Counseling Not Criminalization in Schools Act
Sponsored By: Representative Pressley, Ayanna [D-MA-7]
Introduced
Summary
Redirects federal school-policing dollars into mental-health, trauma-informed, and community-led supports. This bill would bar federal funds from hiring, maintaining, or training covered law enforcement officers in elementary and secondary schools and create competitive grants to replace officers with counselors, credible messengers, and other non-police services.
Show full summary
- Students and families: Lowers the chance of school-based policing and boosts access to counselors, psychologists, nurses, social workers, credible messengers, and trauma-informed services focused on marginalized students.
- Local educational agencies: Creates rolling competitive grants to help districts end police contracts or dissolve district police departments and fund alternatives like restorative justice, positive behavioral interventions, and social-emotional learning.
- School staff and community providers: Funds hiring and training for de-escalation staff, violence interruption teams, behavioral planning specialists, anti-bias training, and community engagement to reshape safety and discipline.
- Privacy and oversight: Requires public annual reporting on arrests, referrals, surveillance use, and demographics while banning collection of personally identifiable data and barring grant spending on surveillance equipment or arming personnel.
*Would authorize $5.0 billion in federal grants to carry out the program.*
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.
Would stop federal funds for school police
If enacted, this would bar any federal money from hiring, keeping, or training police assigned to K–12 schools or Head Start programs. It would apply even if other laws allow it. COPS grant recipients would not be able to use those funds for school officers. Districts would need other, non-federal funding or different safety plans.
Grants to hire counselors, not police
The bill would authorize $5 billion for competitive grants to school districts, based on student enrollment. To get funds, a district would need to end school police contracts at least 30 days before receiving money and keep them ended during the grant. Money would hire and train counselors, psychologists, nurses, social workers, credible messengers, and trauma-informed staff, and support restorative practices. Funds could not pay for police, surveillance tech, punitive discipline tools, or arming staff. Districts would have to report results each year, and funds must add to, not replace, local money.
What school programs and officers are covered
The bill would define which schools and programs are covered, including all K–12 schools, local education agencies, and Head Start-funded programs. It would define a “covered law enforcement officer” as any State, Tribal, or local officer assigned to or contracted with these programs, including school resource officers. It would also define “credible messenger,” PBIS, and “trauma-informed services.” These definitions would decide where the funding bans and grants apply.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Pressley, Ayanna [D-MA-7]
MA • D
Cosponsors
Rep. Omar, Ilhan [D-MN-5]
MN • D
Sponsored 4/8/2025
Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12]
PA • D
Sponsored 4/8/2025
Bonamici
OR • D
Sponsored 4/8/2025
Rep. Casar, Greg [D-TX-35]
TX • D
Sponsored 4/8/2025
Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
DC • D
Sponsored 4/8/2025
Ocasio-Cortez
NY • D
Sponsored 4/8/2025
Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2]
WI • D
Sponsored 4/8/2025
Rep. Ramirez, Delia C. [D-IL-3]
IL • D
Sponsored 4/8/2025
Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13]
MI • D
Sponsored 4/8/2025
Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12]
MI • D
Sponsored 4/8/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov