KS
Kansas House Bill HB2143

Kansas 2023-2024 Regular Session

Kansas House Bill HB2143 Compare Versions

The same version is selected twice. Please select two different versions to compare.
OldNewDifferences
11 Session of 2023
22 HOUSE BILL No. 2143
33 By Committee on Education
44 1-24
55 AN ACT concerning school districts; relating to bullying; requiring
66 adoption of policies prohibiting and preventing bullying; amending
77 K.S.A. 72-6147 and repealing the existing section.
88 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
99 New Section 1. (a) The board of education of each school district
1010 shall adopt a policy to prohibit bullying either by any student, staff
1111 member or parent towards a student or by a student, staff member or
1212 parent towards a staff member on or while utilizing school property, in a
1313 school vehicle or at a school-sponsored activity or event. Such policy
1414 shall, at a minimum, incorporate the model policy promulgated by the state
1515 board of education pursuant to section 7, and amendments thereto, and
1616 shall:
1717 (1) Prohibit bullying of all students, as specified and defined in
1818 K.S.A. 72-6147, and amendments thereto, and sections 1 through 8, and
1919 amendments thereto;
2020 (2) designate one person in the school district as the primary contact
2121 regarding the bullying policy and procedures. The primary contact person
2222 shall receive copies of all formal and informal complaints, have
2323 responsibility for assuring the implementation of the policy and procedures
2424 and serve as the primary contact on the policy and procedures between the
2525 school district and the state board of education;
2626 (3) require staff members and trained volunteers who witness
2727 incidents of bullying to promptly report such information to the designated
2828 school administrator, who shall be the principal, or the principal's
2929 designee, for the school where such incident occurred or where such
3030 individual is assigned and to the school district primary contact person;
3131 (4) provide a procedure for prompt investigation of complaints of
3232 bullying, identifying the designated school administrator as the person
3333 responsible for such investigations;
3434 (5) delineate the range of ways in which a school may respond once
3535 an incident of bullying is identified, including a range of age-appropriate
3636 consequences that may attach to the prohibited bullying;
3737 (6) prohibit reprisal or retaliation against any person who reports an
3838 act of bullying and describe appropriate remedial action for any such
3939 person;
4040 1
4141 2
4242 3
4343 4
4444 5
4545 6
4646 7
4747 8
4848 9
4949 10
5050 11
5151 12
5252 13
5353 14
5454 15
5555 16
5656 17
5757 18
5858 19
5959 20
6060 21
6161 22
6262 23
6363 24
6464 25
6565 26
6666 27
6767 28
6868 29
6969 30
7070 31
7171 32
7272 33
7373 34
7474 35
7575 36 HB 2143 2
7676 (7) allow for anonymous reporting while clarifying that no responsive
7777 action, including any age-appropriate consequences, may be undertaken
7878 solely on the basis of an anonymous report;
7979 (8) include a statement of how the policy is to be publicized,
8080 including that the school district's policy shall appear:
8181 (A) In new employee training materials;
8282 (B) in any publication of the school district that sets forth the
8383 comprehensive rules, procedures and standards of conduct for schools
8484 within the school district;
8585 (C) in any student handbook;
8686 (D) on the school district's website, with a link prominently posted on
8787 the homepage of such website; and
8888 (E) in an annual publication distributed to parents who have children
8989 enrolled in a school operated by the school district; and
9090 (9) describe a process by which data on incidents of bullying shall be
9191 collected, reported and analyzed at least on an annual basis.
9292 (b) The board of education of each school district may adopt
9393 additional policies relating to bullying pursuant to K.S.A. 72-1138(e), and
9494 amendments thereto.
9595 (c) The board of education of each school district shall adopt and
9696 implement a plan to address bullying in accordance with the policy
9797 adopted pursuant to this section. Such plan shall be submitted to the
9898 department of education and shall be kept on file with the department.
9999 New Sec. 2. (a) All allegations of bullying shall be reported to the
100100 designated school administrator, either orally or in writing. Any student,
101101 parent or staff member may file a report. If a report contains incomplete
102102 information, the designated school administrator shall take reasonable
103103 measures to contact the individuals involved to determine whether an
104104 investigation should be pursued.
