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Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie
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Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau
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Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr.
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Councilmember Anita Bonds
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Councilmember Janeese Lewis George
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Councilmember Zachary Parker
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Councilmember Charles Allen
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A BILL 7
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 11
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To prohibit segregated confinement in jails; to strictly limit the use of safe cells and require that 15
incarcerated people with mental health emergencies receive the care to which they are 16
entitled; to require the Department of Corrections to create a plan to eliminate segregated 17
confinement and report to the Council the impacts of doing so. 18
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 20
act may be cited as the “ Eliminating Restrictive and Segregated Enclosures (“ERASE”) Solitary 21
Confinement Act of 2025”. 22
Sec. 2. Definitions. 23
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For purposes of this act , the term: 24
(a) “Appropriate healthcare” means the right to: 25
(1) Timely, responsive, respectful, and dignified attention to a resident’s 26
healthcare needs by a qualified health professional; 27
(2) Assessment, consultation, and provision of health care consistent with the 28
standard of care expected to be provided by a reasonably prudent qualified health professional in 29
the professional’s specialty area, and not limited in any way because of status as a detained or 30
incarcerated person; 31
(3) Have the qualified health professional respect a resident's privacy and 32
confidentiality; 33
(4) Privacy and protection from inquiry by qualified health professionals 34
regarding a resident’s charges, convictions, or duration of sentences unless expressly pertinent to 35
the delivery of care; 36
(5) Freedom from physical restraints while receiving any form of healthcare, 37
unless the treating qualified health professional requests physical restraints to address a specific 38
safety concern; 39
(6) Obtain, at no cost, at the conclusion of a resident’s visit to a qualified health 40
professional providing services outside of a penal institution, copies of all records of the 41
resident’s own diagnoses, test results, treatment instructions, recommendations for further 42
treatment and evaluation, and other documents that a person who is not detained or incarcerated 43
would have a right to obtain from a qualified health professional; 44
(7) Obtain, at no cost, full or partial copies of a resident’s own medical records 45
that are created by or in the possession of either the Department or the entity providing health 46
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care on behalf of the Department, upon the request of a resident, former resident, or a resident or 47
former resident’s counsel without having to file a request under the District of Columbia 48
Freedom of Information Act, D.C. Code § 2- 531; 49
(8) A reasonable opportunity to discuss with a qualified health professional the 50
benefits and risks of treatment alternatives, including the risks and benefits of forgoing 51
treatment, and guidance about different courses of action; 52
(9) Ask questions about health status or recommended treatment and to have those 53
questions answered by a qualified health professional; 54
(10) Make decisions about the care they receive and have those decisions 55
respected; 56
(11) Be advised of any conflicts of interest a qualified health professional may 57
have with respect to a resident’s care; 58
(12) Obtain a second opinion from a qualified health professional providing 59
services outside of the penal institution in the same or similar specialty within a reasonable 60
amount of time in cases involving a serious risk of death or serious bodily injury; 61
(13) Coordination and integration of the care provided by a resident’s qualified 62
health professionals, including the timely provision of care by a suitable qualified health 63
professional outside of the penal institution as necessary; and 64
(14) Visitation with a resident’s “attorney in fact,” as defined in D.C. Code § 21- 65
2202.1, for the purpose of healthcare decision making, regardless of any Department policy to 66
the contrary; 67
(15) All rights enumerated in the Consumers’ Bill of Rights at D.C. Code § 7- 68
1231.04; 69
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(16) Communication pursuant to the DC Language Access Act at D.C. Code § 2 70
1901 et seq; and 71
(17) Effective communication pursuant to Title II and Title III of the Americans 72
with Disabilities Act at 42 U.S.C. §§ 12131- 34 and 12181- 89. 73
(b) “Chemical restraint” means a medication that is used in addition to or in place of the 74
resident’s regular, prescribed drug regimen to control extreme behavior during an emergency, 75
but does not include medications that comprise the resident’s regular, prescribed medical 76
