Bill Title: To prohibit school administrators from knowingly failing to report to law enforcement authorities menacing by stalking or telecommunications harassment that occurs on school grounds, to require a board of education to adopt a policy that prohibits bullying by electronic means, to require a school district's harassment policy to address acts that occur off school property but materially disrupt the educational environment of the school, to require a school district annually to provide training on the district's bullying policy for district employees and volunteers, and to require a school district to notify parents or guardians of students if the annual training is not completed.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-05-05 - To Education
[SB126 Detail]Download: Ohio-2009-SB126-Introduced.html
As Introduced
128th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2009-2010 |
| |
Cosponsors:
Senators Turner, Cafaro, Schiavoni, Morano, Kearney, Sawyer, Miller, D.
A BILL
| To amend sections 2921.22, 3313.666, and 3313.667 of | 1 |
|
the Revised Code to prohibit school administrators | 2 |
|
from knowingly failing to report to law | 3 |
|
enforcement authorities menacing by stalking or | 4 |
|
telecommunications harassment that occurs on | 5 |
|
school grounds, to
require a board of education | 6 |
|
to adopt a policy
that prohibits bullying by | 7 |
|
electronic means, to require a
school district's | 8 |
|
harassment policy to address
acts that occur off | 9 |
|
school property but materially
disrupt the | 10 |
|
educational environment of the school,
to require | 11 |
|
a school district annually to provide
training on | 12 |
|
the district's bullying policy for
district | 13 |
|
employees and volunteers, and to require
a school | 14 |
|
district to notify parents or guardians
of | 15 |
|
students if the annual training is not
completed. | 16 |
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 2921.22, 3313.666, and 3313.667 of | 17 |
the Revised Code be
amended to read as follows: | 18 |
Sec. 2921.22. (A)(1) Except as provided in division
(A)(2) | 19 |
of this section, no person, knowing that a felony has
been
or is | 20 |
being committed, shall knowingly fail to report such
information | 21 |
to law enforcement authorities.
| 22 |
(2) No person, knowing that a violation of division (B) of
| 23 |
section 2913.04 of the Revised Code has been, or is being
| 24 |
committed or that the person has received information derived from
| 25 |
such a violation, shall knowingly fail to report the violation to
| 26 |
law enforcement authorities.
| 27 |
(3) No person who holds an administrator license issued under | 28 |
the authority of section 3319.22 of the Revised Code and is | 29 |
employed as an administrator by a city, local, exempted village, | 30 |
or joint vocational school district, knowing that a violation of | 31 |
section 2903.211 or 2917.21 of the Revised Code has been or is | 32 |
being committed on school premises, as defined in section 2925.01 | 33 |
of the Revised Code, of the school district or a school bus | 34 |
operated by the school district or at a school-sponsored event of | 35 |
the school district shall knowingly fail to report the violation | 36 |
to law enforcement authorities. | 37 |
(B) Except for conditions that are within the scope of
| 38 |
division (E) of this section, no
physician,
limited
practitioner,
| 39 |
nurse, or other person giving aid to a sick
or injured person
| 40 |
shall
negligently fail to report to law
enforcement authorities
| 41 |
any
gunshot or stab wound
treated or observed
by the
physician,
| 42 |
limited practitioner, nurse,
or person, or any serious physical
| 43 |
harm to persons that the
physician, limited practitioner, nurse,
| 44 |
or
person knows or has
reasonable cause to
believe resulted from
| 45 |
an offense of violence.
| 46 |
(C) No person who discovers the body or acquires the first
| 47 |
knowledge of the death of a person shall fail to report the
death
| 48 |
immediately to a physician whom the person knows to be
treating
| 49 |
the deceased for a condition from which death at such
time would
| 50 |
not be unexpected, or to a law enforcement officer,
an ambulance
| 51 |
service,
an emergency squad, or the coroner in a political
| 52 |
subdivision in which the body is discovered, the death is
believed
| 53 |
to have occurred, or knowledge concerning the death is
obtained.
| 54 |
(D) No person shall fail to provide upon request of the
| 55 |
person to whom
a report required by division (C) of
this section
| 56 |
was made, or to any law enforcement officer who has
reasonable
| 57 |
cause to assert the authority to investigate the
circumstances
| 58 |
surrounding the death, any facts within the
person's
knowledge
| 59 |
that may have a bearing on the investigation of the
death.
| 60 |
(E)(1) As used in this division, "burn injury" means any
of
| 61 |
the following:
| 62 |
(a) Second or third degree burns;
| 63 |
(b) Any burns to the upper respiratory tract or laryngeal
| 64 |
edema due to the inhalation of superheated air;
| 65 |
(c) Any burn injury or wound that may result in death;
| 66 |
(d) Any physical harm to persons caused by or as the result
| 67 |
of the use of fireworks, novelties and trick noisemakers, and wire
| 68 |
sparklers, as each is defined by section 3743.01 of the Revised
| 69 |
Code.
