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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 610 FILED ON: 1/14/2023 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1817 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Bud L. Williams |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act decriminalizing non-violent and verbal student misconduct. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Bud L. Williams11th Hampden1/14/2023 1 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 610 FILED ON: 1/14/2023 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1817 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Williams of Springfield, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1817) of |
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| 19 | 19 | | Bud L. Williams relative to decriminalizing non-violent and verbal student misconduct. The |
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| 20 | 20 | | Judiciary. |
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| 21 | 21 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 22 | 22 | | SEE HOUSE, NO. 1929 OF 2021-2022.] |
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| 23 | 23 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
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| 25 | 25 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 27 | 27 | | _______________ |
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| 28 | 28 | | An Act decriminalizing non-violent and verbal student misconduct. |
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| 29 | 29 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 30 | 30 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 31 | 31 | | 1 SECTION 1. Chapter 272 of the General Laws is amended by striking out section 40, as |
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| 32 | 32 | | 2appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, and inserting in place thereof the following section: |
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| 33 | 33 | | 3 Section 40. Disturbance of assemblies. |
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| 34 | 34 | | 4 Whoever wilfully interrupts or disturbs an assembly of people met for a lawful purpose |
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| 35 | 35 | | 5shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than one month or by a fine of not more than |
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| 36 | 36 | | 6fifty dollars; provided, however, that K-12 students shall not be charged, adjudicated, or |
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| 37 | 37 | | 7convicted for alleged violation of this provision due to conduct within school buildings or |
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| 38 | 38 | | 8grounds or in the course of school-related events. Whoever, within one year after being twice |
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| 39 | 39 | | 9convicted of a violation of this section, again violates the provisions of this section shall be 2 of 2 |
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| 40 | 40 | | 10punished by imprisonment for one month, and the sentence imposing such imprisonment shall |
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| 41 | 41 | | 11not be suspended. |
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| 42 | 42 | | 12 SECTION 2. Chapter 272 is hereby further amended by striking out subsection (b) of |
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| 43 | 43 | | 13section 53, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, and inserting in place thereof the following |
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| 44 | 44 | | 14subsection: |
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| 45 | 45 | | 15 (b) Disorderly persons and disturbers of the peace, for the first offense, shall be punished |
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| 46 | 46 | | 16by a fine of not more than $150. On a second or subsequent offense, such person shall be |
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| 47 | 47 | | 17punished by imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than 6 months, or by a |
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| 48 | 48 | | 18fine of not more than $200, or by both such fine and imprisonment, provided, however, that an |
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| 49 | 49 | | 19elementary or secondary school student shall not be charged, adjudicated, or convicted for |
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| 50 | 50 | | 20alleged violation of this provision due to conduct within school buildings or grounds or in the |
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| 51 | 51 | | 21course of school-related events. |
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