Title: Trauma-Informed Schools Act of 2018
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Trauma-Informed Schools Act of 2018
This bill provides for the use of trauma-informed practices in public elementary and secondary schools and allows states to use certain federal funds to train teachers in such practices.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7320 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7320

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide 
criteria for use of Federal funds to support trauma-informed practices 
                  in schools, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 17, 2018

  Ms. Clark of Massachusetts 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 provide 
criteria for use of Federal funds to support trauma-informed practices 
                  in schools, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Trauma-Informed Schools Act of 
2018''.

SEC. 2. TRAUMA-INFORMED PRACTICES.

    (a) Definition.--Section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (51) and (52) as paragraphs 
        (52) and (53), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (50) the following:
            ``(51) Trauma-informed practices.--The term `trauma-
        informed practices' means--
                    ``(A) evidence-based activities that promote a 
                shared understanding among teachers, school leaders, 
                paraprofessionals, specialized instructional support 
                personnel, and other staff that traumatic life 
                experiences in the lives of children--
                            ``(i) are common, yet are often not 
                        disclosed or reported;
                            ``(ii) cause neurological, psychological, 
                        and social effects that affect learning, 
                        behavior, and relationships;
                            ``(iii) create risk of further trauma;
                            ``(iv) do not inherently undermine the 
                        capabilities of students to reach high 
                        expectations in academics and life; and
                            ``(v) can and should be mitigated in 
                        schools by evidence-based schoolwide 
                        approaches;
                    ``(B) adoption of disciplinary procedures and 
                practices that--
                            ``(i) accompany disciplinary actions with 
                        holistic assessments and interventions to 
                        address the underlying causes of student 
                        behavior, including trauma;
                            ``(ii) avoid harsh and punitive, 
                        exclusionary disciplinary practices;
                            ``(iii) utilize evidence-based restorative 
                        practices that build a culture of trust; and
                            ``(iv) do not discriminate on the basis of 
                        race, color, national origin, sex (including 
                        sexual orientation or gender identity), 
                        disability, English proficiency status, migrant 
                        status, or age consistent with the Age 
                        Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. 6101 et 
                        seq.), title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 
                        (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), title IX of the 
                        Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et 
                        seq.), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 
                        1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), the Americans with 
                        Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et 
                        seq.), and the Individuals with Disabilities 
                        Education Act (42 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.);
                    ``(C) activities that promote a culture of 
                acceptance that connects a student to the school 
                community and provides multiple opportunities to 
                practice newly developing skills;
                    ``(D) activities that promote teamwork, shared 
                staff responsibility, and ongoing, effective 
                communication among teachers, school leaders, 
                paraprofessionals, specialized instructional support 
                personnel, and other staff regarding the needs of each 
                individual student enrolled in such school; and
                    ``(E) activities which provide teachers, school 
                leaders, paraprofessionals, specialized instructional 
                support personnel, and other staff with evidence-based 
                professional development on skills including--
                            ``(i) identifying students who exhibit 
                        symptoms commonly associated with trauma;
                            ``(ii) recognizing and preventing adult 
                        implicit bias;
                            ``(iii) proactively anticipating and 
                        adapting to the changing needs of each student 
                        who has experienced trauma;
                            ``(iv) integrating evidence-based practices 
                        that build social-emotional skills into 
                        rigorous academic instruction; and
                            ``(v) using evidence-based practices to 
                        holistically address the needs of each student 
                        who has experienced trauma in a culturally 
                        sustaining manner, including by supporting, 
                        with respect to each such student, the 
                        following:
                                    ``(I) Success in academic and 
                                nonacademic areas.
                                    ``(II) Physical, social, and 
                                emotional health and well-being.''.
    (b) State Plan.--Section 1111(g)(1)(C) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 
6311(g)(1)(C)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``reducing'';
            (2) in clause (i), by inserting ``reducing'' before 
        ``incidences'';
            (3) in clause (ii)--
                    (A) by inserting ``reducing'' before ``the 
                overuse''; and
                    (B) by striking ``and'';
            (4) in clause (iii)--
                    (A) by inserting ``reducing'' before ``the use''; 
                and
                    (B) by inserting ``and'' after ``safety;''; and
            (5) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(iv) increasing the prevalence of trauma-
                        informed practices;''.
    (c) Plan Provisions.--Section 1112(b) of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6312(b)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (12) and (13) as paragraphs 
        (13) and (14), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (11) the following:
            ``(12) how the local educational agency will support 
        efforts to increase the prevalence of trauma-informed 
        practices;''.
    (d) Schoolwide Program.--Section 1114(b)(7)(A)(iii) of such Act (20 
U.S.C. 6314(b)(7)(A)(iii)) is amended--
            (1) in subclause (IV), by striking at the end ``and''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
                                    ``(VI) the implementation of 
                                trauma-informed practices; and''.
    (e) Training.--Section 2101 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 6611) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)(4)(B)--
                    (A) by redesignating clauses (xv) through (xxi) as 
                clauses (xvi) through (xxii), respectively; and
                    (B) by inserting after clause (xiv) the following:
                            ``(xv) Providing training for all teachers, 
                        school leaders, paraprofessionals, and 
                        specialized instructional support personnel on 
                        trauma-informed practices.''; and
            (2) in subsection (d)(2)--
                    (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (K) through (M) 
                as subparagraphs (L) through (N) respectively; and
                    (B) by inserting after subparagraph (J) the 
                following:
                    ``(K) A description of how the State educational 
                agency will use funds under this part to increase the 
                prevalence of trauma-informed practices.''.
    (f) Local Use of Funds.--Section 2103(b)(3)(I) of such Act (20 
U.S.C. 6613(b)(3)(I)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating clauses (i) through (iv) as clauses 
        (ii) through (v); and
            (2) by inserting before clause (ii), as redesignated, the 
        following:
                            ``(i) trauma-informed practices;''.
    (g) State Activities.--Section 4104(b)(3)(B)(ii) of such Act (20 
U.S.C. 7114(b)(3)(B)(ii)) is amended--
            (1) in subclause (I), by striking at the end ``or'';
            (2) in subclause (II), by inserting ``or'' at the end; and
            (3) by inserting at the end the following:
                                    ``(III) increase the prevalence of 
                                trauma-informed practices;''.
    (h) State Application.--Section 4203(a)(6) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 
7173(a)(6)) is amended by striking ``development;'' and inserting 
``development, which may include professional development on trauma-
informed practices;''.
    (i) Description of Plan.--Section 4303(f)(1)(A)(viii) of such Act 
(20 U.S.C. 7221b(f)(1)(A)(viii)) is amended--
            (1) in subclause (I), by striking at the end ``and'';
            (2) in subclause (II), by inserting ``and'' at the end; and
            (3) by inserting at the end the following:
                                    ``(III) adopting trauma-informed 
                                practices.''.
    (j) Application Requirements.--Section 4305(b)(3)(B)(ii) of such 
Act (20 U.S.C. 7221d(b)(3)(B)(ii)) is amended--
            (1) in subclause (II), by striking ``and'';
            (2) in subclause (III), by inserting ``and'' at the end; 
        and
            (3) by inserting at the end the following:
                                    ``(IV) the discipline practices 
                                that will be used, including a 
                                description of whether such practices 
                                are consistent with trauma-informed 
                                practices;''.
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