Bill Text: OH HB520 | 2009-2010 | 128th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: To require that public school bullying policies prohibit bullying by electronic means and address certain acts that occur off school property and to require staff training on the bullying policy.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-05-18 - To Education [HB520 Detail]
Download: Ohio-2009-HB520-Introduced.html
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Representatives Garland, Harris
Cosponsors:
Representatives Pillich, Domenick, Yuko, Hagan, Stewart, Brown
To amend sections 3313.666, 3313.667, and 3319.073 of | 1 |
the Revised Code to require that public school | 2 |
bullying policies prohibit bullying by electronic | 3 |
means and address certain acts that occur off | 4 |
school property and to require staff training on | 5 |
the bullying policy. | 6 |
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 3313.666, 3313.667, and 3319.073 of | 7 |
the Revised Code be amended to read as follows: | 8 |
Sec. 3313.666. (A) As used in this section | 9 |
(1) "Electronic act" means an act committed through the use | 10 |
of a cellular telephone, computer, pager, personal communication | 11 |
device, or other electronic communication device. | 12 |
(2) "Harassment, intimidation, or bullying" means either of | 13 |
the following: | 14 |
| 15 |
physical act that a student has exhibited toward another | 16 |
particular student more than once and the behavior both: | 17 |
| 18 |
| 19 |
it creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational | 20 |
environment for the other student. | 21 |
| 22 |
(B) The board of education of each city, local, exempted | 23 |
village, and joint vocational school district shall establish and | 24 |
annually review a policy prohibiting harassment, intimidation, or | 25 |
bullying. The policy shall be developed in consultation with | 26 |
parents, school employees, school volunteers, students, and | 27 |
community members. The policy shall include the following: | 28 |
(1) A statement prohibiting harassment, intimidation, or | 29 |
bullying of any student on school property or a school bus, at | 30 |
school-sponsored events, or, if the harassment, intimidation, or | 31 |
bullying materially or substantially disrupts the educational | 32 |
environment and discipline of the school, off school property and | 33 |
expressly providing for the possibility of suspension of a student | 34 |
found guilty of harassment, intimidation, or bullying by an | 35 |
electronic act; | 36 |
(2) A definition of harassment, intimidation, or bullying | 37 |
that | 38 |
section; | 39 |
(3) A procedure for reporting prohibited incidents; | 40 |
(4) A requirement that school personnel report prohibited | 41 |
incidents of which they are aware to the school principal or other | 42 |
administrator designated by the principal; | 43 |
(5) A requirement that parents or guardians of any student | 44 |
involved in a prohibited incident be notified and, to the extent | 45 |
permitted by section 3319.321 of the Revised Code and the "Family | 46 |
Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974," 88 Stat. 571, 20 | 47 |
U.S.C. 1232q, as amended, have access to any written reports | 48 |
pertaining to the prohibited incident; | 49 |
(6) A procedure for documenting any prohibited incident that | 50 |
is reported; | 51 |
(7) A procedure for responding to and investigating any | 52 |
reported incident; | 53 |
(8) A strategy for protecting a victim or other person from | 54 |
new or additional harassment, intimidation, or bullying, and from | 55 |
retaliation following a report, including a means by which a | 56 |
person may report an incident anonymously; | 57 |
(9) A disciplinary procedure for any student guilty of | 58 |
harassment, intimidation, or bullying, which shall not infringe on | 59 |
any student's rights under the first amendment to the Constitution | 60 |
of the United States; | 61 |
(10) A statement prohibiting students from deliberately | 62 |
making false reports of harassment, intimidation, or bullying and | 63 |
a disciplinary procedure for any student guilty of deliberately | 64 |
making a false report of that nature; | 65 |
(11) A requirement that the district administration | 66 |
semiannually provide the president of the district board a written | 67 |
summary of all reported incidents and post the summary on its web | 68 |
site, if the district has a web site, to the extent permitted by | 69 |
section 3319.321 of the Revised Code and the "Family Educational | 70 |
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974," 88 Stat. 571, 20 U.S.C. | 71 |
1232g, as amended. | 72 |
(C) Each board's policy shall appear in any student | 73 |
handbooks | 74 |
comprehensive rules, procedures, and standards of conduct for | 75 |
schools and students in the district. The policy and an | 76 |
explanation of the seriousness of bullying by electronic means | 77 |
shall be made available to students in the district and to their | 78 |
parents and guardians. Information regarding the policy shall be | 79 |
incorporated into employee training materials. | 80 |
