Bill Text: IN HB1423 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Antibullying.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2013-05-13 - Public Law 285 [HB1423 Detail]
Download: Indiana-2013-HB1423-Introduced.html
Citations Affected: IC 5-2-10.1-12; IC 20-20-8-8; IC 20-26-5-34;
IC 20-30-5-5.5; IC 20-33-8; IC 20-34-6-1; IC 21-39-2-2.1.
Synopsis: Antibullying. Requires the department of education, in
consultation with school safety specialists and school counselors, to
develop guidelines to assist school corporations and safe school
committees in establishing bullying prevention programs, investigation
and reporting procedures, and discipline rules. Requires each school
corporation to include the number and nature of bullying incidents that
occur within the school corporation on the school corporation's annual
performance report. Requires each school corporation to provide
training to school employees and volunteers concerning the school
corporation's bullying prevention program, and to provide annual
bullying prevention education to students. Modifies the definition of
"bullying". Requires each school corporation to include detailed
procedures for investigation and reporting of bullying behaviors in the
school corporation's discipline rules. Requires each school corporation
to include detailed procedures outlining the use of follow-up services
for support services for the victim and bullying education for the bully
in the school corporation's discipline rules. Sets out a bullying reporting
requirement for each school corporation. Requires that if a board of
trustees of a state educational institution elects to govern, by regulation
or another means, the conduct of students, faculty, employees, and
others on the property owned, used, or occupied by the state
educational institution, the regulation must include a policy prohibiting
bullying.
Effective: July 1, 2013.
January 22, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on Education.
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A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
education.
(b) The department of education and the school corporation's school safety specialist shall provide materials and guidelines to assist a safe school committee in developing a plan and policy for the school that addresses the following issues:
(1) Unsafe conditions, crime prevention, school violence, bullying, and other issues that prevent the maintenance of a safe school.
(2) Professional development needs for faculty and staff to implement methods that decrease problems identified under subdivision (1).
(3) Methods to encourage:
(A) involvement by the community and students;
(B) development of relationships between students and school faculty and staff; and
(C) use of problem solving teams.
(c) As a part of the plan developed under subsection (b), each safe school committee shall provide a copy of the floor plans for each building located on the school's property that clearly indicates each exit, the interior rooms and hallways, and the location of any hazardous materials located in the building to the law enforcement agency and the fire department that have jurisdiction over the school.
(d) The guidelines developed under subsection (b) must include information that assists school corporations and safe school committees in:
(1) developing and implementing bullying prevention programs;
(2) establishing investigation and reporting procedures related to bullying; and
(3) adopting discipline rules that comply with IC 20-33-8-13.5.
(1) Student enrollment.
(2) Graduation rate (as defined in IC 20-26-13-6).
(3) Attendance rate.
(4) The following test scores, including the number and percentage of students meeting academic standards:
(A) ISTEP program test scores.
(B) Scores for assessments under IC 20-32-5-21, if appropriate.
(C) For a freeway school, scores on a locally adopted assessment program, if appropriate.
(5) Average class size.
(6) The number and percentage of students in the following groups or programs:
(A) Alternative education, if offered.
(B) Career and technical education.
(C) Special education.
(D) High ability.
(E) Remediation.
(F) Limited English language proficiency.
(G) Students receiving free or reduced price lunch under the national school lunch program.
(H) School flex program, if offered.
(7) Advanced placement, including the following:
(A) For advanced placement tests, the percentage of students:
(i) scoring three (3), four (4), and five (5); and
(ii) taking the test.
(B) For the Scholastic Aptitude Test:
(i) test scores for all students taking the test;
(ii) test scores for students completing the academic honors diploma program; and
(iii) the percentage of students taking the test.
(8) Course completion, including the number and percentage of students completing the following programs:
(A) Academic honors diploma.
(B) Core 40 curriculum.
(C) Career and technical programs.
(9) The percentage of grade 8 students enrolled in algebra I.
(10) The percentage of graduates who pursue higher education.
(11) School safety, including:
(A) the number of students receiving suspension or expulsion for the possession of alcohol, drugs, or weapons;
(B) the number of incidents reported under IC 20-33-9; and
(C) the number and nature of bullying incidents reported under IC 20-34-6.
(12) Financial information and various school cost factors, including the following:
(A) Expenditures per pupil.
(B) Average teacher salary.
(C) Remediation funding.
(13) Technology accessibility and use of technology in instruction.
(14) Interdistrict and intradistrict student mobility rates, if that information is available.
(15) The number and percentage of each of the following within the school corporation:
(A) Teachers who are certificated employees (as defined in IC 20-29-2-4).
(B) Teachers who teach the subject area for which the teacher is certified and holds a license.
(C) Teachers with national board certification.
(16) The percentage of grade 3 students reading at grade 3 level.
(17) The number of students expelled, including the number participating in other recognized education programs during their expulsion.
(18) Chronic absenteeism, which includes the number of students who have been absent more than ten (10) days from school within a school year without being excused.
(19) The number of students who have dropped out of school, including the reasons for dropping out.
(20) The number of student work permits revoked.
(21) The number of student driver's licenses revoked.
(22) The number of students who have not advanced to grade 10 due to a lack of completed credits.
(23) The number of students suspended for any reason.
(24) The number of students receiving an international baccalaureate diploma.
