Bill Proposes Major School Discipline Shift: Ending PUSHOUT Act Targets Suspensions, Funds Support, Mandates Data

The "Ending Punitive, Unfair, School-based Harm that is Overt and Unresponsive to Trauma Act of 2025," or "Ending PUSHOUT Act," aims to fundamentally change how schools handle discipline. It focuses on reducing suspensions and expulsions, particularly those disproportionately affecting students of color (especially girls), students with disabilities, and other marginalized groups. The bill proposes boosting data collection on disciplinary actions and authorizing significant grant funding ($500 million annually) for schools willing to adopt less punitive, more supportive approaches.

Shining a Brighter Light: More Data, More Transparency

Think of this as turning the floodlights on school discipline practices. Section 4 mandates the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights to annually collect detailed data from public preschools, elementary, and secondary schools. We're talking numbers on every suspension (in-school and out-of-school), expulsion, school transfer for discipline, referral to law enforcement, and school-based arrest. Crucially, schools must report the reasons for these actions (like "insubordination," dress code violations, or zero-tolerance policies) and break down the data by student demographics – race, ethnicity, sex, disability status, income level, English learner status, housing status, and more. The goal? To get a clear, nationwide picture of who is being disciplined, why, and whether patterns of discrimination exist, making this information publicly accessible.

Carrots and Sticks: The Grant Program Rules

Section 5 rolls out a major incentive program: $500 million per year in competitive grants for school districts and eligible nonprofits. But this money comes with strings attached – big ones. To get the funds, recipients must agree to stop using out-of-school suspensions or expulsions for students in preschool through 5th grade (unless there's serious physical injury involved). They also must ban these punishments for all students (preschool through 12th grade) for offenses like "insubordination," "willful defiance," vulgarity, truancy, tardiness, or violating appearance/grooming policies. Furthermore, grant recipients have to prohibit corporal punishment, seclusion (locking a student alone), and dangerous physical restraints (like chokeholds).

So, what can the money be used for? Developing new, non-discriminatory discipline policies with community input, training staff on bias awareness and trauma-informed practices (like restorative justice or social-emotional learning), implementing evidence-based alternatives to suspension, improving school climate, and hiring more support staff like social workers, counselors, and mental health personnel. What's explicitly off-limits for these grant funds? Hiring school police (SROs), buying surveillance tech like metal detectors or social media monitoring software, or arming school staff.

A Closer Look: Task Force on Girls of Color

Recognizing a specific area of concern, Section 6 establishes a joint task force between the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services. Its mission is to dig into why girls of color are disproportionately pushed out of school through disciplinary actions. The task force, composed of students (specifically including Black, Brown, and Indigenous girls), parents, educators, civil rights reps, and mental health experts (pointedly not including law enforcement), will study the causes, identify best practices for reducing discriminatory discipline, and develop recommendations for accountability. They'll report their findings and recommendations to Congress.

The Real-World Ripple Effect

If enacted, this bill could significantly shift the day-to-day reality in participating schools. Instead of automatic suspension for vaguely defined "insubordination" (which the bill defines) or dress code issues, schools getting these grants would need to find other solutions – maybe mediation, counseling, or addressing underlying issues. This requires a move away from zero-tolerance policies towards more nuanced, supportive systems like Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports (MTSS) or Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), both mentioned in the bill. It pushes schools towards investing in personnel focused on student well-being rather than security hardware or policing, at least with these specific funds. The enhanced data collection aims to bring accountability, making it harder to ignore disparities. While the changes are largely tied to grant participation, the detailed data collection applies broadly, potentially influencing practices even in schools that don't receive the grants.