regimen and that are part of the resident’s treatment, even if the intended purpose is to control 77
ongoing behavior; 78
(c) “Department” means the Department of Corrections, as defined in D.C. Code § 24- 79
211.01; 80
(d) “Disciplinary housing” means the separation of a resident from other individuals for 81
the purpose of punishing the resident for a violation of the Department’s or penal institution’s 82
rules; 83
(e) “Health care” means any type of care provided by a person licensed under or 84
permitted to practice a health occupation in the District as defined in D.C. Code § 3- 1201 et seq. 85
Healthcare includes medical care, dental care, vision care, psychiatric care, psychological or 86
other treatment for mental or behavioral health conditions, physical therapy, occupational 87
therapy, chronic care, and the provision of medication or medical supplies; 88
(f) “Medical isolation” means the isolation of a resident consistent with a finding by a 89
qualified health professional that the resident has a communicable disease for which the Centers 90
for Disease Control and Prevention recommends or authorizes isolation or quarantine, and that 91
isolation is medically necessary for that resident’s treatment or to protect other residents or staff 92
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from the communicable disease; 93
(g) “Minimum out- of-cell time” means at least 8 hours daily, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., 94
during which a resident is not restricted to their cell and has the opportunity to move around a 95
shared space, interact with other residents in a shared space without barriers or physical or 96
chemical restraints, participate in programming, shower, or go to the commissary, gym, and 97
recreation yard, or participate in other activities normally conducted outside of a resident’s cell; 98
(h) “Penal institution” means any penitentiary, prison, jail, or correctional facility owned, 99
operated, or controlled by the Department; 100
(i) “Physical restraint” means any mechanical device, material, or equipment attached or 101
adjacent to the resident’s body, or any manual method, that the resident cannot easily remove 102
and which restricts their freedom of movement or normal access to their body; 103
(j) “Prolonged confinement” means the denial of minimum out-of-cell time, without a 104
resident’s informed written consent; 105
(k) “Punitive measures” means the loss of any privilege, including video and phone calls, 106
recreation, reading materials, mail, or commissary, that is standardly provided to residents; 107
(l) “Qualified health professional” means a person licensed under or permitted to practice 108
a health occupation in the District as defined by D.C. Code § 3- 1201.08 who is providing 109
services or treatment for which the individual is specifically licensed or is permitted to perform 110
pursuant to D.C. Code § 3- 1201 et seq.; 111
(m) “Resident” means any individual detained or incarcerated at a penal institution; 112
(n) “Safe cell” means a suicide-resistant housing cell designed to prevent a resident from 113
inflicting serious bodily injury upon themselves or used by the Department as a place to hold and 114
continuously monitor residents placed on suicide watch; 115
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(o) “Serious bodily injury” means a bodily injury or significant bodily injury that 116
involves a substantial risk of death, protracted and obvious disfigurement, protracted loss or 117
impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ, or protracted loss of consciousness; 118
(p) “Suicide precaution” means a measure used to observe a resident who is assessed by a 119
qualified health professional and determined to not be actively suicidal, but expresses suicidal 120
ideation or has a recent prior history of inflicting or attempting to inflict serious bodily injury 121
upon themselves, or a resident who denies suicidal ideation or does not threaten suicide, but 122
demonstrates other concerning behavior indicating the potential for inflicting death or serious 123
bodily injury upon themselves; and 124
(q) “Suicide watch” means a measure used to observe a resident who is assessed by a 125
qualified health professional and determined to be actively suicidal, by either threatening or 126
engaging in inflicting serious bodily injury upon themselves. 127
Sec. 3. Scope. 128
This act shall apply to all residents detained or incarcerated at the Central Detention 129
Facility, the Correctional Treatment Facility, the Central Cell Block, and any other penal 130
institution owned, operated, or controlled by the Department. 131
Sec. 4. Limitations on the Use of Prolonged Confinement. 132
(a) The Department shall provide appropriate healthcare to all residents, including those 133
subject to disciplinary housing, medical isolation, suicide precaution, and suicide watch. 134
(b) Except as provided in subsections (c) and (d) of this section, the Department shall not 135
use or impose any form of prolonged confinement on any resident for any purpose, including 136
discipline, safety, security, administrative convenience, placement on a medical or mental health 137
unit, health care need, or the prevention of suicide or self-harm. 138
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(c) A resident in medical isolation may be subject to prolonged confinement, but only for 139
