Referred to the Committee on Education and 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.
The Protecting our Students in Schools Act of 2025 prohibits corporal punishment—including striking, spanking, paddling, and use of chemical sprays or electroshock weapons—in all federally-funded schools and educational programs. The bill establishes multiple enforcement mechanisms, including private rights of action allowing students and parents to sue for damages, authority for the Attorney General to file civil suits, and Department of Education oversight through the Office for Civil Rights with power to withhold federal funding from non-compliant schools. States receiving federal education funding must submit annual reports on their discipline policies and implementation of positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS), alternative discipline models like restorative justice, and trauma-informed care practices, with federal grants available to support these improvements and priority funding directed to schools with high suspension rates or disproportionate discipline of students of color and students with disabilities. The Secretary of Education must issue implementing regulations within 180 days, while the Departments of Defense and Interior must ensure compliance in their respective school systems. The bill preserves existing federal civil rights protections and stronger state and local laws, and exempts private schools without federal funding and homeschooling families from its requirements.
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