Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Suzanne Bonamici (1st District Oregon)
WASHINGTON, DC [05/9/25] – Today Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Lucy McBath (D-GA), Gwen Moore (D-WI), and Frederica Wilson (D-FL) introduced legislation to protect students from corporal punishment in schools.
The Protecting Our Students in Schools Act would prohibit the practice of corporal punishment in any school that receives federal funding. It would also provide schools with the support necessary to create more nurturing and inclusive learning environments that employ restorative, evidence-based practices to improve school safety. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) is leading the companion in the Senate.
“The disturbing use of corporal punishment in schools must stop,” said Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici. “Students must feel safe and be safe in school. Fear of physical pain keeps students from reaching their full potential, inflicting damage that can last for decades. I’m grateful to partner with Reps. McBath, Moore, and Wilson to finally put a stop to the use of corporal punishment in schools that receive federal funding.”
“When parents send their children to school, it’s with the belief that their student will learn in a safe, healthy environment,” said Congresswoman Lucy McBath. “The impacts that cruel, unnecessary punishments have on the next generation are heartbreaking and these practices still exist in Georgia today. I thank my colleagues in the House and Senate for their collaboration on this effort as we protect our children and set them up for strong, successful futures.”
“Corporal punishment violates children’s fundamental rights to dignity, physical integrity, and protection from violence,” said Congresswoman Gwen Moore. “Every child deserves to be treated with respect and provided with a safe and nurturing learning environment. By eliminating this form of punishment, schools can create a safer, more supportive atmosphere that encourages learning, engagement, and positive relationships between students and educators.”
“The hallways, classrooms and cafeterias of our schools should be safe, supportive environments for all students,” said Congresswoman Frederica Wilson. “Corporal punishment is a backward practice that has no place in our schools, harming our students, especially Black and Brown children. That’s why I’m proudly co-leading the Protecting Our Students in Schools Act of 2023, which implements positive reinforcement strategies, creating a better environment for our students. With this bill, we can eliminate the shameful stain of corporal punishment and promote evidence-based behavioral interventions for more positive outcomes for our students.”
“It’s absurd there are states that still allow educators to strike, paddle, and spank students as a means of discipline,” said Senator Chris Murphy. “This bill puts an end to that cruelty and would give schools the resources they need to create safe, supportive environments where every student can thrive.”
Corporal punishment, the act of inflicting physical pain as a form of discipline, can result in serious injury with long-term negative consequences for students’ physical and mental health. Research overwhelmingly shows that corporal punishment in schools does not lead to improvements in student behavior; instead it is linked to poor academic performance, physical and emotional harm, and damage to students’ self-esteem and trust of educators. Corporal punishment is disproportionately applied to boys, students of color, and students with disabilities.
“Even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when so many students were learning from home, nearly 20,000 students still endured corporal punishment in schools, of which 2,400 of those students have a disability,” said Dr. Jacqueline Rodriguez, CEO of the National Center for Learning Disabilities. “Corporal punishment has no place in education. On behalf of the National Center for Learning Disabilities and our partners in the disability rights community, I applaud Representative Bonamici, Senator Murphy, and the other co-sponsors for their leadership on this critical bill. Now it’s time for the rest of the members of Congress to step up and ensure all students have a safe, supportive, and high-quality public education.”
“IDRA is pleased to support the Protecting our Students in Schools Act of 2025, an important piece of legislation that would end the harmful, outdated practice of hitting students in schools,” said Morgan Craven, National Director of Policy, Advocacy, and Community Engagement at the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA). “Schools should be places where all young people feel safe and supported to learn, but corporal punishment endangers students, compromises achievement, and weakens the relationships that are the foundation of strong school communities.”
“Laws permitting educators to assault their own students should have long ago been abolished,” said Justin Driver, Robert R. Slaughter Professor of Law at Yale Law School. “Regrettably, though, the archaic and, indeed, barbaric practice of corporal punishment remains prevalent in our nation’s schools. That state-sanctioned violence prevents far too many of our youngest, most vulnerable Americans from having any real chance of fulfilling their enormous potential. I salute Congresswoman Bonamici for her steadfast leadership in seeking to eliminate the scourge of corporal punishment from our schools. And I fervently hope that this measure will soon become the law of the land.”
A summary of the Protecting Our Students in Schools Act can be found here. The full bill text can be found here.
The Protecting Our Students in Schools Act is endorsed by: National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers, National PTA, The Education Trust, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, American Psychological Association, Lives in the Balance, Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA), GLSEN, NAESP, NASSP, National Parents’ Union, National Center for Learning Disabilities, National Association of Social Workers, Federal School Discipline and Climate Coalition, National Woman’s Law Center, Human Rights Campaign, NAACP, American School Counselor Association, American Civil Liberties Union, National Urban League, Advocating 4 Kids, Inc, All4Ed, American Atheists, American Humanist Association, American Youth Policy Forum, Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Center for Learner Equity, Center for Popular Democracy, Children’s Defense Fund, Committee for Children, Council for Exceptional Children, Council for Administrators of Special Education, Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Dignity in Schools Campaign, Education Reform Now, EduColor, Disability Law Colorado, Elite Educational Consulting, Every Texan, Fannie Education Alliance, First Focus Campaign for Children, Girls, Inc., Gwinnett SToPP, Ibero American Action League, Inc., KIPP Foundation, Lawyers for Good Government, Mississippi Coalition to End Corporal Punishment, National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, National Black Child Development Institute, National Disability Rights Network, National Down Syndrome Congress, New Leaders, Nollie Jenkins Family Center, Inc., Open Society Policy Center, Parent Education Organizing Council, Racial Justice NOW, STAND Up, Texas Appleseed, Texas Kids Can’t Wait, The Advocacy Institute, The Arc of the United States, The Daniel Initiative, TNTP, United Women in Faith, Uplift MN, Volunteer State Seal of Biliteracy, National Association of Counsel for Children, Alliance for Educational Justice, The NOTICE Coalition, End Mass Incarceration Georgia Network, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Juvenile Law Center, and Represent Justice.
Original cosponsors of the House version of Protecting Our Students in Schools Act include Representatives Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Don Beyer (D-VA), Danny Davis (D-IL), Mark Takano (D-CA), Darren Soto (D-FL), Jennifer McClellan (D-VA), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), Jahana Hayes (D-CT), Bill Keating (D-MA), Joe Courtney (D-CT), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA), Mark Pocan (D-WI), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), and Jill Tokuda (D-HI).
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