the time necessary to ensure the resident is no longer contagious or transmitting a communicable 140
disease. 141
(d) A qualified health professional shall reevaluate whether medical isolation is necessary 142
at an interval in accordance with guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and 143
Prevention or, at a minimum, every 24 hours. 144
(e) When a qualified health professional determines the resident is no longer contagious, 145
the resident shall be immediately entitled to minimum out- of-cell time, even if they remain 146
housed in a medical isolation unit. 147
(f) The removal of personal property items from a resident shall be prohibited absent an 148
individualized determination by a qualified health professional that the removal of a particular 149
item is necessary to prevent the transmitting of a communicable disease. 150
(g) A resident placed on suicide watch may be placed in prolonged confinement, subject 151
to the provisions of Section 5 of this Chapter. 152
(h) If the Department takes possession of a resident’s personal property when moving the 153
resident to or from disciplinary housing, the Department shall return all personal property to the 154
resident within 6 hours of taking possession of the property, excluding any contraband as defined 155
in D.C. Code § 22- 2603.02. 156
(i) Punitive measures may only be applied to a resident in response to a disciplinary 157
finding. 158
(j) At intake, and any time a resident is placed in prolonged confinement, medical 159
isolation, disciplinary housing, or under suicide precaution or suicide watch, the Department 160
shall provide the resident educational materials on mental health and substance use disorders, the 161
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stigma around mental health and substance use disorders, the mental health and substance use 162
disorder treatment options available to residents from the Department, and the law, regulations, 163
and policy statements governing the use of prolonged confinement, medical isolation, 164
disciplinary housing, and suicide precaution or suicide watch. The Department shall make these 165
educational materials available within 2 hours of the intake or placement in written format, both 166
hard copy and electronic, and in video format. These educational materials must comply with the 167
DC Language Access Act at D.C. Code § 2-1901 et seq. 168
(k) The Department shall notify a resident’s counsel of record any time a resident is 169
placed in prolonged confinement, medical isolation, disciplinary housing, or under suicide 170
precaution or suicide watch. If the resident does not have a counsel of record, the Department 171
shall notify the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. 172
Sec. 5. Limitations on the use of prolonge d confinement. 173
(a) Department staff shall directly observe a resident on suicide precaution at staggered 174
intervals not to exceed every 15 minutes and document those observations. 175
(b) Department staff shall directly observe a resident on suicide watch continuously and 176
without interruption and document those observations every 15 minutes. 177
(c) Supervision aids, like cameras, can be utilized as a supplement to, but never as a 178
substitute for, direct observation by Department staff of a resident on suicide precaution or 179
suicide watch. 180
(d) A resident on suicide precaution shall never be placed in a safe cell and shall not be 181
subject to prolonged confinement or punitive measures. 182
(e) All residents on suicide precaution or suicide watch shall be entitled to attend all court 183
or parole hearings unless a qualified health practitioner makes a finding that non- attendance is 184
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immediately necessary to prevent a risk of death or serious bodily injury to the resident or 185
another person. 186
(f) A resident on suicide watch shall reside in the least restrictive setting necessary to 187
reasonably assure the safety of the resident and others, as determined by a qualified health 188
professional, including housing in the general population, mental health unit, or medical 189
infirmary. 190
(g) A resident on suicide watch may be placed in a safe cell only if it is immediately 191
necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury. 192
(h) A qualified health professional shall directly observe any resident in a safe cell a 193
minimum of every 4 hours and shall formally reassess the resident at least every 24 hours. 194
(i) Removal of a resident’s clothing shall be prohibited absent an individualized 195
determination by a qualified health professional that such removal is necessary to prevent death 196
or serious bodily injury. If the individualized determination to remove a resident’s clothing is 197
made, the resident shall immediately be provided with alternative safe clothing and blanket, and 198
a qualified health professional shall reassess the determination at least every 24 hours. A resident 199
shall never be without the clothing and blankets necessary to provide reasonable privacy and 200
warmth. 201
(j) The Department shall transfer a resident from a safe cell to a local hospital or another 202
appropriate healthcare facility as soon as practicable: 203
(1) Upon a determination by a qualified health care professional that the 204
Department cannot provide the resident with appropriate healthcare; 205
