Bill Text: TX HB4625 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to bullying, cyberbullying, and identity-based bullying in public schools.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-05-02 - Failed to receive affirmative vote in comm. [HB4625 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB4625-Introduced.html

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88R9285 AMF-F
By: Reynolds H.B. No. 4625

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to bullying, cyberbullying, and identity-based bullying
in public schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 28.0022, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (h) and (i) to read as follows:
(h) Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting a
teacher, administrator, or other employee of a state agency, school
district, or open-enrollment charter school from:
(1) implementing a strategy to prevent or mediate
either specific instances or cultures of bullying or harassment
that occur due to the victim's actual or perceived race, ethnicity,
color, national origin, sex, gender, religion, disability status,
or association with a person or group with one or more of those
actual or perceived characteristics, including a strategy
implemented pursuant to a policy adopted under Section 37.0832; or
(2) training teachers, administrators, or other
employees in the implementation of a strategy described by
Subdivision (1), including by providing staff development under
Section 21.451.
(i) In this section:
(1) "Bullying" has the meaning assigned by Section
37.0832.
(2) "Harassment" has the meaning assigned by Section
37.001.
SECTION 2. Section 37.0832(a), Education Code, is amended
by amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivisions (3) and (4) to
read as follows:
(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:
(i) cyberbullying; and
(ii) identity-based bullying.
(3) "Harassment" has the meaning assigned by Section
37.001.
(4) "Identity-based bullying" means bullying or
harassment that occurs due to the victim's:
(A) actual or perceived race, ethnicity, color,
national origin, sex, gender, religion, or disability status; or
(B) association with a person or group with one
or more of the actual or perceived characteristics listed in
Paragraph (A).
SECTION 3. Section 37.0832, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (b), (b-1), (b-2), and (f) and amending
Subsections (c), (c-1), (d), and (e).
(b) [(c)] The board of trustees of each school district
shall adopt a policy, including any necessary procedures,
concerning bullying that:
(1) prohibits the bullying of a student;
(2) prevents and mediates bullying incidents between
students that:
(A) interfere with a student's educational
opportunities; or
(B) substantially disrupt the orderly operation
of a classroom, school, or school-sponsored or school-related
activity;
(3) prohibits retaliation against any person,
including a victim, a witness, or another person, who in good faith
provides information concerning an incident of bullying;
(4) requires a school district employee who, in the
course and scope of employment, witnesses or receives information
regarding an incident that the employee reasonably believes
constitutes bullying by or against a student who at the time of the
incident is enrolled in the district at which the employee is
employed to report the information to a campus behavior coordinator
or other appropriate district official;
(5) [(4)] establishes a procedure for providing notice
of an incident of bullying 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 student alleged
to have engaged in bullying [bully] within a reasonable amount of
time after the incident;
(6) [(5)] establishes the actions a student should
take to obtain assistance and intervention in response to bullying;
(7) [(6)] sets out the supportive measures provided by
the district under Subsection (b-1) and available to [available
counseling options for] a student who is impacted by bullying,
including the alleged [a] victim of bullying, a person who
allegedly engaged in bullying, or a witness to bullying [or who
engages in bullying];
(8) [(7)] establishes procedures for reporting an
incident of bullying, including procedures for a student to
anonymously report an incident of bullying;
(9) establishes procedures for[,] investigating a
reported incident of bullying, and determining whether the reported
incident of bullying occurred, which must include requiring:
(A) written notice of the investigation or a
reported incident of bullying to all students impacted by the
incident and the parents or legal guardians of those students;
(B) the provision of supportive measures under
Subsection (b-1) to students impacted by the incident throughout
the investigation;
(C) the issuance of an investigative report that
includes the identity of witnesses to the incident, a summary of
evidence considered, the investigator's determination as to
whether the reported incident occurred and, if so, the student or
students responsible for the incident, and the rationale for those
determinations;
(D) an opportunity for each impacted student and
that student's parent or legal guardian to review and comment on the
investigative report required under Paragraph (C) prior to the
report being finalized; and
(E) an opportunity for each impacted student to
appeal a determination of the investigator;
(10) requires investigations conducted pursuant to
the procedures established under Subdivision (9) to be completed
not later than the 10th business day after the district receives a
report of bullying submitted pursuant to the procedures established
under Subdivision (8), unless the time period is extended for good
cause and a written notice of the extension and rationale is
provided to impacted students and those students' parents or legal
guardians;
(11) [(8)] prohibits the imposition of a disciplinary
measure on a student who, after an investigation, is found to be a
victim of bullying, on the basis of that student's use of reasonable
self-defense in response to the bullying;
(12) [(9)] requires that discipline for bullying 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.); and
(13) (10) complies with the minimum standards adopted
by the agency under Subsection (c) [(c-1)].