105105 (b) Upon receiving a complaint of bullying the designated school
106106 administrator shall:
107107 (1) Promptly and thoroughly investigate the alleged incident;
108108 (2) take immediate steps, at the designated school administrator's
109109 discretion, to protect any students or staff members involved in the alleged
110110 incident pending completion of the investigation;
111111 (3) in accordance with the provisions of section 3, and amendments
112112 thereto, provide notification to the parents of all students involved in an
113113 alleged incident;
114114 (4) maintain a written record, which may be kept in electronic format,
115115 of the complaint, any investigation and any intervention or disciplinary
116116 actions taken;
117117 (5) take proper disciplinary action immediately following the
118118 conclusion of the investigation; and
119119 1
120120 2
121121 3
122122 4
123123 5
124124 6
125125 7
126126 8
127127 9
128128 10
129129 11
130130 12
131131 13
132132 14
133133 15
134134 16
135135 17
136136 18
137137 19
138138 20
139139 21
140140 22
141141 23
142142 24
143143 25
144144 26
145145 27
146146 28
147147 29
148148 30
149149 31
150150 32
151151 33
152152 34
153153 35
154154 36
155155 37
156156 38
157157 39
158158 40
159159 41
160160 42
161161 43 HB 2143 3
162162 (6) issue a report in a timely manner regarding the incident,
163163 investigation and any disciplinary measures taken to all students, parents
164164 or staff members involved in the alleged incident, while maintaining the
165165 privacy and safety of the students.
166166 (c) Reports of bullying may be filed anonymously. However,
167167 disciplinary action cannot be taken solely based on an anonymous report.
168168 Anonymous reports will be investigated with the same procedure,
169169 timeliness and vigor as other reports, and disciplinary action can occur
170170 based on the results of an investigation.
171171 (d) Any student who knowingly and willfully makes a false report of
172172 bullying shall be subject to disciplinary action.
173173 (e) A designated school administrator shall use the procedure
174174 specified in this section to investigate reports of retaliation or threats of
175175 retaliation that are meant to intimidate the victim of the bullying incident,
176176 or towards any person investigating such incident.
177177 (f) Incidents of bullying that involve criminal activity shall be
178178 reported to law enforcement in accordance with K.S.A. 72-6141 et seq.,
179179 and amendments thereto.
180180 (g) Any person who makes a report pursuant to this section may
181181 request that the school district conduct an independent review if such
182182 person:
183183 (1) Believes that the designated school administrator did not correctly
184184 analyze the complaint and failed to conduct an investigation of the
185185 incident, because the designated school administrator believed the alleged
186186 conduct did not constitute bullying;
187187 (2) is dissatisfied with the final determination of the designated
188188 school administrator following an investigation; or
189189 (3) believes that although a final determination was made that
190190 bullying occurred, the school's response was inadequate to correct the
191191 problem.
192192 Any such request shall be made in writing to the superintendent of the
193193 school district. Upon receipt of such request, the superintendent shall
194194 promptly initiate an independent review by a neutral person, and the
195195 designated school administrator who received the initial report and any
196196 other staff members shall cooperate with the independent review such that
197197 the review may proceed expeditiously. The independent review shall
198198 consist of an interview of the person who made the initial report and any
199199 relevant staff members and a review of the written materials from the
200200 designated school administrator's investigation.
201201 New Sec. 3. No educational or other personal data of the alleged
202202 perpetrator shall be disclosed. In certain circumstances, disclosure of the
203203 basis for which a student is bullied may result in additional negative
204204 consequences to the student's health and well-being. Prior to notification of
205205 1
206206 2
207207 3
208208 4
209209 5
210210 6
211211 7
212212 8
213213 9
214214 10
215215 11
216216 12
217217 13
218218 14
219219 15
220220 16
221221 17
222222 18
223223 19
224224 20
225225 21
226226 22
227227 23
228228 24
229229 25
230230 26
231231 27
232232 28
233233 29
234234 30
235235 31
236236 32
237237 33
238238 34
239239 35
240240 36
241241 37
242242 38
243243 39
244244 40
245245 41
246246 42
247247 43 HB 2143 4
248248 any parent regarding any incident of bullying, the designated school
249249 administrator shall consider the issue of notification the same as any other
250250 educationally-relevant decision, which includes considering the health,
251251 well-being and safety of any students involved in the incident.
