Bill Text: IL HB5184 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Engrossed
Bill Title: Amends the Courses of Study Article of the School Code. In provisions concerning bullying prevention, provides that "policy on bullying" means a bullying prevention policy that is age and developmentally appropriate. Effective July 1, 2024.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 9-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-26 - Pursuant to Senate Rule 3-9(b) / Referred to Assignments [HB5184 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2023-HB5184-Engrossed.html
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1 | AN ACT concerning education.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | ||||||
3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section | ||||||
5 | 27-23.7 as follows:
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6 | (105 ILCS 5/27-23.7) | ||||||
7 | Sec. 27-23.7. Bullying prevention. | ||||||
8 | (a) The General Assembly finds that a safe and civil | ||||||
9 | school environment is necessary for students to learn and | ||||||
10 | achieve and that bullying causes physical, psychological, and | ||||||
11 | emotional harm to students and interferes with students' | ||||||
12 | ability to learn and participate in school activities. The | ||||||
13 | General Assembly further finds that bullying has been linked | ||||||
14 | to other forms of antisocial behavior, such as vandalism, | ||||||
15 | shoplifting, skipping and dropping out of school, fighting, | ||||||
16 | using drugs and alcohol, sexual harassment, and sexual | ||||||
17 | violence. Because of the negative outcomes associated with | ||||||
18 | bullying in schools, the General Assembly finds that school | ||||||
19 | districts, charter schools, and non-public, non-sectarian | ||||||
20 | elementary and secondary schools should educate students, | ||||||
21 | parents, and school district, charter school, or non-public, | ||||||
22 | non-sectarian elementary or secondary school personnel about | ||||||
23 | what behaviors constitute prohibited bullying. |
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1 | Bullying on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, | ||||||
2 | religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, physical appearance, | ||||||
3 | socioeconomic status, academic status, pregnancy, parenting | ||||||
4 | status, homelessness, age, marital status, physical or mental | ||||||
5 | disability, military status, sexual orientation, | ||||||
6 | gender-related identity or expression, unfavorable discharge | ||||||
7 | from military service, association with a person or group with | ||||||
8 | one or more of the aforementioned actual or perceived | ||||||
9 | characteristics, or any other distinguishing characteristic is | ||||||
10 | prohibited in all school districts, charter schools, and | ||||||
11 | non-public, non-sectarian elementary and secondary schools. No | ||||||
12 | student shall be subjected to bullying: | ||||||
13 | (1) during any school-sponsored education program or | ||||||
14 | activity; | ||||||
15 | (2) while in school, on school property, on school | ||||||
16 | buses or other school vehicles, at designated school bus | ||||||
17 | stops waiting for the school bus, or at school-sponsored | ||||||
18 | or school-sanctioned events or activities; | ||||||
19 | (3) through the transmission of information from a | ||||||
20 | school computer, a school computer network, or other | ||||||
21 | similar electronic school equipment; or | ||||||
22 | (4) through the transmission of information from a | ||||||
23 | computer that is accessed at a nonschool-related location, | ||||||
24 | activity, function, or program or from the use of | ||||||
25 | technology or an electronic device that is not owned, | ||||||
26 | leased, or used by a school district or school if the |
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1 | bullying causes a substantial disruption to the | ||||||
2 | educational process or orderly operation of a school. This | ||||||
3 | item (4) applies only in cases in which a school | ||||||
4 | administrator or teacher receives a report that bullying | ||||||
5 | through this means has occurred and does not require a | ||||||
6 | district or school to staff or monitor any | ||||||
7 | nonschool-related activity, function, or program. | ||||||
8 | (a-5) Nothing in this Section is intended to infringe upon | ||||||
9 | any right to exercise free expression or the free exercise of | ||||||
10 | religion or religiously based views protected under the First | ||||||
11 | Amendment to the United States Constitution or under Section 3 | ||||||
12 | of Article I of the Illinois Constitution. | ||||||
13 | (b) In this Section: | ||||||
14 | "Age and developmentally appropriate" means being suitable | ||||||
15 | to a particular age or age group of children and adolescents, | ||||||
16 | based on the developing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral | ||||||
