Bill Text: TX HB224 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to bullying, including cyberbullying, in public schools.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-03-01 - Left pending in committee [HB224 Detail]

Download: Texas-2011-HB224-Introduced.html

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82R1445 CAS-F
By: Strama H.B. No. 224

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to bullying, including cyberbullying, in public schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 21.451(d), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) The staff development:
(1) may include training in:
(A) technology;
(B) conflict resolution; and
(C) discipline strategies, including classroom
management, district discipline policies, and the student code of
conduct adopted under Section 37.001 and Chapter 37; [and]
(2) subject to Subsection (e), must include training
based on scientifically based research, as defined by Section 9101,
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Section 7801), that:
(A) relates to instruction of students with
disabilities; and
(B) is designed for educators who work primarily
outside the area of special education; and
(3) must include the training required under Section
37.0832(g)(1) in preventing, identifying, responding to, and
reporting incidents of bullying.
SECTION 2. The heading to Section 25.0342, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 25.0342. TRANSFER OF STUDENTS WHO ARE VICTIMS OF OR
HAVE ENGAGED IN BULLYING.
SECTION 3. Section 25.0342, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (c), and (e) and adding Subsections (b-1)
and (b-2) to read as follows:
(a) In this section, "bullying" has the meaning assigned by
Section 37.0832 [means engaging in written or verbal expression or
physical conduct that a school district board of trustees or the
board's designee determines:
[(1) will have the effect of physically harming a
student, damaging a student's property, or placing a student in
reasonable fear of harm to the student's person or of damage to the
student's property; or
[(2) is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive
enough that the action or threat creates an intimidating,
threatening, or abusive educational environment for a student].
(b-1) On the request of a parent or other person with
authority to act on behalf of a student who is a victim of bullying,
the board of trustees of a school district or the board's designee
may transfer the student who engaged in bullying to:
(1) another classroom at the campus to which the
victim was assigned at the time the bullying occurred; or
(2) a campus in the district other than the campus to
which the victim was assigned at the time the bullying occurred.
(b-2) To the extent practicable, the board of trustees and
each district educator with knowledge of the request shall keep a
request received under Subsection (b) or (b-1) confidential.
(c) The board of trustees or the board's designee shall
verify that a student has been a victim of or has engaged in
bullying, as applicable, before transferring the student under this
section.
(e) A [The] determination by the board of trustees or the
board's designee under this section is final and may not be
appealed.
SECTION 4. Section 37.001(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) In this section:
(1) "Bullying" has the meaning assigned by Section
37.0832.
(2) "Harassment" means threatening to cause harm or
bodily injury to another student, engaging in sexually intimidating
conduct, causing physical damage to the property of another
student, subjecting another student to physical confinement or
restraint, or maliciously taking any action that substantially
harms another student's physical or emotional health or safety.
(3) [(2)] "Hit list" means a list of people targeted
to be harmed, using:
(A) a firearm, as defined by Section 46.01(3),
Penal Code;
(B) a knife, as defined by Section 46.01(7),
Penal Code; or
(C) any other object to be used with intent to
cause bodily harm.
SECTION 5. Section 37.083(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Each school district shall adopt and implement a
discipline management program to be included in the district
improvement plan under Section 11.252. The program must provide
for prevention of and education concerning unwanted physical or
verbal aggression and[,] sexual harassment[, and other forms of
bullying] in school, on school grounds, and in school vehicles.
SECTION 6. Subchapter C, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.0832 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.0832. BULLYING, INCLUDING CYBERBULLYING: POLICIES,
PROCEDURES, AND TRAINING. (a) In this section:
(1) "Bullying":
(A) means engaging in written or verbal
expression or physical conduct, including an action motivated by a
perceived imbalance of power based on another student's actual or
perceived personal characteristics, behavior, or beliefs or by
another student's association with a third person and based on the
third person's characteristics, behavior, or beliefs, that:
(i) has the effect or will have the effect
of physically harming a student, damaging a student's property, or
placing a student in reasonable fear of harm to the student's person
or of damage to the student's property;
(ii) is sufficiently severe, persistent, or
pervasive enough that the action or threat creates an intimidating,
threatening, or abusive educational environment for a student;
(iii) interferes with a student's
educational opportunities; or
(iv) substantially disrupts the orderly
operation of a school; and
(B) includes cyberbullying.
(2) "Cyberbullying" means bullying that is done using
electronic communication, including electronic media.
(b) This section applies to bullying that:
(1) occurs on or is delivered to school property or to
the site of a school-sponsored or school-related activity on or off
school property; or
(2) occurs off school property or outside of a
school-sponsored or school-related activity, if the conduct
interferes with a student's educational opportunities or
substantially disrupts the orderly operation of a school or
school-sponsored or school-related activity.
(c) The board of trustees of each school district shall
adopt a policy concerning bullying that:
(1) prohibits bullying of a student;
(2) prohibits retaliation against any person,
