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1		AN ACT concerning education.
2		Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3		represented in the General Assembly:
4		Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
5		27-23.7 and by adding Sections 27-23.9 and 27-23.10 as follows:
6		(105 ILCS 5/27-23.7)
7		Sec. 27-23.7. Bullying prevention education; gang
8		resistance education and training.
9		(a) The General Assembly finds that a safe and civil school
10		environment is necessary for students to learn and achieve and
11		that bullying causes physical, psychological, and emotional
12		harm to students and interferes with students' ability to learn
13		and participate in school activities. The General Assembly
14		further finds that bullying has a negative effect on the social
15		environment of schools, creates a climate of fear among
16		students, inhibits their ability to learn, and leads to other
17		antisocial behavior. Bullying behavior has been linked to other
18		forms of antisocial behavior, such as vandalism, shoplifting,
19		skipping and dropping out of school, fighting, using drugs and
20		alcohol, sexual harassment, and sexual violence. Because of the
21		negative outcomes associated with bullying in schools, the
22		General Assembly finds that school districts and non-public,
23		non-sectarian elementary and secondary schools should educate

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1		students, parents, and school district or non-public,
2		non-sectarian elementary or secondary school personnel about
3		what behaviors constitute prohibited bullying.
4		Bullying on the basis of actual or perceived race, color,
5		religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status,
6		physical or mental disability, military status, sexual
7		orientation, gender-related identity or expression,
8		unfavorable discharge from military service, association with
9		a person or group with one or more of the aforementioned actual
10		or perceived characteristics, or any other distinguishing
11		characteristic is prohibited in all school districts and
12		non-public, non-sectarian elementary and secondary schools. No
13		student shall be subjected to bullying:
14		(1) during any school-sponsored education program or
15		activity;
16		(2) while in school, on school property, on school
17		buses or other school vehicles, at designated school bus
18		stops waiting for the school bus, or at school-sponsored or
19		school-sanctioned events or activities; or
20		(3) through the transmission of information from a
21		school computer, a school computer network, or other
22		similar electronic school equipment.
23		The General Assembly further finds that the instance of
24		youth delinquent gangs continues to rise on a statewide basis.
25		Given the higher rates of criminal offending among gang
26		members, as well as the availability of increasingly lethal

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1		weapons, the level of criminal activity by gang members has
2		taken on new importance for law enforcement agencies, schools,
3		the community, and prevention efforts.
4		(b) In this Section:
5		"Bullying" means any severe or pervasive physical or verbal
6		act or conduct, including communications made in writing or
7		electronically, directed toward a student or students that has
8		or can be reasonably predicted to have the effect of one or
9		more of the following:
10		(1) placing the student or students in reasonable fear
11		of harm to the student's or students' person or property;
12		(2) causing a substantially detrimental effect on the
13		student's or students' physical or mental health;
14		(3) substantially interfering with the student's or
15		students' academic performance; or
16		(4) substantially interfering with the student's or
17		students' ability to participate in or benefit from the
18		services, activities, or privileges provided by a school.
19		Bullying, as defined in this subsection (b), may take
20		various forms, including without limitation one or more of the
21		following: harassment, threats, intimidation, stalking,
22		physical violence, sexual harassment, sexual violence, theft,
23		public humiliation, destruction of property, or retaliation
24		for asserting or alleging an act of bullying. This list is
25		meant to be illustrative and non-exhaustive.
26		"School personnel" means persons employed by, on contract

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1		with, or who volunteer in a school district or non-public,
2		non-sectarian elementary or secondary school, including
3		without limitation school and school district administrators,
4		teachers, school guidance counselors, school social workers,
5		school counselors, school psychologists, school nurses,
6		cafeteria workers, custodians, bus drivers, school resource
7		officers, and security guards.
8		"Bullying prevention" means and includes instruction in
9		all of the following:
10		(1) Intimidation.
11		(2) Student victimization.
12		(3) Sexual harassment.
13		(4) Sexual violence.
14		(5) Strategies for student-centered problem solving
15		regarding bullying.
16		"Gang resistance education and training" means and
17		includes instruction in, without limitation, each of the
18		following subject matters when accompanied by a stated
19		objective of reducing gang activity and educating children in
20		grades K through 12 about the consequences of gang involvement:
21		(1) Conflict resolution.
22		(2) Cultural sensitivity.
23		(3) Personal goal setting.
24		(4) Resisting peer pressure.
25		(c) (Blank). Each school district may make suitable
26		provisions for instruction in bullying prevention and gang

