Ending PUSHOUT Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5325 To reduce exclusionary discipline practices in schools, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 5, 2019 Ms. PRESSLEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To reduce exclusionary discipline practices in schools, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ending Punitive, Un- 4 fair, School-based Harm that is Overt and Unresponsive 5 to Trauma Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘Ending PUSHOUT Act 6 of 2019’’. 7 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 8 It is the purpose of this Act to— 9 (1) strengthen data collection related to exclu- 10 sionary discipline practices in schools and the dis- 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:04 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5325.IH H5325 2 •HR 5325 IH criminatory application of such practices, which dis- 1 proportionately impacts students of color, particu- 2 larly girls of color; 3 (2) eliminate the discriminatory use and over- 4 use of exclusionary discipline practices based on ac- 5 tual or perceived race, ethnicity, color, national ori- 6 gin, sex (including sexual orientation, gender iden- 7 tity, pregnancy, childbirth, a medical condition re- 8 lated to pregnancy or childbirth, or other stereotype 9 related to sex), or disability; and 10 (3) prevent the criminalization and pushout of 11 students from school, especially Black and brown 12 girls, as a result of educational barriers that include 13 discrimination, punitive discipline policies and prac- 14 tices, and a failure to recognize and support stu- 15 dents with mental health needs or experiencing trau- 16 ma. 17 SEC. 3. STRENGTHENING CIVIL RIGHTS DATA COLLECTION 18 WITH RESPECT TO EXCLUSIONARY DIS- 19 CIPLINE IN SCHOOLS. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary for Civil 21 Rights shall annually carry out data collection authorized 22 under section 203(c)(1) of the Department of Education 23 Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3413(c)(1)), which shall in- 24 clude data with respect to students enrolled in a public 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:04 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5325.IH H5325 3 •HR 5325 IH preschool, elementary, or secondary school (including tra- 1 ditional public, charter, virtual, special education school, 2 and alternative schools) who received the following dis- 3 ciplinary actions during the preceding school year: 4 (1) Suspension (including the classification of 5 the suspension as in-school suspension or out-of- 6 school suspension), which shall include data with re- 7 spect to— 8 (A) the number of students who were sus- 9 pended; 10 (B) the number and length of suspensions 11 each such student received; 12 (C) the reason for each such suspension, 13 including— 14 (i) a violation of a zero-tolerance pol- 15 icy and whether such violation was due to 16 a violent or nonviolent offense; 17 (ii) a violation of an appearance or 18 grooming policy; 19 (iii) an act of insubordination; 20 (iv) willful defiance; and 21 (v) a violation of a school code of con- 22 duct; and 23 (D) the number of days of lost instruction 24 due to each out-of-school suspension. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:04 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5325.IH H5325 4 •HR 5325 IH (2) Expulsion, which shall include data with re- 1 spect to— 2 (A) the number of students who were ex- 3 pelled; and 4 (B) the reason for each such expulsion, in- 5 cluding— 6 (i) a violation of a zero-tolerance pol- 7 icy and whether such violation was due to 8 a violent or nonviolent offense; 9 (ii) a violation of an appearance or 10 grooming policy; 11 (iii) an act of insubordination, willful 12 defiance, or violation of a school code of 13 conduct; and 14 (iv) the use of profane or vulgar lan- 15 guage. 16 (3) The number of students subject to an out- 17 of-school transfer to a different school, including a 18 virtual school, and if so, the primary reason for each 19 such transfer. 20 (4) The number of students subject to a refer- 21 ral to law enforcement, including the primary reason 22 for each such referral, and whether such referral re- 23 sulted in an arrest. 24 (b) REPORT.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:04 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5325.IH H5325 5 •HR 5325 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 1 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 2 thereafter, the Secretary, acting through the Assist- 3 ant Secretary for Civil Rights, shall submit to Con- 4 gress a report on the data collected under subsection 5 (a). 