Sponsors (18)
The bill substantially tightens protections, training, transparency, and federal oversight to reduce harmful restraint and seclusion of students—especially those with disabilities—while imposing new administrative, financial, and legal burdens on schools and creating possible enforcement/accountability gaps for certain frontline personnel.
Students (including those with disabilities) will face fewer and less-dangerous uses of seclusion and physical restraint because the bill bans life‑threatening/contraindicated restraints, narrows when restraints count as 'physical restraint,' and requires state policies to reduce restraint/seclusion incidents.
Teachers, school staff, officers, and program personnel will receive required training and periodic recertification in crisis intervention, de-escalation, and evidence‑based positive behavioral interventions and supports, improving staff competency and safer behavior management.
Parents, families, and stakeholders gain greater transparency and legal remedies: public posting of State plans, 60-day public comment, annual disaggregated reports, 24‑hour notification for serious incidents, and the ability to seek injunctive and compensatory relief (and attorneys’ fees) for violations.
Public schools, Head Start providers, and state/local education agencies will face substantial new compliance, training, monitoring, reporting, and administrative costs that may strain already-tight budgets.
The bill increases legal and financial exposure for institutions (lawsuits, potential loss of federal funding, national assessment/implementation costs), which could divert resources away from direct student services.
Excluding sworn law‑enforcement officers and security guards from 'program personnel' definitions, permitting criminal arrests, and shifting liability toward institutions may reduce direct accountability of frontline staff and increase criminalization of student behavior.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits unlawful seclusion and specified restraints in federally funded programs, requires state plans, training, reporting, and creates enforcement and a private right of action.
Prohibits unlawful seclusion and restraint of students in any program that receives federal funds, defines restricted practices (including mechanical, chemical, and many physical restraints), and creates a private right of action and federal enforcement for violations. It requires states to adopt training standards and monitoring systems, submit annual compliance plans and reports, mandates timely incident notification for serious injury or death, and directs a national assessment of effectiveness and best practices, with authorized funding beginning FY2026. The law narrows what counts as permissible physical restraint, excludes ordinary time-out and legitimate medical or safety devices, requires state-approved crisis intervention training and reporting, and gives protection-and-advocacy systems new authorities for investigating restraint incidents in schools and Head Start programs.
Official title: Prohibit and prevent seclusion, mechanical restraint, chemical restraint, and dangerous restraints that restrict breathing, and to prevent and reduce the use of physical restraint in schools, and for other purposes.
Introduced December 11, 2025 by Christopher Murphy · Last progress December 11, 2025