17 | capacity typical for the age or age group. | ||||||
18 | "Bullying" includes "cyber-bullying" and means any severe | ||||||
19 | or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including | ||||||
20 | communications made in writing or electronically, directed | ||||||
21 | toward a student or students that has or can be reasonably | ||||||
22 | predicted to have the effect of one or more of the following: | ||||||
23 | (1) placing the student or students in reasonable fear | ||||||
24 | of harm to the student's or students' person or property; | ||||||
25 | (2) causing a substantially detrimental effect on the | ||||||
26 | student's or students' physical or mental health; |
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1 | (3) substantially interfering with the student's or | ||||||
2 | students' academic performance; or | ||||||
3 | (4) substantially interfering with the student's or | ||||||
4 | students' ability to participate in or benefit from the | ||||||
5 | services, activities, or privileges provided by a school. | ||||||
6 | Bullying, as defined in this subsection (b), may take | ||||||
7 | various forms, including without limitation one or more of the | ||||||
8 | following: harassment, threats, intimidation, stalking, | ||||||
9 | physical violence, sexual harassment, sexual violence, theft, | ||||||
10 | public humiliation, destruction of property, or retaliation | ||||||
11 | for asserting or alleging an act of bullying. This list is | ||||||
12 | meant to be illustrative and non-exhaustive. | ||||||
13 | "Cyber-bullying" means bullying through the use of | ||||||
14 | technology or any electronic communication, including without | ||||||
15 | limitation any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, | ||||||
16 | sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted in | ||||||
17 | whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic system, | ||||||
18 | photoelectronic system, or photooptical system, including | ||||||
19 | without limitation electronic mail, Internet communications, | ||||||
20 | instant messages, or facsimile communications. | ||||||
21 | "Cyber-bullying" includes the creation of a webpage or weblog | ||||||
22 | in which the creator assumes the identity of another person or | ||||||
23 | the knowing impersonation of another person as the author of | ||||||
24 | posted content or messages if the creation or impersonation | ||||||
25 | creates any of the effects enumerated in the definition of | ||||||
26 | bullying in this Section. "Cyber-bullying" also includes the |
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1 | distribution by electronic means of a communication to more | ||||||
2 | than one person or the posting of material on an electronic | ||||||
3 | medium that may be accessed by one or more persons if the | ||||||
4 | distribution or posting creates any of the effects enumerated | ||||||
5 | in the definition of bullying in this Section. | ||||||
6 | "Policy on bullying" means a bullying prevention policy | ||||||
7 | that meets the following criteria: | ||||||
8 | (1) Includes the bullying definition provided in this | ||||||
9 | Section. | ||||||
10 | (2) Includes a statement that bullying is contrary to | ||||||
11 | State law and the policy of the school district, charter | ||||||
12 | school, or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or | ||||||
13 | secondary school and is consistent with subsection (a-5) | ||||||
14 | of this Section. | ||||||
15 | (3) Includes procedures for promptly reporting | ||||||
16 | bullying, including, but not limited to, identifying and | ||||||
17 | providing the school e-mail address (if applicable) and | ||||||
18 | school telephone number for the staff person or persons | ||||||
19 | responsible for receiving such reports and a procedure for | ||||||
20 | anonymous reporting; however, this shall not be construed | ||||||
21 | to permit formal disciplinary action solely on the basis | ||||||
22 | of an anonymous report. | ||||||
23 | (4) Consistent with federal and State laws and rules | ||||||
24 | governing student privacy rights, includes procedures for | ||||||
25 | informing parents or guardians of all students involved in | ||||||
26 | the alleged incident of bullying within 24 hours after the |
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1 | school's administration is made aware of the students' | ||||||
2 | involvement in the incident and discussing, as | ||||||
3 | appropriate, the availability of social work services, | ||||||
4 | counseling, school psychological services, other | ||||||
5 | interventions, and restorative measures. The school shall | ||||||
6 | make diligent efforts to notify a parent or legal | ||||||
7 | guardian, utilizing all contact information the school has | ||||||
8 | available or that can be reasonably obtained by the school | ||||||
9 | within the 24-hour period. | ||||||
10 | (5) Contains procedures for promptly investigating and | ||||||
