schools; corporal punishment; prohibition

SB1594 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
schools; corporal punishment; prohibition

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

SB 1594

Introduced by

Senator
Alston: Representatives Connolly, Sandoval

AN
ACT

amending section 15-105, Arizona
Revised Statutes; amending title 15, chapter 1, article 1, Arizona Revised
Statutes, by adding section 15-120.08; amending section 15-843,
Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to student discipline.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 15-105, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
15-105.

Use of restraint and seclusion techniques; requirements;
definitions

A. A school may
permit

allow
the use of restraint or seclusion techniques on any
pupil
student
if both of the following
apply:

1. The
pupil's

student's

behavior presents an imminent danger of bodily harm to the pupil or others.

2. Less restrictive interventions appear
insufficient to mitigate the imminent danger of bodily harm.

B. If a restraint or seclusion technique is used on
a
pupil
student
:

1. School personnel shall maintain continuous visual
observation and monitoring of the
pupil

student
while the restraint or seclusion technique is in use.

2. The restraint or seclusion technique shall end
when the
pupil's
student's
behavior
no longer presents an imminent danger to the
pupil
student
or others.

3. The restraint or seclusion technique shall be
used only by school personnel who are trained in the safe and effective use of
restraint and seclusion techniques unless an emergency situation does not allow
sufficient time to summon trained personnel.

4. The restraint technique employed may not impede
the
pupil's
student's
ability to
breathe.

5. The restraint technique may not be out of
proportion to the
pupil's
student's

age or physical condition.

C. Schools may establish policies and procedures for

the use of

using
restraint or
seclusion techniques in a school safety or crisis intervention plan if the plan
is not specific to any individual
pupil

student
.

D. Schools shall establish reporting and
documentation procedures to be followed when a restraint or seclusion technique
has been used on a
pupil
student
. The
procedures shall include the following requirements:

1. School personnel shall provide the
pupil's
student's
parent or guardian with written or oral notice on
the same day that the incident occurred, unless circumstances prevent same-day
notification. If the notice is not provided on the same day of the
incident, notice shall be given within twenty-four hours after the
incident.

2. Within a reasonable time following the incident,
school personnel shall provide the
pupil's

student's
parent or guardian with written documentation that includes
information about any persons, locations or activities that may have triggered
the behavior, if known, and specific information about the behavior and its
precursors, the type of restraint or seclusion technique used and the duration
of its use.

3. Schools shall
review strategies used to address a
pupil's

student's
dangerous behavior if there has been repeated use of restraint
or seclusion techniques for the
pupil

student

during a school year.� The review shall include a review of the
incidents in which
a
restraint or seclusion technique
were

was
used and an analysis of how
future incidents may be avoided, including whether the
pupil
student
requires a functional behavioral assessment.

E. If a school district or charter school summons
law enforcement instead of using a restraint or seclusion technique on a
pupil
student
, the school shall comply
with the reporting, documentation and review procedures established under
subsection D of this section.� Notwithstanding this section, school resource
officers are authorized to respond to situations that present the imminent danger
of bodily harm according to protocols established by their law enforcement
agency.

F. This section does not prohibit schools from
adopting policies pursuant to section 15-843, subsection B, paragraph
3
2
.

G. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Restraint" means any method or device
that immobilizes or reduces the ability of a
pupil
student
to move the
pupil's
student's
torso, arms, legs or head freely, including physical
force or mechanical devices.� Restraint does not include any of the following:

(a) Methods or devices implemented by trained school
personnel or used by a
pupil
student

for the specific and approved therapeutic or safety purposes for which the
method or device is designed and, if applicable, prescribed.

(b) The temporary touching or holding of the hand,
wrist, arm, shoulder or back for the purpose of inducing a
pupil
student
to comply with a reasonable request or to go to a safe
location.

(c) The brief holding of a
pupil
student
by one adult for the purpose of calming or comforting
the
pupil
student
.

(d) Physical force used to take a weapon away from a

pupil
student
or to separate and
remove a
pupil
student
from another
person when the
pupil
student
is
engaged in a physical assault on another person.

