Bill > S1338

This bill, known as the Ending Pushout Act of 2025, aims to reduce discriminatory and excessive school discipline practices that disproportionately impact students of color, particularly girls of color. The bill establishes comprehensive measures to address exclusionary discipline, including mandating detailed annual data collection on school disciplinary actions that will track suspensions, expulsions, law enforcement referrals, and arrests, disaggregated by various student demographics. It creates a competitive grant program called Healing School Climate Grants to help schools develop alternative disciplinary approaches, prohibiting out-of-school suspensions for younger students and for minor infractions like dress code violations or insubordination. The bill also establishes a joint task force between the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services to study discipline disparities and develop recommendations for reducing discriminatory practices. Grant recipients would be required to implement trauma-informed practices, provide professional development for educators, hire mental health professionals, and develop alternatives to traditional punitive discipline. Critically, the bill explicitly prohibits grant funds from being used to hire school-based law enforcement or purchase surveillance equipment. With an authorized appropriation of $500 million annually for implementation, the bill seeks to create more supportive, equitable school environments that prioritize student well-being and educational success.

Health and Social Services

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1338/all-info