Sponsors (173)
The bill seeks to make schools safer and less exclusionary by promoting evidence-based restorative practices, anti-bullying protections, training, and potential federal grants — likely improving student well‑being and school capacity — but it increases costs, administrative burdens, and presents trade-offs around immediate removal of dangerous students versus more supportive approaches and the balance of security versus mental‑health supports.
Students experience fewer suspensions and expulsions because schools adopting evidence-based restorative practices (like PBIS) reduce exclusionary discipline and keep more students in class.
Students targeted for identity-based bullying (race, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, religion) gain clearer protections as explicit anti-bullying policies increase reporting and teacher intervention.
Students' physical and psychological health may improve and absenteeism/dropout risk fall as bullying is addressed and victims receive supports; perpetrators with trauma histories may also get trauma-informed services that reduce repeat misconduct.
Schools and taxpayers may face increased costs because implementing evidence-based restorative and trauma-informed programs (training, technical assistance) and new federal grant programs raises expenditures.
Some teachers, staff, and administrators will face greater administrative and reporting burden from enumerated policies and any new compliance or grant requirements.
Efforts to reduce exclusionary discipline could be perceived as limiting schools' ability to quickly remove dangerous students, potentially raising safety concerns for some students and staff.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Inserts a new "Safe Schools improvement" provision into ESEA Title IV to address bullying with restorative and trauma-informed approaches; substantive program text is not provided.
Creates a new "Safe Schools improvement" addition to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act focused on reducing bullying and harassment in K–12 schools. It includes findings that bullying harms student health and learning, that explicit anti-bullying policies increase reporting and teacher intervention, and that evidence-based, restorative and trauma-informed approaches (such as PBIS) can reduce exclusionary discipline and juvenile justice referrals. The bill inserts a new program title into federal education law but does not include the substantive text of the new program in the provided sections.
Introduced March 3, 2025 by Linda T. Sánchez · Last progress March 3, 2025