including a victim, witness, or another person, who in good faith
provides information concerning an incident of bullying;
(3) provides for the appropriate intervention for a
student who engages in bullying or falsely accuses another of
bullying;
(4) requires each school principal or the principal's
designee to develop a campus strategy for protecting each campus
student from being bullied or related retaliation that includes
imposing appropriate discipline to reduce the risk of incidents of
bullying and offering appropriate assistance to a victim of
bullying or a student engaging in bullying;
(5) establishes a procedure for reporting an incident
of bullying within a district and on each district campus that
specifies the action a student should take in case of bullying; and
(6) addresses any other issue concerning bullying that
the board of trustees determines to be appropriate.
(d) The procedure under Subsection (c)(5):
(1) must enable a student to report an incident of
bullying to any school district employee;
(2) must require the posting of a list on each campus
that identifies each person who has special training or designation
to receive a report of an incident of bullying;
(3) may establish an anonymous reporting system; and
(4) may include any other provision concerning
reporting an incident of bullying that the board of trustees
determines to be appropriate.
(e) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, not
later than the second school day after the date a school principal
acquires knowledge of an incident of bullying, the school district
superintendent or the superintendent's designee shall, by
telephone or electronic communication, provide notice of the
incident to the parent or guardian of the victim of the alleged
bullying and the parent or guardian of the student who allegedly
engaged in the bullying. In accordance with a policy adopted by the
district board of trustees, the superintendent or the
superintendent's designee may notify other persons, as
appropriate. If the superintendent or the superintendent's
designee is not successful in reaching a parent or guardian by
telephone or electronic communication, the superintendent or the
superintendent's designee shall contact the parent or guardian in
writing as soon as practicable. The principal shall inform a victim
of bullying of the victim's right to request that the victim's
parent or guardian not be notified of the incident. On a request
from a victim, the principal shall request the superintendent or
the superintendent's designee to grant a waiver from the
notification requirement under this subsection. Granting or denial
of the waiver is at the sole discretion of the superintendent or the
superintendent's designee, must be based on the facts of the case,
and must be documented in writing. Granting a waiver under this
subsection does not relieve a district employee of any other duty
imposed by the policy adopted under Subsection (c).
(f) Each school district shall provide annual written
notice of the policy adopted under Subsection (c) and the
notification requirements under Subsection (e) to each district
student, the parent or guardian of each district student, and each
district employee or volunteer. The notice must be posted on the
district's Internet website and at each district campus in the
cafeteria, on each major bulletin board, in a prominent place in the
area of campus administrative offices, and at any other appropriate
location determined by the school principal. The policy also must
be included in each student and employee handbook.
(g) Each school district shall provide the following
training concerning bullying:
(1) annual training in preventing, identifying,
responding to, and reporting incidents of bullying for district
administrators and for other district employees and volunteers who
have significant contact with students;
(2) instruction to district students regarding the
elements of bullying; and
(3) an educational program for district students and
the parents and guardians of district students in preventing,
identifying, responding to, and reporting incidents of bullying.
SECTION 7. Section 39.306(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Each board of trustees shall publish an annual report
describing the educational performance of the district and of each
campus in the district that includes uniform student performance
and descriptive information as determined under rules adopted by
the commissioner. The annual report must also include:
(1) campus performance objectives established under
Section 11.253 and the progress of each campus toward those
objectives, which shall be available to the public;
(2) information indicating the district's
accreditation status and identifying each district campus awarded a
distinction designation under Subchapter G or considered an
unacceptable campus under Subchapter E;
(3) the district's current special education
compliance status with the agency;
(4) a statement of the number, rate, and type of
violent or criminal incidents that occurred on each district
campus, to the extent permitted under the Family Educational Rights
and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g);
(5) information concerning bullying, including
cyberbullying, harassment, sexual harassment, and school violence
prevention and violence intervention policies and procedures that
the district is using to protect students;
(6) the findings that result from evaluations
conducted under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act
[of 1994] (20 U.S.C. Section 7101 et seq.); [and]
(7) information received under Section 51.403(e) for
each high school campus in the district, presented in a form
determined by the commissioner; and
(8) a statement of the number, rate, and type of
incidents of bullying, including cyberbullying, harassment, sexual
harassment, and discrimination against any student on the basis of
the actual or perceived race, ethnicity, color, religion, gender,
sexual orientation, national origin, or disability of the alleged
perpetrator or victim that occurred on each district campus, to the
extent permitted under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy
Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g).
SECTION 8. This Act applies beginning with the 2011-2012
school year.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2011.