YourVoice.Now Summary
Civil LibertiesCriminal Justice & Due ProcessWorkers & JobsTransparency & AccountabilityWould ban seclusion and drug or device restraint at federally funded schools, limit hands-on holds, and let families sue.
Civil Liberties
Seclusion means shutting a student alone in a room or space they cannot leave. It would be banned outright in schools and Head Start programs that get federal money. A time out in an unlocked setting would still be allowed.
Devices used to hold a student still would be banned. So would drugs given to control behavior or limit movement, unless a doctor prescribed them for a real medical or mental health condition.
Any hold that is life threatening, blocks breathing, or cuts blood flow to the brain would be banned. That covers holding a child face-down or face-up on the floor.
Staff could use a hands-on hold only if a student is about to cause serious physical injury and softer steps would not work. The hold would have to stop as soon as the danger ends, use the least force needed, and let the student keep speaking. Holds a student's own medical records rule out would also be banned.
Restraint could not be written into one child's education plan, safety plan, or behavior plan as a step to use. A school could still keep a general crisis plan that is not about any one student.
A student or parent could file a civil suit against the school or program in state or federal court. They could ask for money, a court order, attorney fees, and expert fees.
A public school could not point to the Eleventh Amendment to get one of these suits thrown out. That defense often blocks damage claims against state-run bodies.
The new right to sue runs against the school or program, not the employee. Staff could not be held liable in these cases or in arbitration. Other laws that let families sue are not changed.
Criminal Justice & Due Process
School resource officers and school security guards would follow the same restraint rules as teachers. They could still arrest a student when they have probable cause, but the limits on how they hold a child would still apply.
Workers & Jobs
Only staff trained and cleared by a state-approved crisis program could restrain a student. The training covers de-escalation, safe holds, first aid, and CPR, and has to be renewed. Untrained staff could act only in a rare emergency when no trained person is there.
Transparency & Accountability
After any hands-on hold, the school would have to reach the parent by phone or email the same day. Written details would follow within 24 hours, including what led up to it and how long it lasted.
The school and the parents would meet within five school days unless both sides agree to wait. The parent would get written statements from adults who watched the hold but did not take part.
Each state would publish a yearly count of holds for every school district and special education school. Counts would be split by race, disability, English skill, income, sex, and school type, and would flag injuries and deaths.
If a hold or seclusion caused injury or death, the school would notify the state, local police, and the state's disability rights watchdog within 24 hours. That group can investigate on its own.
States would have to post their restraint plans for public comment at least 60 days before filing them. The comments and the state's written answers would go in the final plan.
Each state would visit its special education schools at least once a year and check in with school leaders every six months. States would also have to monitor the seclusion ban.
If a student is unlawfully secluded or restrained, the Education Department would cut off some or all federal payments to that program. Head Start programs would face the same step from Health and Human Services.
More about this bill
Locking a student alone in a room would become illegal at any school that takes federal money. Head Start programs would be covered too. Strapping a child to a device would be banned. So would using drugs to control behavior, unless a doctor prescribed them. Any hold that blocks breathing or blood flow to the brain would be barred. That includes face-down and face-up holds. Staff could still use hands-on holds, but only in narrow cases. The child's behavior would have to pose an immediate risk of serious injury. Gentler steps would have to be unworkable. The hold would end the moment the danger passed. It could no longer be written into a child's school plan as a planned step. Parents would find out fast. The school would have to call or email the same day, then send written details within 24 hours. A meeting with the parents would follow within five school days. Adults who saw the hold would give written statements. A hold that led to injury or death would trigger notice within 24 hours. Police and an outside disability watchdog would both be told. Each state would post yearly counts of restraint, broken out by race, disability, sex, and school type. The first state plans and reports would be due two years after the bill became law. Students and parents could sue the school in state or federal court. They could seek money, court orders, and legal fees. States could not block those suits by claiming immunity. Staff members could not be sued in person under this law. The Education Department could hold back federal payments from a school that broke the rules. The bill would allow up to $40 million a year through 2030 for training and school climate work. Congress would still have to fund it. Schools run by the Defense and Interior departments would follow the same rules. Home schools are not covered, and neither are private schools that take no federal support.
Congressional Summary
Keeping All Students Safe Act This bill prohibits the use of seclusion and limits the use of physical restraint in schools and Head Start programs that receive federal funding. Specifically, the bill prohibits the use of seclusion, which is the involuntary confinement of a student alone in a room or area from which the student is physically prevented from leaving. The term does not include a time out, which may involve separating the student from others in a non-locked setting. The bill prohibits the use of mechanical or chemical restraints or physical restraints that restrict breathing or are life threatening. The bill outlines the requirements for the use of physical restraint, including that the student's behavior must pose an imminent danger of serious physical injury to the student or other individual. Each state must ensure that a sufficient number of program personnel are trained and certified by a state-approved crisis intervention training program. Additionally, each program must establish procedures to follow after an incident involving physical restraint. Further, the bill establishes enforcement provisions, including a private right of action for a student who has been subjected to unlawful seclusion or restraint. The Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services must withhold payments from a program for unlawful seclusion or restraint. Finally, the bill requires each state educational agency (SEA) to establish, implement, and enforce policies and procedures required by the bill. It also creates a grant program to assist SEAs with these activities.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2025-12-11
- Date Added
- 2026-07-28
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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