87R9401 MEW-D
	By: Meza	H.B. No. 4064

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to policies and procedures for addressing bullying and
	harassment in public schools.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 12.104(b), Education Code, as amended by
	Chapters 262 (H.B. 1597), 464 (S.B. 11), 467 (H.B. 4170), and 943
	(H.B. 3), Acts of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, is
	reenacted and amended to read as follows:
	(b)  An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:
	(1)  a provision of this title establishing a criminal
	offense;
	(2)  the provisions in Chapter 554, Government Code;
	and
	(3)  a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
	applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
	title, relating to:
	(A)  the Public Education Information Management
	System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
	this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
	(B)  criminal history records under Subchapter C,
	Chapter 22;
	(C)  reading instruments and accelerated reading
	instruction programs under Section 28.006;
	(D)  accelerated instruction under Section
	28.0211;
	(E)  high school graduation requirements under
	Section 28.025;
	(F)  special education programs under Subchapter
	A, Chapter 29;
	(G)  bilingual education under Subchapter B,
	Chapter 29;
	(H)  prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E
	or E-1, Chapter 29;
	(I)  extracurricular activities under Section
	33.081;
	(J)  discipline management practices or behavior
	management techniques under Section 37.0021;
	(K)  health and safety under Chapter 38;
	(L)  public school accountability under
	Subchapters B, C, D, F, G, and J, Chapter 39, and Chapter 39A;
	(M)  the requirement under Section 21.006 to
	report an educator's misconduct;
	(N)  intensive programs of instruction under
	Section 28.0213;
	(O)  the right of a school employee to report a
	crime, as provided by Section 37.148;
	(P)  bullying and harassment prevention policies
	and procedures under Section 37.0832;
	(Q)  the right of a school under Section 37.0052
	to place a student who has engaged in certain bullying behavior in a
	disciplinary alternative education program or to expel the student;
	(R)  the right under Section 37.0151 to report to
	local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or
	harassment;
	(S)  a parent's right to information regarding the
	provision of assistance for learning difficulties to the parent's
	child as provided by Sections 26.004(b)(11) and 26.0081(c) and (d);
	(T)  establishment of residency under Section
	25.001;
	(U) [(T)]  school safety requirements under
	Sections 37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.109, 37.113, 37.114, 37.115,
	37.207, and 37.2071;
	(V) [(T)]  the early childhood literacy and
	mathematics proficiency plans under Section 11.185; and
	(W) [(U)]  the college, career, and military
	readiness plans under Section 11.186.
	SECTION 2.  Section 33.006(b), Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(b)  In addition to a school counselor's responsibility
	under Subsection (a), the school counselor shall:
	(1)  participate in planning, implementing, and
	evaluating a comprehensive developmental guidance program to serve
	all students and to address the special needs of students:
	(A)  who are at risk of dropping out of school,
	becoming substance abusers, participating in gang activity, or
	committing suicide;
	(B)  who are in need of modified instructional
	strategies; or
	(C)  who are gifted and talented, with emphasis on
	identifying and serving gifted and talented students who are
	educationally disadvantaged;
	(2)  consult with a student's parent or guardian and
	make referrals as appropriate in consultation with the student's
	parent or guardian;
	(3)  consult with school staff, parents, and other
	community members to help them increase the effectiveness of
	student education and promote student success;
	(4)  coordinate people and resources in the school,
	home, and community;
	(5)  with the assistance of school staff, interpret
	standardized test results and other assessment data that help a
	student make educational and career plans;
	(6)  deliver classroom guidance activities or serve as
	a consultant to teachers conducting lessons based on the school's
	guidance curriculum; and
	(7)  serve as an impartial, nonreporting resource for
	interpersonal conflicts and discord involving two or more students,
	including accusations of bullying or harassment under Section
	37.0832.
	SECTION 3.  Section 37.0832, Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 37.0832.  BULLYING AND HARASSMENT PREVENTION POLICIES
	AND PROCEDURES. (a)  In this section:
	(1)  "Bullying":
	(A)  means a single significant act or a pattern
	of acts by one or more students directed at another student that
	exploits an imbalance of power and involves engaging in written or
	verbal expression, expression through electronic means, or
	physical conduct that satisfies the applicability requirements
	provided by Subsection (a-1), and 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)  materially and substantially
	disrupts the educational process or the orderly operation of a
	classroom or school; or
	(iv)  infringes on the rights of the victim
	at school; and
	(B)  includes cyberbullying.
