85R3559 MEW-D

By: Minjarez H.B. No. 305

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to student harassment, bullying, and cyberbullying.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as David's Law.

SECTION 2. Section 37.0832, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a), (c), (d), and (e) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:

(a) In this section:

(1) "Bullying":

(A) [, "bullying"] 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 [, subject to Subsection (b),] engaging in written or verbal expression, expression through electronic means, or physical conduct, that satisfies the applicability requirements provided by Subsection (a-1), [that occurs on school property, at a school-sponsored or school-related activity, or in a vehicle operated by the district] and that:

(i) [(1)] has the effect or will have the effect of physically harming a student, causing a student to experience substantial negative mental health effects, 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]

(ii) [(2)] is sufficiently severe, persistent, and 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 electronic communication, including through the use of a cellular or other type of telephone, a computer, a pager, a camera, electronic mail, instant messaging, text messaging, a social media account, or an Internet website.

(a-1) This section applies to:

(1) bullying 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 that occurs on a publicly or privately owned school bus or van 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.

(c) The board of trustees of each school district and the governing body of each open-enrollment charter school or private school shall adopt a policy, including any necessary procedures, concerning bullying that:

(1) prohibits the bullying 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;

(3) establishes a procedure for providing notice of an incident of bullying to a parent or guardian of the victim and a parent or guardian of the bully not later than the next school day [within a reasonable amount of time] after the incident is reported;

(4) establishes the actions a student should take to obtain assistance and intervention in response to bullying;

(5) sets out the available counseling options for a student who is a victim of or a witness to bullying or who engages in bullying;

(6) establishes procedures for reporting an incident of bullying, including procedures for a student, parent, teacher, or administrator to anonymously report an incident of bullying, investigating a reported incident of bullying, and determining whether the reported incident of bullying occurred;

(7) 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; and

(8) 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.).

(d) The policy and any necessary procedures adopted under Subsection (c) must be included:

(1) annually, in any [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 (c) must be posted on the district's or school's Internet website to the extent practicable.

SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 37.0052 to read as follows:

Sec. 37.0052. PLACEMENT OR EXPULSION OF STUDENTS WHO HAVE ENGAGED IN CERTAIN BULLYING BEHAVIOR. (a) In this section:

(1) "Bullying" has the meaning assigned by Section 37.0832.

(2) "Intimate visual material" has the meaning assigned by Section 98B.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.

(b) A student may be removed from class and placed in a disciplinary alternative education program as provided by Section 37.008 or expelled if the student:

(1) engages in bullying that encourages a minor to commit or attempt to commit suicide;

(2) incites violence against a minor through group bullying; or

(3) releases or threatens to release intimate visual material of a minor.

SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 37.0151 to read as follows:

Sec. 37.0151. REPORT TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT REGARDING CERTAIN CONDUCT CONSTITUTING ASSAULT OR HARASSMENT; LIABILITY. (a) The principal of a public or private primary or secondary school, or a person designated by the principal under Subsection (c), shall make a report to any school district police department and the police department of the municipality in which the school is located or, if the school is not in a municipality, the sheriff of the county in which the school is located if the principal has reasonable grounds to believe that a student engaged in conduct that constitutes an offense under Section 22.01 or 42.07(a)(7), Penal Code.

(b) A person who makes a report under this section shall include the name and address of each student the person believes may have participated in the conduct.

(c) The principal of a public or private primary or secondary school may designate a school employee, other than a school counselor, who is under the supervision of the principal to make the report under this section.

(d) A person is not liable in civil damages for making a report in good faith under this section.

SECTION 5. Sections 37.218(a)(1) and (2), Education Code, are amended to read as follows:

(1) "Bullying" has the meaning assigned by Section 37.0832 [25.0342].

(2) "Cyberbullying" has the meaning assigned by Section 37.0832 [means the use of any electronic communication device to engage in bullying or intimidation].

SECTION 6. 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; [and]

(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 mediator for interpersonal conflicts involving two or more students, including accusations of bullying or cyberbullying under Section 37.0832.

SECTION 7. Section 42.07(b)(1), Penal Code, is amended to read as follows:

(1) "Electronic communication" means a transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system. The term includes:

(A) a communication initiated by electronic mail, instant message, Internet website, social media application, network call, [or] facsimile machine, or other Internet-based communication tool; and

(B) a communication made to a pager.

SECTION 8. Section 37.0832(b), Education Code, is repealed.

SECTION 9. The change in law made by this Act applies only to an offense committed or conduct violating a penal law of this state that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed or conduct that occurs before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed or conduct occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed or conduct violating a penal law of this state occurred before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense or conduct occurred before that date.

SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.