H.R. 6617 — Keeping All Students Safe Act

This section prohibits unlawful seclusion or restraint of students by program personnel, law enforcement officers, or school security guards in any program receiving federal financial assistance. It defines unlawful seclusion or restraint to include seclusion, mechanical restraint, chemical restraint, life-threatening or circulation-restricting physical restraint (including prone and supine), restraints contraindicated by a student's documented disability or medical needs (i.e., per health care plans, IEPs, IFSPs, Section 504 plans, ADA plans, or similar records), or physical restraint not complying with specified standards; exclusions include time-outs and approved therapeutic or safety devices (e.g., medical immobilization, adaptive supports, vehicle safety restraints). The section authorizes students or parents to sue the program (not personnel) in federal or state court for declaratory, injunctive, compensatory relief, attorneys' fees, or expert fees, with no Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity. For enforcement, it directs the Secretary of Education to investigate complaints against certain recipients and withhold payments under existing authority (20 U.S.C. 1234d)—which permits withholding further payments for noncompliance after notice and hearing—and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to do the same for Head Start programs under Head Start Act authorities (42 U.S.C. 9841). It further requires the Secretaries to ensure programs limit physical restraint to instances of imminent serious physical injury where less restrictive means are ineffective, imposed only by state-certified crisis-trained personnel (or untrained personnel in rare emergencies).

This section establishes definitions for purposes of this title, including (1) the term “school” as an elementary school, secondary school, or special education school; and (2) the term “Head Start program” as a program serving children who receive services funded under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.). (Head Start programs provide comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services primarily to low-income children and families.)

This section requires each State educational agency (SEA) to submit to the Secretary of Education, not later than two years after enactment and annually thereafter, a State plan demonstrating compliance with state policies and procedures under section 101 (i.e., limits on aversive behavioral interventions such as physical restraint and prohibition on seclusion); describing state-approved crisis intervention training programs, awareness efforts, and activities to reduce restraint use; incorporating at least 60 days of public comment in an accessible format; providing written responses to comments; and detailing state oversight including semiannual discussions with school leaders, annual site visits to special education schools, and technical assistance on positive behavioral interventions. It further requires SEAs and Head Start agencies to submit annual public reports to the Secretary of Education (and to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, for Head Start), in compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. 1232g), on physical restraint incidents in the preceding academic year—including total incidents, students affected (including repeat incidents), and law enforcement referrals—disaggregated by incidents resulting in injury or death; personnel training status; student demographics (e.g., race/ethnicity, economic disadvantage, English proficiency, sex, disability status under IDEA, section 504, or ADA title II); and law enforcement or security guard involvement. (Thus, reports enable analysis of restraint patterns and equity issues while protecting student privacy under FERPA.)

This section authorizes the Secretary of Education to award grants to State educational agencies (SEAs), from amounts appropriated under section 307, based on relative need (determined by recent physical restraint and seclusion incidents, data collection capacity, and implementation of school climate activities), to (1) establish, implement, and enforce policies ensuring compliance with section 101; (2) improve capacity to collect and analyze physical restraint data; and (3) enhance school climate through schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports, mental health supports, restorative justice programs, trauma-informed care, and crisis and de-escalation interventions. Grants are for a 3-year period; SEAs must submit detailed applications and may use funds to award subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs), which must equitably include early childhood educators (as defined in 20 U.S.C. 1003) and, after consultation, private school personnel (with public agencies retaining control of funds and services provided independently of private schools). The Secretary must report to the authorizing committees within 60 days of each award, detailing the State's selection and application of need criteria.

This section directs the Secretary to conduct a national assessment of the Act's effectiveness in preventing seclusion and reducing physical restraint incidents in schools and Head Start programs (i.e., programs serving children receiving financial assistance under the Head Start Act). The assessment must (1) analyze data on restraint incidents in such schools and programs; (2) evaluate federal, state, and local efforts to eliminate seclusion and reduce restraints; (3) identify the most effective programs and services for eliminating seclusion, preventing seclusion, and reducing restraints; and (4) identify evidence-based personnel training models, including those emphasizing positive behavioral interventions, supports, and de-escalation techniques over physical intervention. The Secretary must submit an interim report summarizing preliminary findings within three years of enactment and a final report within five years to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

This section requires local educational agencies and Head Start agencies, upon the physical injury or death of a student or Head Start enrollee in conjunction with seclusion, physical restraint, or a behavioral control intervention, to notify in writing within 24 hours (1) the state educational agency or Department of Health and Human Services official, (2) local law enforcement, and (3) the relevant protection and advocacy system (P&A)—state-designated entities that protect rights of individuals with disabilities under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act—and to provide any information the P&A requires. It further grants such P&As the same investigative, monitoring, and enforcement authorities under that Act for otherwise eligible students or Head Start enrollees.

This section directs (1) the Secretary of the Interior to promulgate regulations ensuring that schools operated or funded by the Department of the Interior comply with title I and section 202(b); and (2) the Secretary of the Defense to promulgate regulations ensuring that schools operated or funded by the Department of Defense Education Activity or otherwise by the Department of Defense for military-connected children—as described in 20 U.S.C. 7703(a)(1)(B) (children residing on federal property with a uniformed services parent) and (D)(i) (children with a uniformed services parent not residing on federal property)—comply with those requirements.

This section provides a rule of construction clarifying that, subject to section 101(e), nothing in this Act prohibits a sworn law enforcement officer with probable cause from arresting a student for violating a federal or state criminal law.

This section specifies that the Act does not apply to private schools that do not receive federal funds or serve students who receive such funds. The section further provides that the Act does not affect home schools—regardless of state law treatment as private or home schools—and does not consider parents schooling children at home to be program personnel.

This section establishes a severability clause for the Act, providing that if any provision of the Act or its amendments, or its application to any person or circumstance, is held unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act, its amendments, and their applications remain in effect.