11 | addressing reports of bullying, including the following: | ||||||
12 | (A) Making all reasonable efforts to complete the | ||||||
13 | investigation within 10 school days after the date the | ||||||
14 | report of the incident of bullying was received and | ||||||
15 | taking into consideration additional relevant | ||||||
16 | information received during the course of the | ||||||
17 | investigation about the reported incident of bullying. | ||||||
18 | (B) Involving appropriate school support personnel | ||||||
19 | and other staff persons with knowledge, experience, | ||||||
20 | and training on bullying prevention, as deemed | ||||||
21 | appropriate, in the investigation process. | ||||||
22 | (C) Notifying the principal or school | ||||||
23 | administrator or his or her designee of the report of | ||||||
24 | the incident of bullying as soon as possible after the | ||||||
25 | report is received. | ||||||
26 | (D) Consistent with federal and State laws and |
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1 | rules governing student privacy rights, providing | ||||||
2 | parents and guardians of the students who are parties | ||||||
3 | to the investigation information about the | ||||||
4 | investigation and an opportunity to meet with the | ||||||
5 | principal or school administrator or his or her | ||||||
6 | designee to discuss the investigation, the findings of | ||||||
7 | the investigation, and the actions taken to address | ||||||
8 | the reported incident of bullying. | ||||||
9 | (6) Includes the interventions that can be taken to | ||||||
10 | address bullying, which may include, but are not limited | ||||||
11 | to, school social work services, restorative measures, | ||||||
12 | social-emotional skill building, counseling, school | ||||||
13 | psychological services, and community-based services. | ||||||
14 | (7) Includes a statement prohibiting reprisal or | ||||||
15 | retaliation against any person who reports an act of | ||||||
16 | bullying and the consequences and appropriate remedial | ||||||
17 | actions for a person who engages in reprisal or | ||||||
18 | retaliation. | ||||||
19 | (8) Includes consequences and appropriate remedial | ||||||
20 | actions for a person found to have falsely accused another | ||||||
21 | of bullying as a means of retaliation or as a means of | ||||||
22 | bullying. | ||||||
23 | (9) Is based on the engagement of a range of school | ||||||
24 | stakeholders, including students and parents or guardians. | ||||||
25 | (10) Is posted on the school district's, charter | ||||||
26 | school's, or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or |
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1 | secondary school's existing, publicly accessible Internet | ||||||
2 | website, is included in the student handbook, and, where | ||||||
3 | applicable, posted where other policies, rules, and | ||||||
4 | standards of conduct are currently posted in the school | ||||||
5 | and provided periodically throughout the school year to | ||||||
6 | students and faculty, and is distributed annually to | ||||||
7 | parents, guardians, students, and school personnel, | ||||||
8 | including new employees when hired. | ||||||
9 | (11) As part of the process of reviewing and | ||||||
10 | re-evaluating the policy under subsection (d) of this | ||||||
11 | Section, contains a policy evaluation process to assess | ||||||
12 | the outcomes and effectiveness of the policy that | ||||||
13 | includes, but is not limited to, factors such as the | ||||||
14 | frequency of victimization; student, staff, and family | ||||||
15 | observations of safety at a school; identification of | ||||||
16 | areas of a school where bullying occurs; the types of | ||||||
17 | bullying utilized; and bystander intervention or | ||||||
18 | participation. The school district, charter school, or | ||||||
19 | non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary school | ||||||
20 | may use relevant data and information it already collects | ||||||
21 | for other purposes in the policy evaluation. The | ||||||
22 | information developed as a result of the policy evaluation | ||||||
23 | must be made available on the Internet website of the | ||||||
24 | school district, charter school, or non-public, | ||||||
25 | non-sectarian elementary or secondary school. If an | ||||||
26 | Internet website is not available, the information must be |
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1 | provided to school administrators, school board members, | ||||||
2 | school personnel, parents, guardians, and students. | ||||||
3 | (12) Is consistent with the policies of the school | ||||||
4 | board, charter school, or non-public, non-sectarian | ||||||
5 | elementary or secondary school. | ||||||
6 | (13) Requires all individual instances of bullying, as | ||||||
7 | well as all threats, suggestions, or instances of | ||||||
8 | self-harm determined to be the result of bullying, to be | ||||||