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1		resistance education and training in all grades and include
2		such instruction in the courses of study regularly taught
3		therein. A school board may collaborate with a community-based
4		agency providing specialized curricula in bullying prevention
5		whose ultimate outcome is to prevent sexual violence. For the
6		purposes of gang resistance education and training, a school
7		board must collaborate with State and local law enforcement
8		agencies. The State Board of Education may assist in the
9		development of instructional materials and teacher training in
10		relation to bullying prevention and gang resistance education
11		and training.
12		(d) Each Beginning 180 days after August 23, 2007 (the
13		effective date of Public Act 95-349), each school district and
14		non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary school shall
15		create and maintain a policy on bullying, which policy must be
16		filed with the State Board of Education. Each school district
17		and non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary school
18		must communicate its policy on bullying to its students and
19		their parent or guardian on an annual basis. The policy must be
20		updated every 2 years and filed with the State Board of
21		Education after being updated. The State Board of Education
22		shall monitor the implementation of policies created under this
23		subsection (d).
24		(e) This Section shall not be interpreted to prevent a
25		victim from seeking redress under any other available civil or
26		criminal law. Nothing in this Section is intended to infringe

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1		upon any right to exercise free expression or the free exercise
2		of religion or religiously based views protected under the
3		First Amendment to the United States Constitution or under
4		Section 3 or 4 of Article 1 of the Illinois Constitution.
5		(Source: P.A. 94-937, eff. 6-26-06; 95-198, eff. 1-1-08;
6		95-349, eff. 8-23-07; 95-876, eff. 8-21-08.)
7		(105 ILCS 5/27-23.9 new)
8		(Section scheduled to be repealed on March 2, 2011)
9		Sec. 27-23.9. School Bullying Prevention Task Force.
10		(a) In this Section, "Task Force" means the School Bullying
11		Prevention Task Force.
12		(b) The Task Force is created and charged with exploring
13		the causes and consequences of bullying in schools in this
14		State, identifying promising practices that reduce incidences
15		of bullying, highlighting training and technical assistance
16		opportunities for schools to effectively address bullying,
17		evaluating the effectiveness of schools' current anti-bullying
18		policies and other bullying prevention programs, and other
19		related issues.
20		(c) Within 60 days after the effective date of this
21		amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, the State
22		Superintendent of Education shall appoint 15 members to the
23		Task Force. The membership of the Task Force shall include
24		representatives of State agencies whose work includes bullying
25		prevention or intervention; statewide organizations that focus

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1		on violence or bullying prevention or intervention; teachers
2		and management personnel from at least 3 school districts;
3		academics who conduct research on bullying, its consequences to
4		students in grades K through 12, or effective strategies for
5		preventing or addressing bullying; a current high school or
6		college student who has experienced bullying; and others at the
7		State Superintendent's discretion. Members of the Task Force
8		shall serve without compensation.
9		(d) The State Board of Education shall provide technical
10		assistance for the work of the Task Force.
11		(e) No later than March 1, 2011, the Task Force shall
12		submit a report to the Governor and the General Assembly on any
13		recommendations for preventing and addressing bullying in
14		schools in this State and a proposed timeline for meeting the
15		Task Force's charges identified in this Section.
16		(f) This Section is repealed on March 2, 2011.
17		(105 ILCS 5/27-23.10 new)
18		Sec. 27-23.10. Gang resistance education and training.
19		(a) The General Assembly finds that the instance of youth
20		delinquent gangs continues to rise on a statewide basis. Given
21		the higher rates of criminal offending among gang members, as
22		well as the availability of increasingly lethal weapons, the
23		level of criminal activity by gang members has taken on new
24		importance for law enforcement agencies, schools, the
25		community, and prevention efforts.

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1		(b) As used in this Section:
2		"Gang resistance education and training" means and
3		includes instruction in, without limitation, each of the
4		following subject matters when accompanied by a stated
5		objective of reducing gang activity and educating children in
6		grades K through 12 about the consequences of gang involvement:
7		(1) conflict resolution;
8		(2) cultural sensitivity;
9		(3) personal goal setting; and
10		(4) resisting peer pressure.
11		(c) Each school district and non-public, non-sectarian
12		elementary or secondary school in this State may make suitable
13		provisions for instruction in gang resistance education and
14		training in all grades and include that instruction in the
15		courses of study regularly taught in those grades. For the
16		purposes of gang resistance education and training, a school
17		board or the governing body of a non-public, non-sectarian
18		elementary or secondary school must collaborate with State and
19		local law enforcement agencies. The State Board of Education
20		may assist in the development of instructional materials and
21		teacher training in relation to gang resistance education and
22		training.
23		Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
24		Section 8.34 as follows:

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1		(30 ILCS 805/8.34 new)
2		Sec. 8.34. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8
3		of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the
4		implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of
5		the 96th General Assembly.
6		Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
7		becoming law.