252252 New Sec. 4. Disciplinary actions for bullying may include, but are
253253 not limited to: Warnings; counseling; loss of opportunity to participate in
254254 extracurricular activities, school social events or graduation exercises; loss
255255 of school bus transportation; community service; in-school suspension;
256256 short term suspension; or transfer to another school. The specific
257257 consequences shall be consistent, reasonable, fair, age-appropriate and
258258 match the severity of the incident. A school district shall promote
259259 progressive discipline and intervention as opposed to the implementation
260260 of "zero tolerance" policies.
261261 New Sec. 5. The board of education of each school district shall
262262 implement ongoing professional development to build the skills of all staff
263263 members to prevent, identify and respond to bullying. The content of such
264264 professional development shall include, but not be limited to: (a)
265265 Developmentally appropriate strategies to prevent bullying incidents; (b)
266266 developmentally appropriate strategies for immediate, effective
267267 interventions to stop bullying incidents; (c) information regarding the
268268 complex interaction and power differential that can take place between and
269269 among a perpetrator, victim and witnesses to the bullying; (d) research
270270 findings on bullying, including information about specific categories of
271271 students who have been shown to be particularly at risk for bullying in the
272272 school environment; (e) information on the incidence and nature of
273273 cyberbullying; and (f) internet safety issues related to cyberbullying. The
274274 board may identify and offer information on alternative methods for
275275 fulfilling the professional development requirements of this section.
276276 New Sec. 6. Each school operated by a school district shall present, in
277277 age-appropriate language, the school district's bullying policy as part of
278278 any orientation program conducted for students at the beginning of each
279279 academic term. Such presentation shall include instruction on: How to
280280 prevent bullying; the process for making a report; the process of
281281 investigating reports; and the potential consequences that may result from
282282 an investigation.
283283 New Sec. 7. (a) In order to assist school districts in developing
284284 policies for the prevention of bullying, the state board of education shall
285285 develop and maintain a model policy that is applicable to grades
286286 kindergarten and one through 12, and that contains definitions of bullying
287287 that are consistent with K.S.A. 72-6147, and amendments thereto.
288288 (b) The state board shall develop appropriate procedures for:
289289 (1) Investigating violations of sections 1 through 8, and amendments
290290 thereto;
291291 1
292292 2
293293 3
294294 4
295295 5
296296 6
297297 7
298298 8
299299 9
300300 10
301301 11
302302 12
303303 13
304304 14
305305 15
306306 16
307307 17
308308 18
309309 19
310310 20
311311 21
312312 22
313313 23
314314 24
315315 25
316316 26
317317 27
318318 28
319319 29
320320 30
321321 31
322322 32
323323 33
324324 34
325325 35
326326 36
327327 37
328328 38
329329 39
330330 40
331331 41
332332 42
333333 43 HB 2143 5
334334 (2) the reporting of and responding to failures in adopting and
335335 implementing bullying policies and procedures;
336336 (3) the reporting of incidents of bullying by school districts; and
337337 (4) publication of statewide statistics concerning bullying.
338338 (c) The state board shall adopt rules and regulations necessary to
339339 implement the provisions of K.S.A. 72-6147, and amendments thereto, and
340340 sections 1 through 8, and amendments thereto.
341341 New Sec. 8. Nothing in K.S.A. 72-6147, and amendments thereto,
342342 and sections 1 through 7, and amendments thereto, shall be construed to
343343 limit or supersede, or in any manner affect or diminish the requirements of
344344 compliance by a staff member with the provisions of K.S.A. 38-2223 or
345345 38-2226, and amendments thereto.
