Prohibits the use of timeout boxes, closets or other secluded physical enclosures in schools in the state

Showing the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.

• Democratic9
• Republican1

This bill has cosponsors from more than one party.

Shown in neutral colors by design; Agora is non-partisan.

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Dan Stec says this is needed

In December 2025, reporting revealed that certain New York school districts had permitted, with or without knowledge, administrators and instructors to confine children with disabilities in wooden "timeout boxes" as a penalty for bad or atypical behavior. Regardless of whether these practices were standard or unique to a particular case, this is unacceptable. Schools are meant to be learning spaces for children, both in an academic and social sense. If children with disabilities are singled out for uniquely cruel punishments, we are normalizing, both for the children themselves and their peers, the cruel treatment of people who are different from us. Children who are born different, or who experience the world differently, must be treated with the same dignity as their classmates. Timeout boxes are an archaic substitution for a lack of sufficient educator training and care. For children experiencing learning difficul- ties, and who may already feel like they struggle to fit in, these types of punishments will only make their lives exponentially more difficult. While schools should act to correct bad behavior and help children grow as individuals and community members, timeout boxes are not the right way to do it.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.