1 | 1 | | 1.1 A bill for an act |
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2 | 2 | | 1.2 relating to education; requiring parental notification of adverse incidents; amending |
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3 | 3 | | 1.3 Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 121A.031, subdivision 4; proposing coding for |
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4 | 4 | | 1.4 new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 121A. |
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5 | 5 | | 1.5BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: |
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6 | 6 | | 1.6 Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 121A.031, subdivision 4, is amended to read: |
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7 | 7 | | 1.7 Subd. 4.Local policy components.(a) Each district and school policy implemented |
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8 | 8 | | 1.8under this section must, at a minimum: |
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9 | 9 | | 1.9 (1) designate a staff member as the primary contact person in the school building to |
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10 | 10 | | 1.10receive reports of prohibited conduct under clause (3), ensure the policy and its procedures |
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11 | 11 | | 1.11including restorative practices, consequences, and sanctions are fairly and fully implemented, |
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12 | 12 | | 1.12and serve as the primary contact on policy and procedural matters implicating both the |
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13 | 13 | | 1.13district or school and the department; |
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14 | 14 | | 1.14 (2) require school employees who witness prohibited conduct or possess reliable |
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15 | 15 | | 1.15information that would lead a reasonable person to suspect that a student is a target of |
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16 | 16 | | 1.16prohibited conduct to make reasonable efforts to address and resolve the prohibited conduct; |
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17 | 17 | | 1.17 (3) provide a procedure to begin to investigate reports of prohibited conduct within three |
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18 | 18 | | 1.18school days of the report, and make the primary contact person responsible for the |
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19 | 19 | | 1.19investigation and any resulting record and for keeping and regulating access to any record; |
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20 | 20 | | 1.20 (4) indicate how a school will respond to an identified incident of prohibited conduct, |
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21 | 21 | | 1.21including immediately intervening to protect the target of the prohibited conduct; at the |
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22 | 22 | | 1.22school administrator's discretion and consistent with state and federal data practices law |
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23 | 23 | | 1Section 1. |
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24 | 24 | | REVISOR CR/AC 25-0344502/07/25 |
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25 | 25 | | State of Minnesota |
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26 | 26 | | This Document can be made available |
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27 | 27 | | in alternative formats upon request |
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28 | 28 | | HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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29 | 29 | | H. F. No. 751 |
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30 | 30 | | NINETY-FOURTH SESSION |
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31 | 31 | | Authored by Robbins02/13/2025 |
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32 | 32 | | The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Education Policy 2.1governing access to data, including section 13.02, subdivision 8, a presumption that requiring |
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33 | 33 | | 2.2a district or school official will to notify the parent of the reported target of the prohibited |
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34 | 34 | | 2.3conduct and the parent of the actor engaged in the prohibited conduct within 24 hours of |
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35 | 35 | | 2.4receiving the report of the incident; providing other remedial responses to the prohibited |
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36 | 36 | | 2.5conduct; and ensuring that remedial responses are tailored to the particular incident and |
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37 | 37 | | 2.6nature of the conduct and the student's developmental age and behavioral history; |
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38 | 38 | | 2.7 (5) prohibit reprisals or retaliation against any person who asserts, alleges, or reports |
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39 | 39 | | 2.8prohibited conduct or provides information about such conduct and establish appropriate |
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40 | 40 | | 2.9consequences for a person who engages in reprisal or retaliation; |
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41 | 41 | | 2.10 (6) allow anonymous reporting but do not rely solely on an anonymous report to |
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42 | 42 | | 2.11determine discipline; |
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43 | 43 | | 2.12 (7) provide information about available community resources to the target, actor, and |
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44 | 44 | | 2.13other affected individuals, as appropriate; |
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45 | 45 | | 2.14 (8) where appropriate for a child with a disability to prevent or respond to prohibited |
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46 | 46 | | 2.15conduct, allow the child's individualized education program or section 504 plan to address |
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47 | 47 | | 2.16the skills and proficiencies the child needs to respond to or not engage in prohibited conduct; |
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48 | 48 | | 2.17 (9) use new employee training materials, the school publication on school rules, |
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49 | 49 | | 2.18procedures, and standards of conduct, and the student handbook on school policies to |
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50 | 50 | | 2.19publicize the policy; |
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51 | 51 | | 2.20 (10) require ongoing professional development, consistent with section 122A.60, to |
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52 | 52 | | 2.21build the skills of all school personnel who regularly interact with students, including but |
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53 | 53 | | 2.22not limited to educators, administrators, school counselors, social workers, psychologists, |
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54 | 54 | | 2.23other school mental health professionals, school nurses, cafeteria workers, custodians, bus |
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55 | 55 | | 2.24drivers, athletic coaches, extracurricular activities advisors, and paraprofessionals to identify, |
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56 | 56 | | 2.25prevent, and appropriately address prohibited conduct; |
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57 | 57 | | 2.26 (11) allow the alleged actor in an investigation of prohibited conduct to present a defense; |
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58 | 58 | | 2.27and |
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59 | 59 | | 2.28 (12) inform affected students and their parents of their rights under state and federal |
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60 | 60 | | 2.29data practices laws to obtain access to data related to the incident and their right to contest |
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61 | 61 | | 2.30the accuracy or completeness of the data. |
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62 | 62 | | 2.31 (b) Professional development under a local policy includes, but is not limited to, |
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63 | 63 | | 2.32information about: |
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64 | 64 | | 2Section 1. |
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65 | 65 | | REVISOR CR/AC 25-0344502/07/25 3.1 (1) developmentally appropriate strategies both to prevent and to immediately and |
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66 | 66 | | 3.2effectively intervene to stop prohibited conduct; |
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67 | 67 | | 3.3 (2) the complex dynamics affecting an actor, target, and witnesses to prohibited conduct; |
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68 | 68 | | 3.4 (3) research on prohibited conduct, including specific categories of students at risk for |
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69 | 69 | | 3.5prohibited conduct in school; |
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70 | 70 | | 3.6 (4) the incidence and nature of cyberbullying; and |
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71 | 71 | | 3.7 (5) Internet safety and cyberbullying. |
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72 | 72 | | 3.8 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective July 1, 2025. |
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73 | 73 | | 3.9 Sec. 2. [121A.032] NOTIFICATION OF ADVERSE INCIDENTS. |
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74 | 74 | | 3.10 Subdivision 1.Definitions.For purposes of this section, "prohibited conduct" has the |
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75 | 75 | | 3.11meaning given in section 121A.031, subdivision 2. |
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76 | 76 | | 3.12 Subd. 2.Notification.A school district or charter school must notify the parent or |
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77 | 77 | | 3.13guardian of a student within 24 hours of receiving a report that: |
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78 | 78 | | 3.14 (1) the student was the target of violence, harassment, or prohibited conduct by another |
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79 | 79 | | 3.15student or district or school employee or agent; |
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80 | 80 | | 3.16 (2) the student engaged in violence, harassment, or prohibited conduct; or |
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81 | 81 | | 3.17 (3) a teacher, principal, employee, bus driver, or other agent of the district or school has |
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82 | 82 | | 3.18used reasonable force against the student under section 121A.582. |
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83 | 83 | | 3.19 Subd. 3.Access to data.A notification under this section must be consistent with state |
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84 | 84 | | 3.20and federal data practices law governing access to data, including section 13.02, subdivision |
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85 | 85 | | 3.218. |
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86 | 86 | | 3.22 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective July 1, 2025. |
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87 | 87 | | 3Sec. 2. |
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88 | 88 | | REVISOR CR/AC 25-0344502/07/25 |
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