(b-1) The board of trustees of each school district shall
provide to a student impacted by bullying supportive measures that
are not disciplinary or punitive and are individualized to the
student. Measures provided under this subsection shall be designed
to:
(1) protect the safety of all students, teachers, and
other school staff in the district; and
(2) ensure a student impacted by bullying has
continued access to the school's educational program, including the
student's normal instructional lessons and activities, and may
include:
(A) counseling;
(B) the extension of a deadline for turning in
coursework or other instruction-related adjustments;
(C) modifications to a class schedule;
(D) requiring an employee of the district to
escort a student while the student is on a district campus;
(E) a transfer under Section 25.0342;
(F) restrictions on contact between students
impacted by an incident of bullying; and
(G) other similar measures.
(b-2) A school district must provide supportive measures
under Subsection (b-1):
(1) without fee or charge; and
(2) regardless of whether the student elects to
cooperate with an investigation conducted pursuant to the
procedures established under Subsection (b)(9).
(c) [(c-1)] The agency shall adopt minimum standards for a
school district's policy under Subsection (b) [(c)]. The standards
must:
(1) include an emphasis on bullying prevention by
focusing on school climate, [and] building healthy relationships
between students and staff, and engaging in dialogue to create a
culture of understanding and respect;
(2) require each district campus to establish a
committee to address bullying by focusing on prevention efforts and
health and wellness initiatives;
(3) require students at each grade level to meet
periodically for instruction on building relationships and
preventing bullying, including cyberbullying and identity-based
bullying;
(4) include an emphasis on increasing student
reporting of bullying incidents to school employees by:
(A) increasing awareness about district
reporting procedures; and
(B) providing for anonymous reporting of
bullying incidents;
(5) require districts to:
(A) collect information annually through student
surveys on bullying, including cyberbullying and identity-based
bullying; and
(B) use those survey results to develop action
plans to address student concerns regarding bullying, including
cyberbullying and identity-based bullying; and
(6) require districts to develop a rubric or checklist
to assess an incident of bullying and to determine the district's
response to the incident.
(d) The policy and any necessary procedures adopted under
Subsection (b) [(c)] must be included:
(1) annually, in the student and employee school
district handbooks; and
(2) in the district improvement plan under Section
11.252.
(e) The procedure for reporting bullying established under
Subsection (b) [(c)] must be posted on the district's Internet
website to the extent practicable.
(f) The board of trustees of each school district shall
annually publish a written summary of all incidents of bullying
reported at each campus within the district. The summary must be
posted on the district's Internet website and sent to all parents
and legal guardians of students enrolled in the district at the
beginning of each school year and:
(1) may not identify any person; and
(2) must include:
(A) the number of reported incidents of bullying
at each district campus, including the number of reported incidents
of cyberbullying and identity-based bullying;
(B) the number of investigations conducted as a
result of reported incidents of bullying;
(C) the disposition, if applicable, of any
disciplinary processes arising from the reported incidents of
bullying, including a summary of the nature of an incident that
resulted in a disciplinary process, the rationale behind the
determination of responsibility, if applicable, and any
disciplinary measure imposed; and
(D) the number of reports for which the district
determined not to initiate an investigation or impose disciplinary
measures and the reasons for each determination.
SECTION 4. Section 48.009(b-4), Education Code, as added by
Chapter 972 (S.B. 2050), Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2021, is amended to read as follows:
(b-4) The commissioner by rule shall require each school
district and open-enrollment charter school to annually report
through the Public Education Information Management System the
number of reported incidents of bullying that have occurred at each
campus. The commissioner's rules shall require a district or
school to specify the number of incidents of bullying that included
cyberbullying and identity-based bullying.
SECTION 5. Not later than 45 days after the effective date
of this Act, the Texas Education Agency shall adopt or revise
minimum standards as necessary to comply with Section 37.0832(c),
Education Code, as amended by this Act.
SECTION 6. This Act applies beginning with the 2023-2024
school year.
SECTION 7. 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, 2023.