	(2)  "Cyberbullying" means bullying that is done
	through the use of any electronic communication device, including
	through the use of a cellular or other type of telephone, a
	computer, a camera, electronic mail, instant messaging, text
	messaging, a social media application, an Internet website, or any
	other Internet-based communication tool.
	(3)  "Harassment" has the meaning assigned by Section
	37.001.
	(a-1)  This section applies to:
	(1)  bullying or harassment that 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;
	(2)  bullying or harassment that occurs on a publicly
	or privately owned school bus or vehicle being used for
	transportation of students to or from school or a school-sponsored
	or school-related activity; and
	(3)  cyberbullying that occurs off school property or
	outside of a school-sponsored or school-related activity if the
	cyberbullying:
	(A)  interferes with a student's educational
	opportunities; or
	(B)  substantially disrupts the orderly operation
	of a classroom, school, or school-sponsored or school-related
	activity.
	(b)  Conduct that constitutes bullying or harassment may
	include conduct that occurs due to:
	(1)  another student's actual or perceived race, color,
	national origin, sex, disability status, sexual orientation,
	gender identity, gender expression, ethnicity, or religion;
	(2)  a distinguishing characteristic of another
	student, as identified in the model guidance developed by the
	agency under Section 37.0833; or
	(3)  a student's association with a person or group with
	one or more of the actual or perceived characteristics described by
	Subdivisions (1) and (2).
	(c)  The board of trustees of each school district shall
	adopt a policy, including any necessary procedures, concerning
	bullying and harassment that:
	(1)  prohibits the bullying or harassment of a student;
	(2)  prohibits retaliation against any person,
	including a victim, a witness, or another person, who in good faith
	provides information concerning an incident of bullying or
	harassment;
	(3)  establishes a procedure for providing notice,
	while considering the circumstances of the incident and ensuring
	the safety and well-being of the student, of an incident of bullying
	or harassment to:
	(A)  a parent or guardian of the alleged victim on
	or before the third business day after the date the incident is
	reported; and
	(B)  a parent or guardian of the alleged bully or
	harasser within a reasonable amount of time after the incident;
	(4)  establishes the actions a student should take to
	obtain assistance and intervention in response to bullying and
	harassment;
	(5)  sets out the available counseling options for a
	student who is a victim of or a witness to bullying or harassment or
	who engages in bullying or harassment;
	(6)  establishes procedures for reporting an incident
	of bullying or harassment, including procedures for a student to
	anonymously report an incident of bullying or harassment, promptly
	investigating a reported incident of bullying or harassment, and
	determining whether the reported incident of bullying or harassment
	occurred;
	(7)  specifies that no remedial action may be taken
	solely on the basis of an anonymous report of an incident of
	bullying or harassment;
	(8)  prohibits the imposition of a disciplinary measure
	on a student who, after an investigation, is found to be a victim of
	bullying or harassment, on the basis of that student's use of
	reasonable self-defense in response to the bullying or harassment;
	[and]
	(9) [(8)]  requires that discipline for bullying or
	harassment of a student with disabilities comply with applicable
	requirements under federal law, including the Individuals with
	Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400 et seq.);
	(10)  distinguishes various responses to reported
	incidents of bullying or harassment, including age-appropriate
	consequences;
	(11)  encourages positive and preventative approaches
	to discipline for bullying or harassment that minimize a student's
	removal from the classroom and ensure students are not subject to
	disproportionate punishment;
	(12)  is consistent with the model guidance developed
	by the agency under Section 37.0833;
	(13)  designates a school district employee to serve as
	the primary contact regarding the policies and procedures adopted
	under this section, including to:
	(A)  receive copies of all formal and informal
	complaints regarding violations;
	(B)  assume responsibility for the implementation
	of the policies and procedures; and
	(C)  serve as primary contact for the agency; and
	(14)  provides for the implementation of an
	evidence-based program for discussing bullying and harassment
	issues and related school policies with all students.
	(c-1)  The procedures established under Subsection (c)(6)
	must designate the principal, or the principal's designee, at the
	campus in which the incident of bullying or harassment was reported
	as the person responsible for overseeing the investigation.