(25) Other indicators of performance as recommended by the education roundtable under IC 20-19-4.
(b) The department, in consultation with school safety specialists and school counselors, shall prepare outlines or materials for the instruction described in subsection (a) and incorporate the instruction in grades 1 through 12.
(c) Instruction on bullying prevention may be delivered by a school safety specialist, school counselor, or any other person with training and expertise in the area of bullying prevention and intervention.
other behaviors committed by a student or group of students against
another student with the intent to harass, ridicule, humiliate, intimidate,
or harm the other targeted student and create for the targeted
student an objectively hostile school environment that:
(1) places the targeted student in reasonable fear of harm to
the targeted student's person or property;
(2) has a substantially detrimental effect on the targeted
student's physical or mental health;
(3) has the effect of substantially interfering with the targeted
student's academic performance; or
(4) has the effect of substantially interfering with the targeted
student's ability to participate in or benefit from the services,
activities, and privileges provided by the school.
(1) prohibit bullying; and
(2) include:
(A) provisions concerning education, parental involvement,
(B) a detailed procedure for the prompt investigation of incidents of bullying that includes:
(i) appropriate responses to bullying behaviors, wherever the behaviors occur;
(ii) provisions for anonymous and personal reporting of bullying incidents to a teacher or other school staff;
(iii) timetables for reporting of bullying incidents to the parents of both the targeted student and the bully, school administrators, the school superintendent, or law enforcement, if applicable;
(iv) discipline provisions for teachers, school staff, or school administrators who fail to initiate or conduct an investigation of a bullying incident; and
(v) discipline provisions for false reporting of bullying;
(C) a detailed procedure outlining the use of follow-up services that includes:
(i) support services for the victim; and
(ii) bullying education for the bully.
Parental notification under item (2)(B)(iii) must occur within twenty-four (24) hours after a school administrator receives a
report of a bullying incident.
(b) The discipline rules described in subsection (a) must apply when
a student is: (1) on school grounds immediately before or during school
hours, immediately after school hours, or at any other time when the
school is being used by a school group; (2) off school grounds at a
school activity, function, or event; (3) traveling to or from school or a
school activity, function, or event; or (4) using property or equipment
provided by the school. wherever the bullying behaviors occur.
(c) The discipline rules described in subsection (a) must prohibit
bullying through the use of data or computer software that is accessed
through a:
(1) computer;
(2) computer system; or
(3) computer network.
of a school corporation.
(d) This section may not be construed to give rise to a cause of
action against a person or school corporation based on an allegation of
noncompliance with this section. Noncompliance with this section may
not be used as evidence against a school corporation in a cause of
action.
(e) The department shall periodically review each policy
adopted under this section to ensure the policy's compliance with
this section.
(1) The number of arrests of students on school corporation property, including arrests made by law enforcement officers, security guards, school safety specialists, and other school corporation employees, and any citizen arrests.
(2) The offenses for which students were arrested on school corporation property.
(3) The number of contacts with law enforcement personnel from a school corporation employee that have resulted in arrests of students not on school corporation property.
(4) Statistics concerning the age, race, and gender of students arrested on school corporation property and categorizing the statistics by offenses.
(5) Whether the school corporation has established and employs
a school corporation police department under IC 20-26-16, and if
so, report:
(A) the number of officers in the school corporation police
department; and
(B) the training the officers must complete.
(6) If the school corporation employs private security guards to
enforce rules or laws on school property, a detailed explanation
of the use of private security guards by the school corporation.
(7) If the school corporation has an agreement with a local law
enforcement agency regarding procedures to arrest students on
school property, a detailed explanation of the use of the local law
enforcement agency by the school corporation.
(8) The number and nature of reported bullying incidents
involving a student of the school corporation.
(b) By August 1 of each year, the department shall submit a report
to:
(1) the legislative council;
(2) the education roundtable established by IC 20-19-4-2;
(3) the board for the coordination of programs serving vulnerable
individuals established by IC 4-23-30.2-8; and
(4) the criminal justice institute;
providing a summary of the reports submitted to the department under
subsection (a). The report to the legislative council must be in an
electronic format under IC 5-14-6.
(c) By August 1 of each year, the department must post the reports
described in subsections (a) and (b) on the department's Internet web
site.
(1) Ball State University.
(2) Indiana University.
(3) Indiana State University.
(4) Purdue University.
(5) University of Southern Indiana.
(b) As used in this section, "bullying" means overt, repeated acts or gestures, including verbal or written communications transmitted in any manner (including digitally or electronically), physical acts committed, aggression, or any other behaviors committed by a student or group of students against another student with the intent to harass, ridicule, humiliate, intimidate, or
harm the other student and create for the targeted student, while
the targeted student is on the property owned, used, or occupied by
the state educational institution, an objectively hostile environment
that:
(1) places the targeted student in reasonable fear of harm to
the targeted student's person or property;
(2) has a substantially detrimental effect on the targeted
student's physical or mental health;
(3) has the effect of substantially interfering with the targeted
student's academic performance; or
(4) has the effect of substantially interfering with the targeted
student's ability to participate in or benefit from the services,
activities, and privileges provided by the state educational
institution.
(c) If the board of trustees of a state educational institution
elects to govern, by regulation or another means, the conduct of
students, faculty, employees, and others on the property owned,
used, or occupied by the state educational institution, the
regulation must include a policy prohibiting bullying.