9 | reported to the parents or legal guardians of those | ||||||
10 | involved under the guidelines provided in paragraph (4) of | ||||||
11 | this definition. | ||||||
12 | (14) Is age and developmentally appropriate. | ||||||
13 | "Restorative measures" means a continuum of school-based | ||||||
14 | alternatives to exclusionary discipline, such as suspensions | ||||||
15 | and expulsions, that: (i) are adapted to the particular needs | ||||||
16 | of the school and community, (ii) contribute to maintaining | ||||||
17 | school safety, (iii) protect the integrity of a positive and | ||||||
18 | productive learning climate, (iv) teach students the personal | ||||||
19 | and interpersonal skills they will need to be successful in | ||||||
20 | school and society, (v) serve to build and restore | ||||||
21 | relationships among students, families, schools, and | ||||||
22 | communities, (vi) reduce the likelihood of future disruption | ||||||
23 | by balancing accountability with an understanding of students' | ||||||
24 | behavioral health needs in order to keep students in school, | ||||||
25 | and (vii) increase student accountability if the incident of | ||||||
26 | bullying is based on religion, race, ethnicity, or any other |
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1 | category that is identified in the Illinois Human Rights Act. | ||||||
2 | "School personnel" means persons employed by, on contract | ||||||
3 | with, or who volunteer in a school district, charter school, | ||||||
4 | or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary school, | ||||||
5 | including without limitation school and school district | ||||||
6 | administrators, teachers, school social workers, school | ||||||
7 | counselors, school psychologists, school nurses, cafeteria | ||||||
8 | workers, custodians, bus drivers, school resource officers, | ||||||
9 | and security guards. | ||||||
10 | (c) (Blank). | ||||||
11 | (d) Each school district, charter school, and non-public, | ||||||
12 | non-sectarian elementary or secondary school shall create, | ||||||
13 | maintain, and implement a policy on bullying, which policy | ||||||
14 | must be filed with the State Board of Education. The policy on | ||||||
15 | bullying shall be based on the State Board of Education's | ||||||
16 | template for a model bullying prevention policy under | ||||||
17 | subsection (h) and shall include the criteria set forth in the | ||||||
18 | definition of "policy on bullying". The policy or implementing | ||||||
19 | procedure shall include a process to investigate whether a | ||||||
20 | reported act of bullying is within the permissible scope of | ||||||
21 | the district's or school's jurisdiction and shall require that | ||||||
22 | the district or school provide the victim with information | ||||||
23 | regarding services that are available within the district and | ||||||
24 | community, such as counseling, support services, and other | ||||||
25 | programs. School personnel available for help with a bully or | ||||||
26 | to make a report about bullying shall be made known to parents |
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1 | or legal guardians, students, and school personnel. Every 2 | ||||||
2 | years, each school district, charter school, and non-public, | ||||||
3 | non-sectarian elementary or secondary school shall conduct a | ||||||
4 | review and re-evaluation of its policy and make any necessary | ||||||
5 | and appropriate revisions. No later than September 30 of the | ||||||
6 | subject year, the policy must be filed with the State Board of | ||||||
7 | Education after being updated. The State Board of Education | ||||||
8 | shall monitor and provide technical support for the | ||||||
9 | implementation of policies created under this subsection (d). | ||||||
10 | In monitoring the implementation of the policies, the State | ||||||
11 | Board of Education shall review each filed policy on bullying | ||||||
12 | to ensure all policies meet the requirements set forth in this | ||||||
13 | Section, including ensuring that each policy meets the 12 | ||||||
14 | criterion identified within the definition of "policy on | ||||||
15 | bullying" set forth in this Section. | ||||||
16 | If a school district, charter school, or non-public, | ||||||
17 | non-sectarian elementary or secondary school fails to file a | ||||||
18 | policy on bullying by September 30 of the subject year, the | ||||||
19 | State Board of Education shall provide a written request for | ||||||
20 | filing to the school district, charter school, or non-public, | ||||||
21 | non-sectarian elementary or secondary school. If a school | ||||||
22 | district, charter school, or non-public, non-sectarian | ||||||
23 | elementary or secondary school fails to file a policy on | ||||||
24 | bullying within 14 days of receipt of the aforementioned | ||||||
25 | written request, the State Board of Education shall publish | ||||||