	(c-2)  A school district must:
	(1)  review and revise the district's policy adopted
	under Subsection (c) at least once every two years; and
	(2)  submit the district's policy to the agency.
	(d)  The policy and any necessary procedures adopted under
	Subsection (c) must be included:
	(1)  annually, in the student and employee school
	district handbooks and as part of any new employee training
	materials; and
	(2)  in the district improvement plan under Section
	11.252.
	(e)  The procedure for reporting bullying or harassment
	established under Subsection (c) must be posted on the district's
	Internet website to the extent practicable.
	(f)  Each school district may establish a district-wide
	policy to assist in the prevention and mediation of bullying and
	harassment incidents between students that:
	(1)  interfere with a student's educational
	opportunities; or
	(2)  substantially disrupt the orderly operation of a
	classroom, school, or school-sponsored or school-related activity.
	SECTION 4.  Subchapter C, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Section 37.0833 to read as follows:
	Sec. 37.0833.  BULLYING AND HARASSMENT MODEL GUIDANCE AND
	PROCEDURES. (a)  In this section:
	(1)  "Bullying" has the meaning assigned by Section
	37.0832.
	(2)  "Harassment" has the meaning assigned by Section
	37.001.
	(b)  To assist school districts in establishing bullying and
	harassment policies and procedures as required by Section 37.0832,
	the agency shall develop model guidance that:
	(1)  includes definitions of bullying and harassment
	consistent with this section;
	(2)  identifies distinguishing characteristics of
	students that are protected from bullying or harassment; and
	(3)  includes guidance for school districts on:
	(A)  the adoption and implementation of the
	district's policies and procedures; and
	(B)  the needs of transgender, non-binary, and
	gender-nonconforming students that addresses:
	(i)  maintenance of a safe and supportive
	learning environment free from discrimination and harassment for
	all students;
	(ii)  terms, definitions, and discussion of
	gender identity and expression;
	(iii)  maintenance of gender, name, and
	pronoun information to reflect a student's gender identity;
	(iv)  protection of student privacy and the
	confidentiality of sensitive information;
	(v)  student participation in school
	activities and events segregated by sex, including athletics and
	the use of school facilities; and
	(vi)  compliance with all applicable state
	and local nondiscrimination and privacy laws or ordinances.
	(c)  The agency shall hire a safe school specialist to:
	(1)  identify evidence-based training resources; and
	(2)  provide additional technical assistance for
	policy implementation by school districts that incorporates state
	bullying and harassment prevention standards.
	(d)  The agency shall develop procedures for:
	(1)  monitoring school district compliance with
	Section 37.0832;
	(2)  providing technical assistance to school
	districts in implementing policies and procedures under Section
	37.0832;
	(3)  collecting reports on incidents of bullying and
	harassment from school districts, while maintaining student
	confidentiality;
	(4)  publishing a biannual report that includes
	statewide statistics of incidents of bullying and harassment,
	disaggregated by characteristics identified under Subsection
	(b)(2); and
	(5)  reporting of and responding to failures to
	implement bullying and harassment policies and procedures by school
	districts and administrators, including by:
	(A)  investigating violations of law relating to
	bullying and harassment; and
	(B)  imposing sanctions on school districts that
	fail to develop and implement policies and procedures in accordance
	with Section 37.0832.
	(e)  For any school district that the agency determines is
	out of compliance with Section 37.0832, the agency shall conduct an
	investigation and issue a report detailing guidance for compliance.
	If the school district has not complied not later than one month
	after receiving the report from the agency, the commissioner may
	take any appropriate action authorized to be taken by the
	commissioner under Chapter 39A.
	(f)  The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to
	implement this section.
	SECTION 5.  As soon as practicable after the effective date
	of this Act:
	(1)  the Texas Education Agency shall develop the model
	guidance and procedures as required by Section 37.0833, Education
	Code, as added by this Act; and
	(2)  each school district shall adopt a policy
	concerning bullying and harassment as required by Section
	37.0832(c), Education Code, as amended by this Act.
	SECTION 6.  To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
	over another Act of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021,
	relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
	codes.
	SECTION 7.  This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022
	school year.
	SECTION 8.  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, 2021.