2. "School" means a school district, a
charter school, a public or private special education school that provides
services to
pupils
students
placed
by a public school, the Arizona state schools for the deaf and the blind and a
private school.

3. "Seclusion" means the involuntary
confinement of a
pupil
student
alone
in a room from which egress is prevented. Seclusion does not include
the use of a voluntary behavior management technique, including a timeout
location, as part of a
pupil's
student's

education plan, individual safety plan, behavioral plan or individualized
education program that involves the
pupil's

student's
separation from a larger group for purposes of calming.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Title
15, chapter 1, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding
section 15-120.08, to read:

START_STATUTE
15-120.08.

Corporal punishment; prohibition; definition

A. A teacher, principal or other
person employed by a school district or charter school may not subject a
student to corporal punishment.� The prohibition on corporal punishment does
not prevent the use of restraint or seclusion techniques that comply with
section 15-105.� In determining whether a person was complying with a
restraint or seclusion technique, consideration shall be given to reasonable
judgments that were made at the time of the event by the teacher, principal or
other person employed by the school district or charter school.

B. For the purposes of this section,
"corporal punishment":

1. Means inflicting, or causing the
infliction of, physical pain on a student as a means of discipline.

2. Does not include physical pain,
injury or discomfort caused by using incidental, minor or reasonable physical
contact or other actions designed to maintain order, control and safety in the
school or classroom setting.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Section 15-843, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
15-843.

Student disciplinary proceedings; definition

A. An action concerning
discipline, suspension or expulsion of a
pupil

student
is not subject to title 38, chapter 3, article 3.1,
except that the governing board of a school district shall post regular notice
and shall take minutes of any hearing held by the governing board concerning
the discipline, suspension or expulsion of a
pupil

student
.

B. The governing board
of any school district, in consultation with the teachers and parents of the
school district, shall prescribe rules for the discipline, suspension and
expulsion of
pupils

students
. The
rules shall be consistent with the constitutional rights of
pupils

students
and shall include at least the following:

1. Penalties for
excessive
pupil

student
absenteeism
pursuant to section 15-803, including failure in a subject, failure to
pass a grade, suspension or expulsion.

2. Procedures
for using corporal punishment if allowed by the governing board.

3.

2.
Procedures for the reasonable use of physical
force by certificated or classified personnel in self-defense, defense of
others and defense of property.

4.

3.
Procedures for dealing with
pupils

students
who have committed or who are believed to have
committed a crime.

5.

4.
A notice and hearing procedure for cases
concerning the suspension of a
pupil

student

for more than ten days.

6.

5.
Procedures and conditions for readmitting a
pupil

student
who has been expelled or
suspended for more than ten days.

7.

6.
Procedures to appeal to the governing board the
suspension of a
pupil

student
for
more than ten days, if the decision to suspend the
pupil

student
was not made by the governing board.

8.

7.
Procedures to appeal the recommendation of the
hearing officer or officers designated by the board as provided in subsection F
of this section at the time the board considers the recommendation.

9.

8.
Disciplinary policies for confining
pupils

students
who are left alone in an
enclosed space.� These policies shall include the following:

(a) A process for prior
written parental notification that confinement may be used for disciplinary
purposes and that is included in the
pupil's

student's
enrollment packet or admission form.

(b) A process for prior
written parental consent before confinement is allowed for any
pupil

student
in the school district. The policies
shall provide for an exemption to prior written parental consent if a school
principal or teacher determines that the
pupil

student
poses imminent physical harm to self or others.� The
school principal or teacher shall make reasonable attempts to notify the
pupil's

student's
parent or guardian in
writing by the end of the same day that confinement was used.

10.

9.
Procedures that require the school district to
annually report to the department of education in a manner prescribed by the
department the number of suspensions and expulsions that involve the
possession, use or sale of an illegal substance under title 13, chapter 34 and
the type of illegal substance involved in each suspension or
expulsion. The department of education shall compile this
information and annually post the information on its website. The
information shall comply with the family educational rights and privacy act of
1974 (P.L. 93-380; 88 Stat. 571; 20 United States Code section
1232g), shall not include personally identifiable information and shall show
the number of suspensions and expulsions associated with each illegal substance
aggregated statewide and by county.

