal prison are protected 
from corporal punishment. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are to— 
(1) eliminate the use of corporal punishment in 
schools; 
(2) ensure the safety of all students and school 
personnel in schools and promote a positive school 
culture and climate; 
(3) assist States, local educational agencies, 
and schools in identifying and implementing effective 
evidence-based models to prevent and reduce— 
(A) corporal punishment in schools; 
(B) aversive behavior interventions that 
compromise health and safety; and 
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(C) physical, emotional, or psychological 
abuse. 
SEC. 4. PROHIBITION AGAINST CORPORAL PUNISHMENT. 
Subpart 4 of part C of the General Education Provi-
sions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232f et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 448. PROHIBITION AGAINST CORPORAL PUNISH-
MENT. 
‘‘(a) GENERAL PROHIBITION.—No funds shall be 
made available under any applicable program to any edu-
cational agency or institution, including a local edu-
cational agency or State educational agency, that has a 
policy or practice which allows school personnel to inflict 
corporal punishment upon a student— 
‘‘(1) as a form of punishment; or 
‘‘(2) for the purpose of modifying undesirable 
behavior. 
‘‘(b) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an applicable 
program under which a local educational agency may 
only receive funds through a State educational agen-
cy that is prohibited under subsection (a) from re-
ceiving funds under any applicable program, a local 
educational agency that is not prohibited under sub-
section (a) from receiving such funds may apply di-
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rectly to the Secretary to receive funds under the 
program. 
‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION.—Each local educational 
agency applying directly to the Secretary under 
paragraph (1) shall certify in such application that 
the agency is not prohibited under subsection (a) 
from receiving funds under any applicable program. 
‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to preclude school personnel from 
using, within the scope of employment, reasonable re-
straint to the lightest possible degree upon a student, if— 
‘‘(1) the student’s behavior poses an imminent 
danger of physical injury to the student, school per-
sonnel, or others; 
‘‘(2) less restrictive interventions would be inef-
fective in stopping such imminent danger of physical 
injury; and 
‘‘(3) the reasonable restraint ends immediately 
upon the cessation of the conditions described in 
paragraphs (1) and (2). 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘corporal punishment’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 12 of the End-
ing Corporal Punishment in Schools Act of 2011; 
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(3) a description of the State plans to ensure 
school personnel and parents, including private 
school personnel and parents, are aware of the 
State’s policies and procedures. 
(b) ENFORCEMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.— 
(A) USE OF REMEDIES.—If a State edu-
cational agency fails to comply with subsection 
(a), the Secretary shall— 
(i) withhold, in whole or in part, fur-
ther payments under an applicable pro-
gram (as such term is defined in section 
400(c) of the General Education Provi-
sions Act (20 U.S.C. 1221)) in accordance 
with section 455 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 
1234d); 
(ii) enter into a compliance agreement 
in accordance with section 457 of the Gen-
eral Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 
1234f); or 
(iii) issue a complaint to compel com-
pliance of the State educational agency 
through a cease and desist order, in the 
same manner the Secretary is authorized 
to take such action under section 456 of 
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the General Education Provisions Act (20 
U.S.C. 1234e). 
(B) CESSATION
OF
WITHHOLDING
OF 
FUNDS.—Whenever the Secretary determines 
(whether by certification or other appropriate 
evidence) that a State educational agency that 
is subject to the withholding of payments under 
subparagraph (A)(i) has cured the failure pro-
viding the basis for the withholding of pay-
ments, the Secretary shall cease the withholding 
of payments with respect to the State edu-
cational agency under such subparagraph. 
(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 
subsection shall be construed to limit the Secretary’s 
authority under the General Education Provisions 
Act (20 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.). 
(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to preclude school personnel from 
using, within the scope of employment, reasonable re-
straint to the lightest possible degree upon a student, if— 
(1) the student’s behavior poses an imminent 
danger of physical injury to the student, school per-
sonnel, or others; 
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(2) less restrictive interventions would be inef-
fective in stopping such imminent danger of physical 
injury; and 
(3) the reasonable restraint ends immediately 
upon the cessation of the conditions described in 
paragraphs (1) and (2). 
SEC. 6. GRANT AUTHORITY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—From the amount appropriated 
under section 11, the Secretary may award grants to State 
educational agencies to assist the agencies in improving 
school climate and culture by implementing school-wide 
positive behavior support approaches. 
(b) DURATION OF GRANT.—A grant under this sec-
tion shall be awarded to a State educational agency for 
a 3-year period. 
(c) APPLICATION.—Each State educational agency 
desiring a grant under this section shall submit an appli-
cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 
accompanied by such information as the Secretary may 
require, including information on how the State edu-
cational agency— 
(1) will develop State training programs on 
school wide-positive behavior support approaches, 
such as training programs developed with the assist-
ance of the Secretary (acting through the Office of 
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Special Education Programs Technical Assistance 
Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and 
Supports of the Department of Education); and 
(2) will target resources to schools and local 
educational agencies in need of assistance related to 
improving school culture and climate through posi-
tive behavior supports. 
(d) AUTHORITY TO MAKE SUBGRANTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency 
receiving a grant under this section may use such 
grant funds to award subgrants, on a competitive 
basis, to local educational agencies. 
(2) APPLICATION.—A local educational agency 
desiring to receive a subgrant under this section 
shall submit an application to the applicable State 
educational agency at such time, in such manner, 
and containing such information as the State edu-
cational agency may require. 
(e) PRIVATE SCHOOL PARTICIPATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency 
receiving subgrant funds under this section shall, 
after timely and meaningful consultation with appro-
priate private school officials, ensure that private 
school personnel can participate, on an equitable 
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basis, in activities supported by funds under this 
section. 
(2) PUBLIC CONTROL OF FUNDS.—The control 
of funds provided under this section, and title to ma-
terials, equipment, and property purchased with 
such funds, shall be in a public agency, and a public 
agency shall administer such funds, materials, equip-
ment, and property. 
(f) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—A State educational 
agency receiving a grant, or a local educational agency re-
ceiving a subgrant, under this section shall use such grant 
or subgrant funds to carry out the following: 
(1) Developing and implementing high-quality 
professional development and training programs, 
such as training programs developed with the assist-
ance of the Secretary (acting through the Office of 
Special Education Programs Technical Assistance 
Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and 
Supports of the Department of Education), to imple-
ment 
evidence-based 
systematic 
approaches 
to 
school-wide positive behavior supports, including im-
proving coaching, facilitation, and training capacity 
for principals and other administrators, teachers, 
specialized instructional support personnel, and 
other staff. 
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