| 70 |
(2) No physician, nurse, or limited practitioner who,
outside
| 71 |
a hospital, sanitarium, or other medical facility,
attends
or
| 72 |
treats a person who has sustained a burn injury
that is
inflicted
| 73 |
by an
explosion or other incendiary device or that
shows evidence
| 74 |
of
having been inflicted in a violent, malicious,
or criminal
| 75 |
manner
shall fail to report the burn injury
immediately to the
| 76 |
local
arson, or fire and explosion
investigation, bureau, if there
| 77 |
is
a bureau
of this type in
the jurisdiction in
which the person
| 78 |
is attended or treated,
or
otherwise to local law
enforcement
| 79 |
authorities.
| 80 |
(3) No manager, superintendent, or other person in charge
of
| 81 |
a hospital, sanitarium, or other medical facility in which a
| 82 |
person is attended or treated for any burn injury
that is
| 83 |
inflicted by an
explosion or other incendiary device or that
shows
| 84 |
evidence of
having been inflicted in a violent, malicious,
or
| 85 |
criminal
manner
shall fail to report the burn injury
immediately
| 86 |
to the
local
arson, or fire and explosion
investigation, bureau,
| 87 |
if there is
a bureau
of this type in
the jurisdiction
in
which the
| 88 |
person is attended or treated, or
otherwise to local
law
| 89 |
enforcement authorities.
| 90 |
(4) No person who is required to report any burn injury
under
| 91 |
division (E)(2) or (3) of this section shall fail to file,
within
| 92 |
three working days after attending or treating the victim,
a
| 93 |
written report of the burn injury with the office of the state
| 94 |
fire marshal. The report shall
comply
with the uniform standard
| 95 |
developed by the
state fire marshal
pursuant to division (A)(15)
| 96 |
of section 3737.22 of the Revised
Code.
| 97 |
(5) Anyone participating in the making of reports under
| 98 |
division (E) of this section or anyone participating in a
judicial
| 99 |
proceeding resulting from the reports is immune
from any civil or
| 100 |
criminal liability that otherwise might be
incurred or imposed as
| 101 |
a result of such actions. Notwithstanding
section 4731.22 of the
| 102 |
Revised Code, the physician-patient
relationship is not a ground
| 103 |
for excluding evidence regarding a
person's burn injury or the
| 104 |
cause of the burn injury in any
judicial proceeding resulting from
| 105 |
a report submitted
under division (E) of this section.
| 106 |
(F)(1) Any doctor of medicine or osteopathic medicine,
| 107 |
hospital intern or
resident, registered or licensed practical
| 108 |
nurse, psychologist, social worker,
independent social worker,
| 109 |
social work assistant, professional
clinical counselor, or
| 110 |
professional counselor who knows or has reasonable
cause to
| 111 |
believe that a patient or client
has been the victim of domestic
| 112 |
violence, as defined in section 3113.31 of the
Revised Code, shall
| 113 |
note that knowledge or belief and the basis for it in the
| 114 |
patient's or client's records.
| 115 |
(2) Notwithstanding section 4731.22 of the Revised Code, the
| 116 |
doctor-patient
privilege shall not be a ground for excluding any
| 117 |
information regarding the
report containing the knowledge or
| 118 |
belief noted
under division (F)(1) of
this section,
and the
| 119 |
information may be admitted as evidence in accordance
with
the
| 120 |
Rules of Evidence.
| 121 |
(G)
Divisions (A)
and (D) of this section
do
not require
| 122 |
disclosure of information, when any of the following
applies:
| 123 |
(1) The information is privileged by reason of the
| 124 |
relationship between attorney and client; doctor and
patient;
| 125 |
licensed psychologist or licensed school psychologist
and client;
| 126 |
member of the clergy, rabbi,
minister, or priest and any person
| 127 |
communicating information confidentially to the member of the
| 128 |
clergy, rabbi, minister, or priest for a religious
counseling
| 129 |
purpose
of a professional
character;
husband and wife; or a
| 130 |
communications
assistant and those who are a party to
a
| 131 |
telecommunications relay service call.
| 132 |
(2) The information would tend to incriminate a member of
the
| 133 |
actor's immediate family.
| 134 |
(3) Disclosure of the information would amount to
revealing
a
| 135 |
news source, privileged under section 2739.04 or
2739.12 of the
| 136 |
Revised Code.