C. Penalties adopted
pursuant to subsection B, paragraph 1 of this section for excessive absenteeism
shall not be applied to
pupils

students
who
have completed the course requirements and whose absence from school is due
solely to illness, disease or accident as certified by a person who is licensed
pursuant to title 32, chapter 7, 13, 14, 15 or 17.

D. The governing board
shall:

1. Support and assist
teachers in implementing and enforcing the rules prescribed pursuant to
subsection B of this section.

2. Develop procedures
allowing teachers and principals to recommend the suspension or expulsion of
pupils
students
.

3. Develop procedures
allowing teachers and principals to temporarily remove disruptive
pupils
students
from a class.

4. Delegate to the
principal the authority to remove a disruptive
pupil
student
from the classroom.

E. If a
pupil
student
withdraws from school after receiving notice of
possible action concerning discipline, expulsion or suspension, the governing
board may continue with the action after the withdrawal and may record the
results of such action in the
pupil's

student's
permanent file.

F. In all actions
concerning the expulsion of a
pupil
student
,
the governing board of a school district shall:

1. Be notified of the
intended action.

2. Either:

(a) Decide, in
executive session, whether to hold a hearing or to designate one or more
hearing officers to hold a hearing to hear the evidence, prepare a record and
bring a recommendation to the board for action and whether the hearing shall be
held in executive session.

(b) Provide by policy
or vote at its annual organizational meeting that all hearings concerning the
expulsion of a
pupil
student

conducted pursuant to this section will be conducted before a hearing officer
selected from a list of hearing officers approved by the governing board.

3. Give written notice,
at least five working days before the hearing by the governing board or the
hearing officer or officers designated by the governing board, to all
pupils
students
subject to expulsion and
their parents or guardians of the date, time and place of the
hearing. If the governing board decides that the hearing is to be
held in executive session, the written notice shall include a statement of the
right of the parents or guardians or an emancipated
pupil
student
who is subject to expulsion to object to the governing
board's decision to have the hearing held in executive
session. Objections shall be made in writing to the governing board.

G. If a parent or
guardian or an emancipated
pupil
student

who is subject to expulsion disagrees that the hearing should be held in
executive session, the hearing shall be held in an open meeting unless:

1. If only one
pupil
student
is subject to expulsion and
disagreement exists between that
pupil's

student's
parents or guardians, the governing board, after consultations
with the
pupil's
student's
parents
or guardians or the emancipated
pupil

student
, shall decide in executive session whether the hearing will be
in executive session.

2. If more than one
pupil
student
is subject to expulsion and
disagreement exists between the parents or guardians of different
pupils
students
, separate hearings shall
be held subject to this section.

H. This section does
not prevent the
pupil
student
who is
subject to expulsion or suspension, and the
pupil's
student's
parents or guardians and legal counsel, from
attending any executive session pertaining to the proposed disciplinary action,
from having access to the minutes and testimony of the executive session or
from recording the session at the parent's or guardian's expense.

I. In schools employing
a superintendent or a principal, the authority to suspend a
pupil

student
from
school is vested in the superintendent, principal or other school officials
granted this power by the governing board of the school district.

J. In schools that do
not have a superintendent or principal, a teacher may suspend a
pupil

student
from school.

K. Except as provided
in subsection L of this section, a school district or charter school may
suspend or expel a
pupil

student
who
is enrolled in a kindergarten program, first grade, second grade, third grade
or fourth grade only if all of the following apply:

1. The
pupil

student
is seven years of age or older.

2. The
pupil

student
engaged in conduct on school grounds
that meets
and at least
one of the
following criteria
applies
:

(a)
the
conduct
involves the possession of a dangerous weapon without
authorization from the school.

(b)
the
conduct
involves the possession, use or sale of a dangerous drug as
defined in section 13-3401 or a narcotic drug as defined in section 13-3401
or a violation of section 13-3411.

