Protecting Our Students in Schools Act Would End Corporal Punishment in All Public Schools Receiving Federal Funds
IDRA Federal Advocacy Action Alert – May 15, 2025
We are excited to celebrate the re-introduction of the Protecting our Students in Schools Act of 2025 (POSSA) in the U.S. House of Representatives. This federal bill prohibits corporal punishment in schools that receive federal funds, including preK-12 public schools across the country.
Students in our schools are hit, paddled, spanked and slapped as punishment, often for minor reasons, like being tardy or talkative during class.
In the 2017-18 school year, nearly 70,000 students were hit, and Black students and children with disabilities disproportionately experienced this violence. Twenty states still allow corporal punishment in schools, emphasizing the need for federal intervention.
Learn more about POSSA, read the language of the bill, and review the press release from House sponsors Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Lucy McBath (D-GA), Gwen Moore (D-WI), and Frederica Wilson (D-FL).
Action: Please contact your members of Congress to encourage them to co-sponsor POSSA and the Senate version of the bill when it is reintroduced.
We all share the goal of safe and supportive schools where all children can learn, explore and thrive. No young person should feel fear in their classrooms, especially the fear of violence at the hands of educators and administrators they should be able to trust. It is past time for us to end the practice of hitting children in schools.
Learn more about corporal punishment in schools with IDRA’s resources, including:
- Key Facts: Support the Protecting our Students in Schools Act – Why the Federal Government Must Act Now to End Corporal Punishment
- IDRA’s interactive map of corporal punishment in U.S. schools
- Article: The Ever-Present History of Violence in U.S. Schools – How State-Sanctioned Cruelty Persists through School Corporal Punishment Policies
With partner organizations across the country, IDRA was proud to co-host a virtual learning and action symposium on April 30, International Day to End Corporal Punishment of Children.
Sign up for updates, materials and action items to support local, state and federal campaigns to end corporal punishment.
For more information about IDRA’s work, please contact Morgan Craven, J.D., IDRA’s National Director of Policy, Advocacy, and Community Engagement at morgan.craven@idra.org.
