Federal law bans hitting and paddling in schools that get federal money
S. 5470 — Protecting our Students in Schools Act of 2026 · Filed by Christopher Murphy (D-CT) · 4 cosponsors · Introduced Sep 23, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
The bill stops schools from hitting or paddling kids if they get federal money. Schools must report how they punish students. Reports must show numbers by race, gender, and other groups. The federal government gives money to schools. Schools use it to try new ways to handle bad acts. The Department of Education enforces the rule. Students and parents can sue schools that break it.
Who it affects
Kids in schools that get federal money gain protection from hitting. Schools get federal money to train staff and set up new ways to handle bad acts. The bill focuses on schools where kids of color and kids with disabilities face more punishment.
One thing to notice
Private schools that do not get federal money do not have to follow this rule. Some kids may have protection and others may not.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
4 cosponsors: 4 Democrats.
- Sep 23, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Sep 23, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (29,464 characters) on Oct 3, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Federal law bans hitting and paddling in schools that get federal money” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s5470/simple Report an error
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