The End Solitary Confinement Act bans the use of solitary confinement in all federal prisons, immigration detention centers, and facilities contracted by federal agencies, covering agencies including the Bureau of Prisons, ICE, CBP, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Every person in federal custody must receive at least 14 hours per day of out-of-cell time in shared spaces, including 7 hours of structured programming and 1 hour of outdoor recreation; emergency lock-ins are capped at 4 hours per day and 12 hours per week. Before any longer-term separation from the general population is imposed, an incarcerated person is entitled to a formal hearing before an independent decision maker, written notice at least 2 days in advance, and the right to legal representation. The bill completely bars the use of Special Administrative Measures (SAMs) — a form of near-total isolation used for national security detainees — at any federal facility. A new independent Community Monitoring Body of at least 15 members, the majority of whom must be people who have experienced incarceration, gains the right to make unannounced visits to any federal facility, conduct confidential interviews, and receive facility records within 7 days. States and localities that receive federal Byrne JAG grants (the main federal criminal-justice grant program, roughly $1.5 billion per year) must certify compliance with these standards or face a 10% cut to their funding; public-defender and community mental-health funding is exempted from any reduction. Federal prisoners who suffer mental or emotional harm from solitary confinement can now sue in federal court even without a prior physical injury — overturning the long-standing "physical injury" bar under the Prison Litigation Reform Act.
Civil Liberties
- Solitary-confinement ban — eliminates indefinite isolation of people in federal custody as a standard practice
- 14-hour out-of-cell guarantee — expands daily interaction rights for all federally incarcerated people regardless of housing status
- SAM prohibition — removes the Attorney General's authority to impose near-total communication blackouts on federal detainees
- Emergency lock-in time caps — limits involuntary cell confinement to 4 hours/day and 12 hours/week even during incidents
- Protected-class exemptions — bars involuntary emergency cell placement for people under 26, over 54, pregnant, disabled, with any mental health diagnosis, or LGBTQI+
- Placement hearing rights — requires independent decision-maker, advance written notice, and representation before any alternative-unit placement
- Civil cause of action for solitary confinement — removes the physical-injury prerequisite, allowing suits for emotional harm from isolation alone
Criminal Justice & Due Process
- Federal solitary confinement prohibition — bans punitive isolation as a disciplinary tool across all federal correctional facilities
- Alternative-unit due process — requires clear-and-convincing evidence of specific serious-injury risk before any extended separation from general population
- 60-day cap on alternative-unit stays — limits non-protective-custody isolation to 60 days in any 6-month period
- Restraint limitations — requires individualized justification, least-restrictive form, and 4-hour maximum without supervisory medical approval
- Independent Community Monitoring Body — creates unannounced-inspection authority by an oversight board majority-composed of people with lived incarceration experience
- DOJ IG advisory panel — adds a solitary-confinement-focused stakeholder body to the existing federal prison inspection regime
- State compliance lever — conditions 10% of Byrne JAG funding on state and local facilities meeting federal out-of-cell standards
- Quarterly public reporting — requires each federal agency to publish facility-level isolation placement data disaggregated by race, age, and disability status
Transparency & Accountability
- Quarterly agency self-reporting — mandates public website disclosure of solitary placement counts, demographics, and duration breakdowns every 90 days
- Community Monitoring Body records access — grants independent body right to all non-classified facility records within 7 days of request
- Media and public-defender facility access — extends unannounced-visit rights and FOIA data access to press, public defenders, and elected officials
- DOJ IG annual report — requires yearly implementation assessment of the new solitary standards transmitted to Congress and the public
- Remedial action plan requirement — agencies receiving monitoring recommendations must report back within 90 days with written compliance plans
Congressional Summary
End Solitary Confinement ActThis bill restricts the use of solitary confinement and establishes minimum standards for incarceration at the federal, state, and local levels.At the federal level, the bill generally prohibits the use of solitary confinement in federal facilities with limited exceptions, such as if necessary to de-escalate an emergency situation. The bill also establishes minimum standards for incarceration, including at least 14 hours per day of out-of-cell congregate interaction in a shared space that is conducive to meaningful group interaction.The bill requires state and local governments to implement laws, policies, and programs that substantially comply with the restrictions on solitary confinement and minimum standards for incarceration in order to receive full funding under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program.The bill establishes an independent community monitoring body, as well as an advisory body of stakeholders, to help provide oversight.Finally, the bill allows a prisoner to file a federal civil action for mental or emotional injury suffered if there is a prior showing of placement in solitary confinement or an alternative unit.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in Senate
- Action Date
- 2025-07-28
- Date Added
- 2026-06-04
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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