Safe Schools Improvement Act
Sponsored By: Senator Kaine, Tim [D-VA]
Introduced
Summary
Requires public schools to adopt comprehensive anti-bullying policies that explicitly protect students by race, color, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics), disability, and religion. It would also require schools to give annual notice, offer grievance procedures, collect school-level data, and submit information for federal review and evaluation.
Show full summary
- Students and families: Schools would have to provide annual notice of prohibited conduct and grievance procedures so students and parents can report bullying and get timelines and contact names for complaints.
- Local educational agencies and schools: LEAs must implement anti-bullying policies that bar conduct that limits access to programs or creates a hostile environment and that protect association-based characteristics. LEAs must publicly report annual incidence data at the school level while keeping victims and alleged perpetrators anonymous.
- States: Chief state executives would submit biennial reports to the Secretary containing LEA data and plans for supporting local anti-bullying efforts.
- Federal agencies: The Department of Education would carry out an independent biennial evaluation and report to the President and Congress beginning January 1, 2026. The National Center for Education Statistics would collect state data on the incidence and frequency of the prohibited conduct.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
New anti-bullying rules for schools
If enacted, states that get Title IV grants would have to make local school districts adopt anti-bullying policies. The rules must define bullying as conduct that puts a student in fear and that harms school participation. Policies would prohibit harassment based on race, color, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), disability, religion, and people a student associates with. Schools would have to give annual notice, keep grievance procedures with named officials and timelines, and collect school-level data while protecting student identities.
Protecting civil rights and speech
If enacted, the new Part G would not replace or limit existing federal or state civil-rights laws. It would say the Part does not change legal standards for freedom of speech or expression. Victims and people asserting speech rights would keep current remedies and procedures.
Federal reviews of school bullying
If enacted, the Secretary of Education would do an independent evaluation of anti-bullying programs every two years. The Commissioner for Education Statistics would collect state-supplied data on bullying incidence and frequency for that review. The first report to the President and Congress would be due by January 1, 2026, and then every two years.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Kaine, Tim [D-VA]
VA • D
Cosponsors
Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI]
WI • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO]
CO • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]
CT • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
NJ • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE]
DE • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV]
NV • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL]
IL • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
IL • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA]
PA • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
John Hickenlooper
CO • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI]
HI • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Amy Klobuchar
MN • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]
MA • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR]
OR • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA]
WA • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA]
CA • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Gary Peters
MI • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Sen. Rosen, Jacky [D-NV]
NV • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT]
VT • I
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH]
NH • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN]
MN • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Sen. Warner, Mark R. [D-VA]
VA • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA]
MA • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Peter Welch
VT • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
OR • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT]
CT • D
Sponsored 3/12/2025
Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA]
WA • D
Sponsored 3/13/2025
Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM]
NM • D
Sponsored 3/24/2025
Sen. Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM]
NM • D
Sponsored 10/23/2025
Sen. Kim, Andy [D-NJ]
NJ • D
Sponsored 11/7/2025
Sen. Blunt Rochester, Lisa [D-DE]
DE • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA]
CA • D
Sponsored 1/12/2026
Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI]
RI • D
Sponsored 1/12/2026
Elissa Slotkin
MI • D
Sponsored 1/28/2026
Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD]
MD • D
Sponsored 2/10/2026
Sen. Kelly, Mark [D-AZ]
AZ • D
Sponsored 2/10/2026
Sen. Alsobrooks, Angela D. [D-MD]
MD • D
Sponsored 3/2/2026
Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI]
RI • D
Sponsored 3/4/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov