Protecting our Students in Schools Act of 2025

Summary

Prohibits corporal punishment in any school program that receives Federal financial assistance and requires States and school districts to adopt and report on positive, non-aversive discipline practices. It creates definitions, timelines, reporting rules, training and notification duties, and enforcement tools (private lawsuits, Department of Education investigations, and administrative remedies including withholding funds) and directs the Department to write implementing regulations within 180 days.

• Bans corporal punishment in any school program that receives Federal financial assistance, covering school staff, law enforcement, and security guards in those programs.
• Establishes definitions, training, and implementation requirements for positive behavioral interventions and other non-aversive discipline models.
• Creates enforcement routes: private civil suits, Department of Justice actions, and Department of Education investigations and administrative remedies.
• Requires SEAs and LEAs to report on school climate and discipline policies on a set schedule and to ensure personnel training and parent notification.
• Secretary of Education must issue regulations within 180 days using negotiated rulemaking; DoD and Interior must ensure compliance in their schools.
• Requires written parent and agency notifications within 24 hours after corporal punishment incidents and preserves protection-and-advocacy powers for students with disabilities.
• Authorizes indefinite funding as "such sums as may be necessary" starting in FY2025 but does not specify exact appropriations.
• Excludes private schools with no Federal support and homeschools; preserves applicability of other, more protective laws.