(c)
the
conduct
immediately endangers the health or safety of others.

(d) The
pupil's

student's
behavior is determined by the school district
governing board or charter school governing body to qualify as aggravating
circumstances and all of the following apply:

(i) The
pupil

student
is engaged in persistent behavior that has been
documented by the school and that prevents other
pupils

students
from learning or prevents the teacher from maintaining
control of the classroom environment.

(ii) The
pupil's

student's
ongoing behavior is unresponsive to targeted
interventions as documented through an established intervention process that
includes consultation with a school counselor, school psychologist or other
mental health professional or social worker if available within the school
district or charter school or through a state-sponsored program.

(iii) The
pupil's

student's
parent or guardian was
notified and consulted about the ongoing behavior.

(iv) Before a long-term
suspension or expulsion, the school provides the
pupil

student
with a disability screening and the screening finds
that the behavioral issues were not the result of a disability.

3. Failing to remove
the
pupil

student
from the school
building would create a safety threat that cannot otherwise reasonably be
addressed or qualifies as aggravating circumstances as specified in paragraph 2
of this subsection.

4. Before suspending or
expelling the
pupil

student
, the
school district or charter school considers and, if feasible while maintaining
the health and safety of others, in consultation with the
pupil's

student's
parent or guardian to the extent possible,
employs alternative behavioral and disciplinary interventions that are
available to the school district or charter school, that are appropriate to the
circumstances and that are considerate of health and safety. The
school district or charter school shall document the alternative behavioral and
disciplinary interventions it considers and employs.

5. The school district
or charter school, by policy, provides for both:

(a) A readmission
procedure for
pupils

students
who
are in kindergarten programs, first grade, second grade, third grade and fourth
grade and who have served at least five school days of a suspension from the
school that exceeds ten school days to be considered for readmission on appeal
of the pupil's parent or guardian.

(b) A readmission
procedure for
pupils

students
who
are in kindergarten programs, first grade, second grade, third grade and fourth
grade and who are expelled from or subject to alternative reassignment at the
school to be considered for readmission on appeal of the
pupil's

student's
parent or guardian at least twenty school days
after the effective date of the expulsion or alternative reassignment.

L. Subsection K of this
section does not apply if either:

1. Expulsion is
required pursuant to section 15-841, subsection G.

2. The school district
or charter school is suspending the
pupil

student

for two or fewer days and the aggregate suspensions for the
pupil

student
do not exceed ten days
within the school year.

M. All cases of
suspension shall be for good cause and shall be reported within five days to
the governing board by the superintendent or the person imposing the
suspension.

N. Rules pertaining to
the discipline, suspension and expulsion of
pupils

students
shall not be based on race, color, religion, sex,
national origin or ancestry. If the department of education, the
auditor general or the attorney general determines that a school district is
substantially and deliberately not in compliance with this subsection and if
the school district has failed to correct the deficiency within ninety days
after receiving notice from the department of education, the superintendent of
public instruction may withhold the monies the school district would otherwise
be entitled to receive from the date of the determination of noncompliance
until the department of education determines that the school district is in
compliance with this subsection.

O. The principal of
each school shall ensure that a copy of all rules pertaining to the discipline,
suspension and expulsion of
pupils

students

is distributed to the parents of each
pupil

student
at the time the
pupil

student
is enrolled in the school.

P. The principal of
each school shall ensure that all rules pertaining to the discipline,
suspension and expulsion of
pupils

students

are communicated to students at the beginning of each school year
,
and to transfer students at the time of their enrollment
in the school.

Q. School districts may
refer a
pupil

student
who has been
subject to discipline, suspension or expulsion pursuant to this section to a
career and college readiness program for at-risk students established
pursuant to section 15-707.

R. For the purposes of
this section, "aggravating circumstances" means the
pupil

student
is engaged in persistent behavior that:

1. Has been documented
by the school.

2. Prevents other
students from learning or prevents the teacher from maintaining control of the
classroom environment.

3. Is unresponsive to
targeted interventions as documented through an established intervention
process.
END_STATUTE