| 137 |
(4) Disclosure of the information would amount to
disclosure
| 138 |
by a member of the ordained clergy of an organized religious
body
| 139 |
of a confidential communication made to that member of the clergy
| 140 |
in that member's
capacity as a
member of
the clergy by a person
| 141 |
seeking the aid or counsel of that member
of the clergy.
| 142 |
(5) Disclosure would amount to revealing information
acquired
| 143 |
by the actor in the course of the actor's duties in
connection
| 144 |
with a bona fide program of treatment or services for
drug
| 145 |
dependent persons or persons in danger of drug dependence,
which
| 146 |
program is maintained or conducted by a hospital, clinic,
person,
| 147 |
agency, or organization certified pursuant to section
3793.06 of
| 148 |
the Revised Code.
| 149 |
(6) Disclosure would amount to revealing information
acquired
| 150 |
by the actor in the course of the actor's duties in
connection
| 151 |
with a bona fide program for providing counseling
services to
| 152 |
victims of crimes that are violations of section
2907.02 or
| 153 |
2907.05 of the Revised Code or to victims of felonious
sexual
| 154 |
penetration in
violation of former section 2907.12 of the
Revised
| 155 |
Code. As used in this
division, "counseling services"
include
| 156 |
services provided in an
informal setting by a person who,
by
| 157 |
education or experience, is
competent to provide
those
services.
| 158 |
(H) No disclosure of information pursuant to this section
| 159 |
gives rise to any liability or recrimination for a breach of
| 160 |
privilege or confidence.
| 161 |
(I) Whoever violates division (A) or (B) of this section
is
| 162 |
guilty of failure to report a crime. Violation of division
(A)(1)
| 163 |
of
this section is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
Violation
| 164 |
of
division (A)(2) or (B) of this section is a misdemeanor of the
| 165 |
second
degree.
| 166 |
(J) Whoever violates division (C) or (D) of this section
is
| 167 |
guilty of failure to report knowledge of a death, a
misdemeanor of
| 168 |
the fourth degree.
| 169 |
(K)(1) Whoever negligently violates division (E) of this
| 170 |
section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.
| 171 |
(2) Whoever knowingly violates division (E) of this
section
| 172 |
is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree.
| 173 |
Sec. 3313.666. (A) As used in this section, "harassment: | 174 |
(1) "Electronic act" means an act committed through the use | 175 |
of a cellular telephone, computer, pager, personal communication | 176 |
device, or other electronic communication device. | 177 |
(2) "Harassment, intimidation, or bullying" means any | 178 |
intentional written, verbal, electronic, or physical act that a | 179 |
student has exhibited toward another particular student more than | 180 |
once and the behavior both: | 181 |
(1)(a) Causes mental or physical harm to the other student; | 182 |
(2)(b) Is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive that | 183 |
it creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational | 184 |
environment for the other student. | 185 |
(B) The board of education of each city, local, exempted | 186 |
village, and joint vocational school district shall establish and | 187 |
annually review a
policy prohibiting harassment, intimidation, or | 188 |
bullying. The
policy shall be developed in consultation with | 189 |
parents, school
employees, school volunteers, students, and | 190 |
community members. The
policy shall include the following: | 191 |
(1) A statement prohibiting harassment, intimidation, or | 192 |
bullying of any student on school property or a school bus, at | 193 |
school-sponsored
events, or, if the harassment, intimidation, or | 194 |
bullying materially or substantially disrupts the educational | 195 |
environment and discipline of the school, off school property and | 196 |
expressly providing for the possibility of suspension of a student | 197 |
found guilty of harassment, intimidation, or bullying by an | 198 |
electronic act; | 199 |
(2) A definition of harassment, intimidation, or bullying | 200 |
that shall includeincludes the definition in division (A) of this | 201 |
section; | 202 |
(3) A procedure for reporting prohibited incidents; | 203 |
(4) A requirement that school personnel report prohibited | 204 |
incidents of which they are aware to the school principal or other | 205 |
administrator designated by the principal; | 206 |
(5) A requirement that parents or guardians of any student | 207 |
involved in a prohibited incident be notified and, to the extent | 208 |
permitted by section 3319.321 of the Revised Code and the "Family | 209 |
Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974," 88 Stat. 571, 20 | 210 |
U.S.C. 1232q, as amended, have access to any written reports | 211 |
pertaining to the prohibited incident; | 212 |
(6) A procedure for documenting any prohibited incident that | 213 |
is reported; | 214 |
(7) A procedure for responding to and investigating any | 215 |
reported incident; | 216 |
(8) A strategy for protecting a victim or other person from | 217 |
new or additional
harassment, intimidation, or bullying, and from | 218 |
retaliation
following a report, including a means by which a | 219 |
person may report an incident anonymously; | 220 |