6 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The report required 7 under paragraph (1) shall— 8 (A) identify, with respect to the data col- 9 lected under subsection (a), schools, local edu- 10 cational agencies, and States that demonstrate, 11 in the opinion of the Secretary, the overuse and 12 discriminatory use of exclusionary disciplinary 13 practices; 14 (B) be disaggregated and cross tabulated 15 by— 16 (i) enrollment in a preschool or in an 17 elementary school and secondary school by 18 grade level; 19 (ii) race; 20 (iii) ethnicity; 21 (iv) sex (including, to the extent pos- 22 sible, sexual orientation and gender iden- 23 tity); 24 (v) low-income status; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:04 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5325.IH H5325 6 •HR 5325 IH (vi) disability status (including stu- 1 dents eligible for disability under the Indi- 2 viduals with Disabilities Education Act (20 3 U.S.C. 1401 et. seq.) or section 504 of the 4 Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 5 794)); 6 (vii) English learner status; 7 (viii) Tribal citizenship or descent, in 8 the first or second degree, of an Indian 9 Tribe; and 10 (ix) if applicable, pregnant and par- 11 enting student status; 12 (C) be publicly accessible in multiple lan- 13 guages, accessibility formats, and provided in a 14 language that parents, family, and community 15 members can understand; and 16 (D) be presented in a manner that protects 17 the privacy of individuals consistent with the re- 18 quirements of section 444 of the General Edu- 19 cation Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g), com- 20 monly known as the ‘‘Family Educational 21 Rights and Privacy Act of 1974’’. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:04 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5325.IH H5325 7 •HR 5325 IH SEC. 4. GRANTS TO REDUCE EXCLUSIONARY SCHOOL DIS- 1 CIPLINE PRACTICES. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award grants 3 (which shall be known as the ‘‘Healing School Climate 4 Grants’’), on a competitive basis, to eligible entities for 5 the purpose of reducing the overuse and discriminatory 6 use of exclusionary discipline practices in schools. 7 (b) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity seeking a grant 8 under this section shall submit an application to the Sec- 9 retary at such time, in such manner, and containing such 10 information as the Secretary may require, including an as- 11 surance that the eligible entity shall prioritize schools with 12 the highest rates of suspensions and expulsions. 13 (c) PROGRAM REQUIREMENT.—An eligible entity 14 that receives a grant under subsection (a) shall prohibit 15 the use of— 16 (1) out-of-school suspension or expulsion for 17 any student in preschool through grade 5 for inci- 18 dents that do not involve serious bodily injury; 19 (2) out-of-school suspension or expulsion for 20 any student in preschool through grade 12 for insub- 21 ordination, willful defiance, vulgarity, truancy, tardi- 22 ness, chronic absenteeism, or as a result of a viola- 23 tion of a grooming or appearance policy; 24 (3) corporal punishment; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:04 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5325.IH H5325 8 •HR 5325 IH (4) mechanical and chemical restraints of stu- 1 dents; 2 (5) physical restraints of students, except in sit- 3 uations involving imminent danger of serious phys- 4 ical harm; and 5 (6) seclusion. 6 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 7 (1) REQUIRED USES.—An eligible entity that 8 receives a grant under this section shall use funds 9 to— 10 (A) evaluate the current discipline policies 11 of a school and, in partnership with students 12 (including girls of color), the family members of 13 students, and the local community of such 14 school, develop discipline policies for such school 15 to ensure that such policies are not exclusionary 16 or discriminately applied toward students; 17 (B) provide training and professional de- 18 velopment for teachers, principals, school lead- 19 ers, and other school personnel to avoid or ad- 20 dress the overuse and discriminatory dispropor- 21 tionate use of exclusionary discipline practices 22 in schools and to create awareness of implicit 23 and explicit bias and use culturally affirming 24 practices, including training in— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:04 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5325.IH H5325 9 •HR 5325 IH (i) identifying and providing support 1 to students who may have experienced or 2 are at risk of experiencing trauma or have 3 other mental health needs; 4 (ii) administering and responding to 5 assessments on adverse childhood experi- 6 ences; 7 (iii) providing student-centered, trau- 8 ma-informed positive behavior management 9 intervention and support that creates safe 10 and supportive school climates; 11 (iv) using restorative practices; 12 (v) using culturally and linguistically 13 responsive intervention strategies; 14 (vi) developing social and emotional 15 learning competencies; and 16 (vii) increasing student engagement 17 and improving dialogue between students 18 and teachers; 19 (C) implement evidence-based alternatives 20 to