(D) A school district employee, student, or volunteer shall | 81 |
be individually immune from liability in a civil action for | 82 |
damages arising from reporting an incident in accordance with a | 83 |
policy adopted pursuant to this section if that person reports an | 84 |
incident of harassment, intimidation, or bullying promptly in good | 85 |
faith and in compliance with the procedures as specified in the | 86 |
policy. | 87 |
(E) Except as provided in division (D) of this section, | 88 |
nothing in this section prohibits a victim from seeking redress | 89 |
under any other provision of the Revised Code or common law that | 90 |
may apply. | 91 |
(F) This section does not create a new cause of action or a | 92 |
substantive legal right for any person. | 93 |
(G) Not later than | 94 |
95 | |
policy adopted under this section to include violence within a | 96 |
dating relationship. Not later than six months after the effective | 97 |
date of this amendment, each board shall update the policy to | 98 |
include harassment, intimidation, or bullying by electronic means. | 99 |
Sec. 3313.667. (A) Any school district may form bullying | 100 |
prevention task forces, programs, and other initiatives involving | 101 |
volunteers, parents, law enforcement, and community members. | 102 |
(B) To the extent that state or federal funds are | 103 |
appropriated for these purposes, each school district shall: | 104 |
(1) Provide training, workshops, or courses on the district's | 105 |
harassment, intimidation, or bullying policy adopted pursuant to | 106 |
section 3313.666 of the Revised Code to school employees and | 107 |
volunteers who have direct contact with students and are not | 108 |
subject to section 3319.073 of the Revised Code. Time spent by | 109 |
school employees in the training, workshops, or courses shall | 110 |
apply towards any state- or district-mandated continuing education | 111 |
requirements. | 112 |
(2) Develop a process for educating students about the | 113 |
policy. | 114 |
(C) This section does not create a new cause of action or a | 115 |
substantive legal right for any person. | 116 |
Sec. 3319.073. (A) The board of education of each city and | 117 |
exempted village school district and the governing board of each | 118 |
educational service center shall adopt or adapt the curriculum | 119 |
developed by the department of education for, or shall develop in | 120 |
consultation with public or private agencies or persons involved | 121 |
in child abuse prevention or intervention programs, a program of | 122 |
in-service training in the prevention of child abuse, violence, | 123 |
and substance abuse and the promotion of positive youth | 124 |
development. Each person employed by any school district or | 125 |
service center to work in a school as a nurse, teacher, counselor, | 126 |
school psychologist, or administrator shall complete at least four | 127 |
hours of the in-service training within two years of commencing | 128 |
employment with the district or center, and every five years | 129 |
thereafter. A person who is employed by any school district or | 130 |
service center to work in an elementary school as a nurse, | 131 |
teacher, counselor, school psychologist, or administrator on March | 132 |
30, 2007, shall complete at least four hours of the in-service | 133 |
training not later than March 30, 2009, and every five years | 134 |
thereafter. A person who is employed by any school district or | 135 |
service center to work in a middle or high school as a nurse, | 136 |
teacher, counselor, school psychologist, or administrator on | 137 |
October 16, 2009, shall complete at least four hours of the | 138 |
in-service training not later than October 16, 2011, and every | 139 |
five years thereafter. | 140 |
(B) Each board shall incorporate training in school safety | 141 |
and violence prevention into the in-service training required by | 142 |
division (A) of this section. For this purpose, the board shall | 143 |
adopt or adapt the curriculum developed by the department or shall | 144 |
develop its own curriculum in consultation with public or private | 145 |
agencies or persons involved in school safety and violence | 146 |
prevention programs. | 147 |
(C) Each board shall incorporate training on the board's | 148 |
harassment, intimidation, or bullying policy adopted under section | 149 |
3313.666 of the Revised Code into the in-service training required | 150 |
by division (A) of this section. Each board also shall incorporate | 151 |
training in the prevention of dating violence into the in-service | 152 |
training required by
that division | 153 |
and high school employees. The board shall develop its own | 154 |
155 |
Section 2. That existing sections 3313.666, 3313.667, and | 156 |
3319.073 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed. | 157 |
Section 3. Not later than six months after the effective | 158 |
date of this section, the State Board of Education shall update | 159 |
its model policy to prohibit harassment, intimidation, or bullying | 160 |
adopted under section 3301.22 of the Revised Code to include | 161 |
harassment, intimidation, or bullying by electronic means. | 162 |