(2) If the resident has been held in a safe cell continuously for 48 hours; or 206
(3) Upon request of the resident. 207
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(k) The Department shall examine any incident involving a completed suicide and any 208
incident involving a suicide attempt requiring hospitalization through a morbidity and mortality 209
review process, which shall be completed within 30 days of the resident’s death or suicide 210
attempt. 211
(l) The review, separate and apart from other formal investigations that may be required 212
to determine the cause of death, shall include: 213
(1) Review of the circumstances surrounding the incident; 214
(2) Review of procedures relevant to the incident; 215
(3) Review of all relevant training received by involved staff; 216
(4) Review of pertinent healthcare services reports involving the resident; 217
(5) Review of any possible precipitating factors that may have caused the resident 218
to commit suicide or suffer a serious suicide attempt; 219
(6) Recommendations, if any, for changes in policy, training, physical plant, 220
healthcare services, and operational procedures; and 221
(7) A written report detailing the Department’s findings, including whether each 222
recommendation was accepted or rejected and a corrective action plan specifying responsible 223
parties and timetables for completion. 224
(2) Within 5 days of the conclusion of the review process, the Department shall transmit 225
the report to the Mayor, the D.C. Council, and the Corrections Information Council. 226
(3) The Department shall publish on its website written updates on the status of the 227
corrective action plan in 30-day intervals until the plan has been fully implemented. 228
(4) All staff involved in the incident should be offered critical incident stress debriefing. 229
Sec. 6. Plan and report on the e limination of prolonge d confinement 230
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(a) Within 90 days after the effective date of this act, the Department shall transmit to 231
the Mayor, the Council, and the Corrections Information Council, and publish on its website a 232
written report of its plans to effectuate this act. 233
(b) The report published under subsection (a) of this section shall include: 234
(1) The number of residents who have not received minimum out-of-cell time 235
over the prior 12 months; and 236
(2) The number of residents who have been placed in disciplinary housing, 237
medical isolation, or a safe cell over the prior 12 months. 238
(c) The report published under subsection (a) of this section shall include the following 239
deidentified information about each resident: 240
(1) The cumulative number of days each resident has not received minimum out-241
of-cell time over the prior 12 months; 242
(2) The highest consecutive number of days each resident has not received 243
minimum out- of-cell time over the prior 12 months; 244
(3) The cumulative number of days each resident has been placed in disciplinary 245
housing, medical isolation, or a safe cell over the prior 12 months; 246
(4) The highest consecutive number of days each resident has been placed in 247
disciplinary housing, medical isolation, or a safe cell over the prior 12 months; 248
(5) The basis for denying the resident minimum out- out-of-cell time; 249
(6) The basis for placing the resident in disciplinary housing, medical isolation, or 250
a safe cell, including: 251
(A) The communicable disease that is the basis for medical isolation; and 252
(B) The number of documented assessments made by a qualified health 253
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professional; 254
(7) The notice and procedures followed before denying the resident minimum out-255
of-cell time; 256
(8) The notice and procedures followed before placing the resident in disciplinary 257
housing, medical isolation, or a safe cell; 258
(9) The timing and plan for restoring the resident’s out-of-cell time and any 259
known barriers to that transition; and 260
(10) The timing and plan for removing the resident from disciplinary housing, 261
medical isolation, or a safe cell, and any known barriers to that transition. 262
(d) Within 180 days after the effective date of this act, the Department shall promulgate 263
regulations and issue policy statements to amend the Department’s processes for and use of 264
prolonged confinement, medical isolation, and safe cells in accordance with this act; 265
(e) Within one year after the effective date of this act, and quarterly thereafter, the 266
Department shall submit to the Mayor, the Council, and the Corrections Information Council, 267
and make available on the Department’s website a written report of its use of prolonged 268
confinement, medical isolation, and safe cells. 269
(f) The reports published under subsection (e) of this section shall include deidentified 270
data on each resident placed in prolonged confinement, broken down by confinement that is the 271
result of medical isolation, a safe cell, or any other reason, for any amount of time during the 272
reporting period. 273
(g) The reports published under subsection (e) of this section shall include: 274
(1) Each resident’s age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or other LGBTQ 275
status, race, religion, and ethnicity; 276