suspension or expulsion, including— 21 (i) multi-tier systems of support, such 22 as schoolwide positive behavioral interven- 23 tions and supports; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:04 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5325.IH H5325 10 •HR 5325 IH (ii) social, emotional, and academic 1 learning strategies designed to engage stu- 2 dents and avoid escalating conflicts; and 3 (iii) other data-driven approaches to 4 improving school environments; 5 (D) improve behavioral and academic out- 6 comes for students by creating a safe and sup- 7 portive learning environment and school cli- 8 mate, which may include— 9 (i) restorative practices with respect 10 to improving relationships among students, 11 school officials, and members of the local 12 community, which may include partnering 13 with local mental health agencies or non- 14 profit organizations; 15 (ii) access to mentors and peer-based 16 support programs; 17 (iii) extracurricular programs, includ- 18 ing sports and art programs; 19 (iv) social and emotional learning 20 strategies designed to engage students and 21 avoid escalating conflicts; 22 (v) access to counseling, mental health 23 programs, and trauma-informed care pro- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:04 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5325.IH H5325 11 •HR 5325 IH grams, including suicide prevention pro- 1 grams; and 2 (vi) access to culturally responsive 3 curricula that affirms the history and con- 4 tributions of traditionally marginalized 5 people and communities; 6 (E) hire social workers, school counselors, 7 trauma-informed care personnel, and other 8 mental health personnel; and 9 (F) support the development, delivery, and 10 analysis of school climate surveys. 11 (2) PROHIBITED USES.—An eligible entity that 12 receives a grant under this section may not use 13 funds to— 14 (A) hire or retain law enforcement per- 15 sonnel, including school resource officers; 16 (B) purchase, maintain, or install surveil- 17 lance equipment, including metal detectors or 18 software programs that monitor or mine the so- 19 cial media use or technology use of students; 20 (C) arm teachers, principals, school lead- 21 ers, or other school personnel; and 22 (D) enter into formal or informal partner- 23 ships or data and information sharing agree- 24 ments with— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:04 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5325.IH H5325 12 •HR 5325 IH (i) the Secretary of Homeland Secu- 1 rity, including agreements with U.S. Immi- 2 gration and Customs Enforcement or U.S. 3 Customs and Border Protection; or 4 (ii) local law enforcement agencies, in- 5 cluding partnerships that allow for hiring 6 of school-based police and school resource 7 officers. 8 (e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary, in car- 9 rying out subsection (a), may reserve not more than 2 per- 10 cent of funds to provide technical assistance to eligible en- 11 tities, which may include— 12 (1) support for data collection, compliance, and 13 analysis of the activities of the program authorized 14 under subsection (a); and 15 (2) informational meetings and seminars with 16 respect to the application process under subsection 17 (b). 18 (f) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—In this section, the term 19 ‘‘eligible entity’’ means— 20 (1) 1 or more local educational agencies (who 21 may be partnered with a State educational agency), 22 including a public charter school that is a local edu- 23 cational agency under State law or local educational 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:04 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5325.IH H5325 13 •HR 5325 IH agency operated by the Bureau of Indian Education; 1 or 2 (2) a nonprofit organization (defined as an or- 3 ganization described in section 501(c)(3) of the In- 4 ternal Revenue Code, which is exempt from taxation 5 under section 501(a) of such Code) with a track 6 record of success in improving school climates and 7 supporting students. 8 SEC. 5. JOINT TASK FORCE TO END SCHOOL PUSHOUT OF 9 GIRLS OF COLOR. 10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary and the Sec- 11 retary of Health and Human Services shall establish and 12 operate a joint task force to end school pushout (in this 13 section referred to as the ‘‘Joint Task Force’’). 14 (b) COMPOSITION.— 15 (1) CHAIRS.—The Secretary and the Secretary 16 of Health and Human Services shall chair the Joint 17 Task Force. 18 (2) MEMBERS.—The Joint Task Force shall be 19 composed of— 20 (A) Native American girls; 21 (B) students, including Black and brown 22 girls; 23 (C) teachers; 24 (D) parents with children in school; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:04 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5325.IH H5325 14 •HR 5325 IH (E) school officials; 1 (F) representatives from civil rights and [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]