End Solitary Confinement Act

Key Points

• The bill would ban solitary confinement in all federal prisons, immigration detention centers, and any facilities that contract with federal agencies. People held in these facilities must get at least 14 hours per day of out-of-cell group interaction time.
• During those 14 hours, incarcerated people must have access to at least 7 hours of structured programming like education, job training, therapy, and substance use treatment, plus at least 1 hour of recreation. The rest covers meals, library time, phone calls, and contact visits.
• The bill creates strong protections for vulnerable people. It bans involuntary emergency cell confinement for anyone 25 or younger, 55 or older, pregnant, disabled, diagnosed with a mental health need, or LGBTQ. These groups cannot be locked in a cell even during emergency situations.
• States and local governments that receive federal Byrne Justice Assistance Grant funding must certify they are ending solitary confinement too. Those that do not comply face at least a 10 percent cut to that grant money, though funding for public defenders and community-based services is protected from cuts.
• A new 15-member community monitoring body would be created, with at least half its members being people who were incarcerated or have family members who were. This body can make unannounced visits to any federal facility, access all nonclassified records, and interview incarcerated people confidentially.
• The bill also bans special administrative measures (SAMs), which are restrictions sometimes used for high-profile national security and terrorism cases. It creates a private right to sue for violations, including money damages and attorney's fees, and could even force facility closures for repeated violations.