(9) A disciplinary procedure for any student guilty of | 221 |
harassment, intimidation, or bullying, which shall not infringe on | 222 |
any student's rights under the first amendment to the Constitution | 223 |
of the United States; | 224 |
(10) A statement prohibiting students from deliberately | 225 |
making false reports of harassment, intimidation, or bullying and | 226 |
a disciplinary procedure for any student guilty of deliberately | 227 |
making a false report of that nature; | 228 |
(11) A requirement that the district administration | 229 |
semiannually provide the president of the district board a written | 230 |
summary of all reported incidents and post the summary on its web | 231 |
site, if the district has a web site, to the extent permitted by | 232 |
section 3319.321 of the Revised Code and the "Family Educational | 233 |
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974," 88 Stat. 571, 20 U.S.C. 1232q, as | 234 |
amended. | 235 |
(C) Each board's policy shall appear in any student | 236 |
handbooks, and in any of the publications that set forth the | 237 |
comprehensive rules, procedures, and standards of conduct for | 238 |
schools and students in the district. The policy and an | 239 |
explanation of the seriousness of bullying by electronic means | 240 |
shall be made available to students in the district and to their | 241 |
parents and guardians. Information regarding the
policy shall be | 242 |
incorporated into employee training materials. | 243 |
(D) A school district employee, student, or volunteer shall | 244 |
be individually immune from liability in a civil action for | 245 |
damages arising from reporting an incident in accordance with a | 246 |
policy adopted pursuant to this section if that person reports an | 247 |
incident of harassment, intimidation, or bullying promptly in good | 248 |
faith and in compliance with the procedures as specified in the | 249 |
policy. | 250 |
(E) Except as provided in division (D) of this section, | 251 |
nothing in this section prohibits a victim from seeking redress | 252 |
under any other provision of the Revised Code or common law that | 253 |
may apply. | 254 |
(F) Any school district may form bullying prevention task | 255 |
forces, programs, and other initiatives involving volunteers, | 256 |
parents, law enforcement, and community members. | 257 |
(G) This section does not create a new cause of action or a | 258 |
substantive legal right for any person. | 259 |
Sec. 3313.667. (A) Any school district may form bullying | 260 |
prevention task forces, programs, and other initiatives involving | 261 |
volunteers, parents, law enforcement, and community membersAs | 262 |
used in this section, "school year" means the year beginning on | 263 |
the first day of July and ending on the thirtieth day of June. | 264 |
(B) To the extent that state or federal funds are | 265 |
appropriated for these purposes, eachEach school district shall: | 266 |
(1) Provide training, workshops, or courseseach school year | 267 |
on the district's harassment, intimidation, or bullying policy | 268 |
adopted pursuant to section 3313.666 of the Revised Code to school | 269 |
employees and volunteers who have direct contact with students and | 270 |
complete the training for each school year by the thirty-first day | 271 |
of December of that school year. Time spent by school employees in | 272 |
the training, workshops, or courses shall apply towards any state- | 273 |
or district-mandated continuing education requirements. | 274 |
(2) Develop a process for educating students about the | 275 |
policy. | 276 |
(C) ThisIf a school district fails to conduct for any school | 277 |
year the annual training required by division (B) of this section | 278 |
by the thirty-first day of December of that school year, the | 279 |
district, not later than the thirtieth day of January of the | 280 |
school year, shall send a notice by ordinary mail to the parents | 281 |
or guardians of each student enrolled in a school in the district | 282 |
for which the district has not completed the training. The notice | 283 |
shall include a statement that the district did not complete the | 284 |
training required by section 3313.667 of the Revised Code and | 285 |
shall be clearly distinguishable from other information sent to | 286 |
parents or guardians. | 287 |
(D) If a school district fails to comply with both division | 288 |
(B) and division (C) of this section, a parent or guardian of any | 289 |
student enrolled in a school in the district may apply to a court | 290 |
of common pleas having territorial jurisdiction over any portion | 291 |
of the district for an order compelling the district to comply | 292 |
with division (B) or (C) of this section or granting other | 293 |
equitable relief. | 294 |
(E) Except as provided in division (D) of this section, this | 295 |
section does not create a new cause of action or a substantive | 296 |
legal right for any person. | 297 |
(F) Time spent by school employees in training provided | 298 |
pursuant to division (B)(1) of this section shall apply towards | 299 |
any state-mandated or district-mandated continuing education | 300 |
requirements. | 301 |
Section 2. That existing sections 2921.22, 3313.666, and | 302 |
3313.667 of the Revised
Code are hereby repealed. | 303 |