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(2) Whether or not each resident is diagnosed with a serious mental illness, as that 277
term is defined in the current edition of The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental 278
Disorders; 279
(3) Whether or not each resident is diagnosed with a physical disability, an 280
intellectual or developmental disability, a traumatic brain injury, or any other disability, as 281
defined in 42 U.S.C. § 12102; 282
(4) The location of the prolonged confinement, broken down by unit or type of 283
unit; 284
(5) The highest consecutive number of days that each resident was in prolonged 285
confinement; 286
(6) The cumulative number of days each resident was in prolonged confinement; 287
(7) The reasons each resident was subjected to prolonged confinement; 288
(8) Whether each resident was subject to any type of physical or chemical 289
restraint while in prolonged confinement; and 290
(9) Whether each resident remains in prolonged confinement as of the time the 291
report is finalized. 292
(h) The reports published under subsection (e) of this section shall include data on the 293
filing of grievances by people held in prolonged confinement, medical isolation, or a safe cell, 294
including: 295
(1) The total number of grievances filed, reported by type of grievance; 296
(2) The number of grievances closed during the reporting period, including the 297
reason for closure, and the number of grievances that remain open; and 298
(3) The average number of days from the filing of a grievance to final resolution, 299
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broken down by Informal Grievance, Formal Grievance, Level 1 Appeal, Level 2 Appeal and 300
Prolonged Confinement Grievance. 301
(i) The reports published under subsection (e) of this section shall include data on assault 302
and self-harm, including: 303
(1) The total number of residents in medical isolation who committed self- harm, 304
attempted or completed suicide, were assaulted by another resident, were subjected to a use of 305
force by a Department employee, or received an incident report or disciplinary infraction, and the 306
type of that infraction; and 307
(2) The total number of residents in a safe cell who committed self-harm, 308
attempted or completed suicide, were assaulted by another resident, were subjected to a use of 309
force by a Department employee, or received an incident report or disciplinary infraction, and the 310
type of that infraction. 311
Sec. 7. Private r ight of action. 312
(a) A resident or former resident may bring a civil action in the Superior Court of the 313
District of Columbia against the District or any agent or employee thereof for violation of this act 314
or of any regulation promulgated or policy statement issued there under. Relief may include: 315
(1) Injunctive relief; 316
(2) Declaratory relief; 317
(3) Liquidated damages of $1000 per each day a resident is unlawfully held in 318
prolonged confinement; 319
(4) Compensatory damages; and 320
(5) Punitive damages. 321
(b) A resident or former resident who prevails in an action under this section shall be 322
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entitled to fees and costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and reasonable expert fees. 323
(c) Notwithstanding any D.C. law, regulation, or policy to the contrary: 324
(1) The requirements of D.C. Code § 12- 309 shall not apply to an action brought 325
under this act; 326
(2) The only administrative remedy available to raise questions of compliance 327
with or treatment under this act shall be filing a Prolonged Confinement Grievance at any time 328
directly with the Director of the Department, which has 5 calendar days to respond; 329
(3) The grievance shall be considered exhausted at the time the Director responds 330
or at the conclusion of 5 calendar days regardless of whether the Director provides a response. 331
(d) The Department shall provide the resident with a grievance form, writing utensils, and 332
access to the Inmate Grievance Procedure mailbox. 333
(e) Failure to provide a resident with a grievance form, writing utensils or access to the 334
grievance mailbox shall effectively render the grievance process unavailable to the resident. 335
(f) In an action under this section, a resident or former resident’s sworn statement 336
including facts that, if true, would be sufficient to show the resident or former resident had either 337
completed the grievance process or that the grievance process was unavailable to that resident, 338
shall create a rebuttable presumption that the grievance process was either completed or 339
unavailable that can only be overcome by clear and convincing evidence. 340
Sec. 8. Fiscal impact statement. 341
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 342
impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 343
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1- 301.47a). 344
Sec. 9. Effective date. 345
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This act shall take effect after approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 346
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30- day period of congressional review as 347
provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 348
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1- 206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 349
Columbia Register. 350