346346 Sec. 9. K.S.A. 72-6147 is hereby amended to read as follows: 72-
347347 6147. (a) As used in this section and sections 1 through 8, and
348348 amendments thereto:
349349 (1)(a) "Bullying" means:
350350 (A)(1) Any intentional gesture or any intentional written, verbal,
351351 electronic or physical act or threat either by any student, staff member or
352352 parent towards a student or by any student, staff member or parent towards
353353 a staff member that is sufficiently severe, persistent or pervasive that such
354354 gesture, act or threat creates an intimidating, threatening or abusive
355355 educational environment that a reasonable person, under the
356356 circumstances, knows or should know will have the effect of:
357357 (i)(A) Harming a student or staff member, whether physically or
358358 mentally;
359359 (ii)(B) damaging a student's or staff member's property;
360360 (iii)(C) placing a student or staff member in reasonable fear of harm
361361 to the student or staff member; or
362362 (iv)(D) placing a student or staff member in reasonable fear of
363363 damage to the student's or staff member's property;
364364 (B)(2) cyberbullying; or
365365 (C)(3) any other form of intimidation or harassment prohibited by the
366366 board of education of the school district in policies concerning bullying
367367 adopted pursuant to this section or subsection (e) of K.S.A. 72-1138(e),
368368 and amendments thereto.
369369 (2)(b) "Cyberbullying" means bullying by use of any electronic
370370 communication device through means including, but not limited to, e-mail,
371371 instant messaging, text messages, blogs, mobile phones, pagers, online
372372 games and websites.
373373 (3)(c) "Parent" includes a guardian, custodian or other person with
374374 authority to act on behalf of the child.
375375 (4)(d) "School district" or "district" means any unified school district
376376 organized and operating under the laws of this state.
377377 1
378378 2
379379 3
380380 4
381381 5
382382 6
383383 7
384384 8
385385 9
386386 10
387387 11
388388 12
389389 13
390390 14
391391 15
392392 16
393393 17
394394 18
395395 19
396396 20
397397 21
398398 22
399399 23
400400 24
401401 25
402402 26
403403 27
404404 28
405405 29
406406 30
407407 31
408408 32
409409 33
410410 34
411411 35
412412 36
413413 37
414414 38
415415 39
416416 40
417417 41
418418 42
419419 43 HB 2143 6
420420 (5)(e) "School vehicle" means any school bus, school van, other
421421 school vehicle and private vehicle used to transport students or staff
422422 members to and from school or any school-sponsored activity or event.
423423 (6)(f) "Staff member" means any person employed by a school
424424 district.
425425 (b) The board of education of each school district shall adopt a policy
426426 to prohibit bullying either by any student, staff member or parent towards
427427 a student or by a student, staff member or parent towards a staff member
428428 on or while utilizing school property, in a school vehicle or at a school-
429429 sponsored activity or event.
430430 (c) The board of education of each school district shall adopt and
431431 implement a plan to address bullying either by any student, staff member
432432 or parent towards a student or by a student, staff member or parent towards
433433 a staff member on school property, in a school vehicle or at a school-
434434 sponsored activity or event. Such plan shall include provisions for the
435435 training and education for staff members and students.
436436 (d) The board of education of each school district may adopt
437437 additional policies relating to bullying pursuant to subsection (e) of K.S.A.
438438 72-1138, and amendments thereto.
439439 (e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or supersede or
440440 in any manner affect or diminish the requirements of compliance by a staff
441441 member with the provisions of K.S.A. 38-2223 or 38-2226, and
442442 amendments thereto.
443443 Sec. 10. K.S.A. 72-6147 is hereby repealed.
444444 Sec. 11. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
445445 publication in the statute book.
446446 1
447447 2
448448 3
449449 4
450450 5
451451 6
452452 7
453453 8
454454 9
455455 10
456456 11
457457 12
458458 13
459459 14
460460 15
461461 16
462462 17
463463 18
464464 19
465465 20
466466 21
467467 22
468468 23
469469 24
470470 25
471471 26