26 | notice of the non-compliance on the State Board of Education's |
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1 | website. | ||||||
2 | Each school district, charter school, and non-public, | ||||||
3 | non-sectarian elementary or secondary school may provide | ||||||
4 | evidence-based professional development and youth programming | ||||||
5 | on bullying prevention that is consistent with the provisions | ||||||
6 | of this Section. | ||||||
7 | (e) This Section shall not be interpreted to prevent a | ||||||
8 | victim from seeking redress under any other available civil or | ||||||
9 | criminal law. | ||||||
10 | (f) School districts, charter schools, and non-public, | ||||||
11 | non-sectarian elementary and secondary schools shall collect, | ||||||
12 | maintain, and submit to the State Board of Education | ||||||
13 | non-identifiable data regarding verified allegations of | ||||||
14 | bullying within the school district, charter school, or | ||||||
15 | non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary school. | ||||||
16 | School districts, charter schools, and non-public, | ||||||
17 | non-sectarian elementary and secondary schools must submit | ||||||
18 | such data in an annual report due to the State Board of | ||||||
19 | Education no later than August 15 of each year starting with | ||||||
20 | the 2024-2025 school year through the 2030-2031 school year. | ||||||
21 | The State Board of Education shall adopt rules for the | ||||||
22 | submission of data that includes, but is not limited to: (i) a | ||||||
23 | record of each verified allegation of bullying and action | ||||||
24 | taken; and (ii) whether the instance of bullying was based on | ||||||
25 | actual or perceived characteristics identified in subsection | ||||||
26 | (a) and, if so, lists the relevant characteristics. The rules |
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1 | for the submission of data shall be consistent with federal | ||||||
2 | and State laws and rules governing student privacy rights, | ||||||
3 | including, but not limited to, the federal Family Educational | ||||||
4 | Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 and the Illinois School Student | ||||||
5 | Records Act, which shall include, without limitation, a record | ||||||
6 | of each complaint and action taken. The State Board of | ||||||
7 | Education shall adopt rules regarding the notification of | ||||||
8 | school districts, charter schools, and non-public, | ||||||
9 | non-sectarian elementary and secondary schools that fail to | ||||||
10 | comply with the requirements of this subsection. | ||||||
11 | (g) Upon the request of a parent or legal guardian of a | ||||||
12 | child enrolled in a school district, charter school, or | ||||||
13 | non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary school | ||||||
14 | within this State, the State Board of Education must provide | ||||||
15 | non-identifiable data on the number of bullying allegations | ||||||
16 | and incidents in a given year in the school district, charter | ||||||
17 | school, or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary | ||||||
18 | school to the requesting parent or legal guardian. The State | ||||||
19 | Board of Education shall adopt rules regarding (i) the | ||||||
20 | handling of such data, (ii) maintaining the privacy of the | ||||||
21 | students and families involved, and (iii) best practices for | ||||||
22 | sharing numerical data with parents and legal guardians. | ||||||
23 | (h) By January 1, 2024, the State Board of Education shall | ||||||
24 | post on its Internet website a template for a model bullying | ||||||
25 | prevention policy. | ||||||
26 | (i) The Illinois Bullying and Cyberbullying Prevention |
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1 | Fund is created as a special fund in the State treasury. Any | ||||||
2 | moneys appropriated to the Fund may be used, subject to | ||||||
3 | appropriation, by the State Board of Education for the | ||||||
4 | purposes of subsection (j). | ||||||
5 | (j) Subject to appropriation, the State Superintendent of | ||||||
6 | Education may provide a grant to a school district, charter | ||||||
7 | school, or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary | ||||||
8 | school to support its anti-bullying programming. Grants may be | ||||||
9 | awarded from the Illinois Bullying and Cyberbullying | ||||||
10 | Prevention Fund. School districts, charter schools, and | ||||||
11 | non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary schools that | ||||||
12 | are not in compliance with subsection (f) are not eligible to | ||||||
13 | receive a grant from the Illinois Bullying and Cyberbullying | ||||||
14 | Prevention Fund. | ||||||
15 | (Source: P.A. 102-197, eff. 7-30-21; 102-241, eff. 8-3-21; | ||||||
16 | 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 102-894, eff. 5-20-22; 103-47, eff. | ||||||
17 | 6-9-23.)
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