S. 5470 — Protecting our Students in Schools Act of 2026

This section prohibits corporal punishment of students by program personnel, law enforcement officers, or school security guards in any program receiving federal financial assistance. It creates a private right of action allowing affected students or their parents to sue in federal or state court for attorneys’ fees, expert fees, injunctive relief, and compensatory damages.

This section authorizes the Attorney General to file civil actions in federal district courts against programs violating the prohibition under section 101 upon receiving a meritorious written complaint from a parent or group of parents. It requires prior notice to the program and certification that the program has had reasonable time to adjust the alleged conditions, and permits impleading additional defendants as needed for effective relief.

This section directs the Secretary of Education to refer complaints alleging violations of section 101(a) to the Office for Civil Rights for investigation and to establish a complaint receipt procedure within 90 days of enactment. For noncompliance, the Secretary may withhold payments under applicable education programs, enter compliance agreements, or issue cease-and-desist orders. A program that cures the violation within one year receives reimbursement of any withheld funds.

This section requires programs to notify, in writing within 24 hours, the parents of a student, the State educational agency, and the local law enforcement agency when corporal punishment is used by program personnel, a law enforcement officer, or a school security guard. For students with disabilities, it additionally requires notification to the relevant protection and advocacy system and provision of any requested information. It affirms the authority of such systems to investigate, monitor, and enforce protections for eligible students under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000.

This section requires each State educational agency receiving Federal assistance to submit written assurances that programs have been notified of the corporal punishment prohibition and that personnel and parents have received training and notice, plus school climate reports describing exclusionary discipline policies and implementation of positive behavioral interventions and supports. It sets an initial submission deadline of 1 year after enactment, followed by annual submissions for 3 years and biennial submissions thereafter, directs the Secretary to summarize the reports for Congress and the public, and authorizes the Secretary to withhold program funds, enter compliance agreements, or issue cease-and-desist orders for noncompliance, with restoration of withheld funds if cured within 1 year.

This section establishes a grant program authorizing the Secretary to award 3-year grants to State educational agencies, with priority for those with high rates of in-school and out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, school-related arrests, or law enforcement referrals, to implement positive behavioral interventions and supports, restorative justice, trauma-informed care, multi-tiered systems of support, and related models that reduce exclusionary discipline practices in public elementary and secondary schools. States may make competitive subgrants to local educational agencies and must provide training, technical assistance, and evaluation while disaggregating outcome data by race, gender, disability, and English learner status.

This section directs the Secretary to issue regulations within 180 days of enactment to ensure compliance with this Act. It requires use of the negotiated rulemaking process under sections 1601 and 1602 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, modified to require establishment of the process.

This section requires the Secretary of Defense to ensure that Department of Defense Education Activity schools and other schools operated or funded by the Department for military-connected dependents comply with regulations promulgated under this Act. It also requires the Secretary of the Interior to ensure that schools operated or funded by the Department of the Interior comply with those regulations.

This section preserves all other rights and remedies available to students or parents under federal, state, or local law. It also leaves in place any more stringent state or local limits on corporal punishment, protects the lawful duties of sworn law enforcement officers, and does not affect enforcement of title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, or the Department of Education Organization Act.

This section exempts from the Act any private school that neither receives nor serves students who receive federal funds. It also exempts home schools from the Act and bars treating parents who school children at home as program personnel.

This section provides that if any provision of the Act is held unconstitutional, the remaining provisions and their application to any person or circumstance remain in effect.