Protecting our Students in Schools Act of 2023
Latest action · May 23, 2023 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 committee concerned.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMay 23, 2023
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Protecting our Students in Schools Act of 2023
This bill prohibits the use of corporal punishment in schools that receive federal funding.
Specifically, the bill authorizes the Department of Education (ED) to take specified actions (e.g., withholding funds and issuing cease-and-desist orders) for schools that allow school personnel, law enforcement officers, or school security guards to subject students to corporal punishment.
The bill also establishes enforcement provisions, including a private right of action for a student who has been subjected to corporal punishment.
Each state educational agency (SEA) that receives federal funding must submit specified information to ED, including a school climate report that describes the SEA's policies and procedures related to exclusionary and aversive discipline practices in schools.
Additionally, the bill authorizes ED to award three-year grants to SEAs and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies to implement positive behavioral interventions and supports to address student behavior and reduce exclusionary and aversive discipline practices.
ED must promulgate regulations as necessary to ensure compliance with the bill. The Department of Defense and the Department of the Interior must ensure that the schools they operate or fund also comply with these regulations.
Cosponsors 49
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 23, 2023 to Aug 2, 2024; 36 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NH | Ann M. Kuster | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-NJ | Bonnie Watson Coleman | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-IL | Danny K. Davis | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-MD | David J. Trone | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-NC | Deborah K. Ross | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-VA | Donald S. Beyer, Jr. | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-FL | Frederica S. Wilson | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-MD | Glenn Ivey | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-NY | Grace Meng | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-TX | Greg Casar | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-WI | Gwen Moore | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-MI | Haley M. Stevens | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-GA | Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-MN | Ilhan Omar | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-CT | Jahana Hayes | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-NY | Jamaal Bowman | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-TX | Jasmine Crockett | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-HI | Jill N. Tokuda | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-CT | Joe Courtney | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-CA | Judy Chu | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-GA | Lucy McBath | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-PA | Madeleine Dean | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-CA | Mark DeSaulnier | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-WI | Mark Pocan | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-CA | Mark Takano | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-WA | Pramila Jayapal | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-MI | Rashida Tlaib | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-AZ | Ruben Gallego | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-CA | Sara Jacobs | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-FL | Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-MA | Stephen F. Lynch | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-MA | William R. Keating | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-NY | Yvette D. Clarke | Original | May 23, 2023 |
| D-DE | Lisa Blunt Rochester | May 24, 2023 | |
| D-CA | Adam B. Schiff | May 25, 2023 | |
| D-MA | Ayanna Pressley | May 25, 2023 | |
| D-MS | Bennie G. Thompson | May 25, 2023 | |
| D-OH | Shontel M. Brown | May 25, 2023 | |
| D-VA | Jennifer L. McClellan | Jun 30, 2023 | |
| D-ME | Chellie Pingree | Nov 1, 2023 | |
| D-PA | Mary Gay Scanlon | Mar 22, 2024 | |
| D-TX | Sheila Jackson Lee | Apr 23, 2024 | |
| D-NC | Alma S. Adams | May 6, 2024 | |
| D-VT | Becca Balint | May 22, 2024 | |
| D-TX | Al Green | Jul 23, 2024 | |
| D-FL | Darren Soto | Aug 2, 2024 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Education and Workforce Committee | Referred May 23, 2023 |
| House | Armed Services Committee | Referred May 23, 2023 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 23, 2023Introduced in House
- May 23, 2023Referred 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 committee concerned.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Lists H2546H.R. 3596–3618 | — | May 23, 2023 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 169, no. 87, May 23, 2023, page H2546.
Related bills 3
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1762 | Protecting our Students in Schools Act of 2023 | Related bill | May 30, 2023 |
| HR 3265 | Protecting our Students in Schools Act of 2025 | Cross-Congress related bill | May 8, 2025 |
| S 5470 | Protecting our Students in Schools Act of 2026 | Cross-Congress related bill | Sep 23, 2026 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To prohibit the use of corporal punishment in schools, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Protecting our Students in Schools Act of 2023
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Education.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 23, 2023Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
