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.