88R2174 MEW-D
 
  By: Meza H.B. No. 498
 
 
 
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 542 (S.B. 168), 887 (S.B. 1697), 915 (H.B. 3607), 974 (S.B.
  2081), and 1046 (S.B. 1365), Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular
  Session, 2021, 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, except class size limits for prekindergarten
  classes imposed under Section 25.112, which do not apply;
                     (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)  the provisions of Subchapter A, Chapter 39;
                     (M)  public school accountability and special
  investigations under Subchapters A, B, C, D, F, G, and J, Chapter
  39, and Chapter 39A;
                     (N)  the requirement under Section 21.006 to
  report an educator's misconduct;
                     (O)  intensive programs of instruction under
  Section 28.0213;
                     (P)  the right of a school employee to report a
  crime, as provided by Section 37.148;
                     (Q)  bullying and harassment prevention policies
  and procedures under Section 37.0832;
                     (R)  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;
                     (S)  the right under Section 37.0151 to report to
  local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or
  harassment;
                     (T)  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);
                     (U)  establishment of residency under Section
  25.001;
                     (V)  school safety requirements under Sections
  37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.109, 37.113, 37.114, 37.1141, 37.115,
  37.207, and 37.2071;
                     (W)  the early childhood literacy and mathematics
  proficiency plans under Section 11.185;
                     (X)  the college, career, and military readiness
  plans under Section 11.186; and
                     (Y) [(X)]  parental options to retain a student
  under Section 28.02124.
         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; 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)  prevents and mediates bullying or harassment
  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 or
  harassment;
               (4)  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;
               (5)  establishes the actions a student should take to
  obtain assistance and intervention in response to bullying or
  harassment;
               (6)  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;
               (7)  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;
               (8)  specifies that no remedial action may be taken
  solely on the basis of an anonymous report of an incident of
  bullying or harassment;
               (9)  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;
               (10) [(9)]  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.); and
               (11) [(10)]  complies with the minimum standards
  adopted by the agency under Subsection (c-1).
         (c-1)  The agency shall adopt minimum standards for a school
  district's policy under Subsection (c). The standards must:
               (1)  include an emphasis on bullying and harassment
  prevention by focusing on school climate and building healthy
  relationships between students and staff;
               (2)  require each district campus to establish a
  committee to address bullying and harassment 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 harassment;
               (4)  include an emphasis on increasing student
  reporting of bullying or harassment incidents to school employees
  by:
                     (A)  increasing awareness about district
  reporting procedures; and
                     (B)  providing for anonymous reporting of
  bullying or harassment incidents;
               (5)  require districts to:
                     (A)  collect information annually through student
  surveys on bullying, including cyberbullying, and harassment; and
                     (B)  use those survey results to develop action
  plans to address student concerns regarding bullying, including
  cyberbullying, and harassment; and
               (6)  require districts to develop a rubric or checklist
  to assess an incident of bullying or harassment and to determine the
  district's response to the incident.
         (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.
         SECTION 4.  As soon as practicable after the effective date
  of this Act, 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 5.  To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
  over another Act of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023,
  relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
  codes.
         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.