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28	28	STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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30	30	1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
31	31
32	32	HOUSE BILL 2048 By: Nichols
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38	38	AS INTRODUCED
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40	40	An Act relating to schools; 70 O.S. 2021, Section 24 -
41	41	100.4, which relates to the School Safety and
42	42	Bullying Prevention A ct; requiring school dress code
43	43	to have reasonable connection to educational
44	44	function; prohibiting r ace discrimination based on
45	45	natural hair or hairstyles; defining terms; and
46	46	providing an effective date .
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52	52	BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STAT E OF OKLAHOMA:
53	53	SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 24 -100.4, is
54	54	amended to read as follows:
55	55	Section 24-100.4 A. Each district board of education shall
56	56	adopt a policy for the discipline of all children attending public
57	57	school in that district, and for the investigation of reported
58	58	incidents of bullying. The policy shal l provide options for the
59	59	discipline of the students and shall define standards of conduct to
60	60	which students are expected to conform. The policy shall:
61	61	1. Specifically address bullying by students at school and by
62	62	electronic communication, if the communi cation is specifically
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89	89	directed at students or school personnel and concerns bullying at
90	90	school;
91	91	2. Contain a procedure for reporting an act of bullying to a
92	92	school official or law enforcement agency, including a provis ion
93	93	that permits a person to report an act anonymously. No formal
94	94	disciplinary action shall be taken solely on the basis of an
95	95	anonymous report;
96	96	3. Contain a requirement that any school empl oyee that has
97	97	reliable information that would lead a reasonable person to suspect
98	98	that a person is a target of bullying shall immediately report it to
99	99	the principal or a designee of the principal;
100	100	4. Contain a statement of how the policy is to be publiciz ed
101	101	including a requirement that:
102	102	a. an annual written notice of the policy be provided to
103	103	parents, guardians, staff, volunteers and students,
104	104	with age-appropriate language for students,
105	105	b. notice of the policy be posted at various locations
106	106	within each school site, including but not limited to
107	107	cafeterias, school bullet in boards, and administration
108	108	offices,
109	109	c. the policy be posted on the Internet website for the
110	110	school district and each school site that has an
111	111	Internet website, and
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138	138	d. the policy be included in all student and employee
139	139	handbooks;
140	140	5. Require that appropri ate school district personnel involv ed
141	141	in investigating reports of bullying make a determination regarding
142	142	whether the conduct is actually occurring;
143	143	6. Contain a procedure for providing time ly notification to the
144	144	parents or guardians of a victim of docum ented and verified bullying
145	145	and to the parents or guardians of the perpetrator of the documented
146	146	and verified bullying;
147	147	7. Identify by job title the school official responsible for
148	148	enforcing the policy;
149	149	8. Contain procedures for reporting to law enforcem ent all
150	150	documented and verified acts of bullying which may constitute
151	151	criminal activity or reasonably have the potential to endanger
152	152	school safety;
153	153	9. Require annual training for administrato rs and school
154	154	employees as developed and provided by the State D epartment of
155	155	Education in preventing , identifying, responding to and reporting
156	156	incidents of bullying;
157	157	10. Provide for an educational program as designed and
158	158	developed by the State Department of Education and in consultation
159	159	with the Office of Juvenile Aff airs for students and parents in
160	160	preventing, identifying, responding to and reporting incidents of
161	161	bullying;
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188	188	11. Establish a procedure for referral of a person who commits
189	189	an act of bullying to a delinquency prevention and diversion program
190	190	administered by the Office of Juvenile Affairs;
191	191	12. Address prevention by providing:
192	192	a. consequences and remedial action for a person who
193	193	commits an act of bullying,
194	194	b. consequences and remedial action for a student found
195	195	to have falsely accused another as a means of
196	196	retaliation, reprisal or as a means o f bullying, and
197	197	c. a strategy for providing counseling or referral to
198	198	appropriate services, including guidance, academic
199	199	intervention, and other protection for students, both
200	200	targets and perpetrators, and family members affected
201	201	by bullying, as necessary;
202	202	13. Establish a procedure for:
203	203	a. the investigation, determination and documentation of
204	204	all incidents of bullying reported to school
205	205	officials,
206	206	b. identifying the principal or a designee of the
207	207	principal as the person r esponsible for investigating
208	208	incidents of bullying,
209	209	c. reporting the number of incidents of bullying, and
210	210	d. determining the severity of the incidents and their
211	211	potential to result in future v iolence;
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238	238	14. Establish a procedure whereby, upon completing an
239	239	investigation of bullying, a school may recommend that available
240	240	community mental health care, substance abuse or other counseling
241	241	options be provided to the student, if appropriate; and
242	242	15. Establish a procedure whereby a school may request the
243	243	disclosure of any information concerning stud ents who have received
244	244	mental health, substance abuse, or other care pursuant to paragraph
245	245	14 of this subsection that indicates an explicit threat to the
246	246	safety of students or school personnel, provided the disclosure of
247	247	the information does not violate th e requirements and provisions of
248	248	the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, the Health
249	249	Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Sec tion 2503
250	250	of Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, Section 1376 of Title 59 of
251	251	the Oklahoma Statutes, o r any other state or federal laws regarding
252	252	the disclosure of confidential information.
253	253	B. In developing the policy, the district board of education
254	254	shall make an effort to involve the teachers, parents,
255	255	administrators, school staff, school volunteers, co mmunity
256	256	representatives, local law enforcement agencies and students. The
257	257	students, teachers, and parents or guardian of every child residing
258	258	within a school district shall be notified by the district board of
259	259	education of its adoption of the policy and s hall receive a copy
260	260	upon request. The school district policy shall be implemented in a
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287	287	manner that is ongoing throughout the school year and is integrated
288	288	with other violence prevention efforts.
289	289	C. The teacher of a chi ld attending a public school shall h ave
290	290	the same right as a parent or guardian to control and discipline
291	291	such child according to district policies during the time the child
292	292	is in attendance or in transit to or from the school or any other
293	293	school function authorized by the school district or classroom
294	294	presided over by the teacher.
295	295	D. Except concerning students on individualized education plans
296	296	(IEP) pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
297	297	(IDEA), P.L. No. 101 -476, the State Board of Educ ation shall not
298	298	have authority to pr escribe student disciplinary policies for school
299	299	districts or to proscribe corporal punishment in the public schools.
300	300	The State Board of Education shall no t have authority to require
301	301	school districts to file student dis ciplinary action reports more
302	302	often than once each year and shall not use disciplinary action
303	303	reports in determining a school district 's or school site's
304	304	eligibility for program assistance inc luding competitive grants.
305	305	E. 1. The board of education of eac h school district in this
306	306	state shall have the option of adopting a dress code for students
307	307	enrolled in the school district. The board of education of a school
308	308	district shall also have the op tion of adopting a dress code which
309	309	includes school uniforms. Any board of education which adopts a
310	310	dress code for students shall ensure the dress code has a reasonable
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337	337	connection with the educational function entrusted to the school
338	338	board. The dress cod e shall prohibit race discrimination based on
339	339	natural hair or hairstyles. The dress code shall not discriminate
340	340	against a student's hair color; hair length; or any other hairstyle
341	341	related to the cultural, ethnic , or religious identity of a student.
342	342	2. As used in this subsection :
343	343	a. "race" includes, but is not limited to , ancestry,
344	344	color, ethnic group i dentification and ethnic
345	345	background, including traits histo rically associated
346	346	with race including but not limited to hair texture
347	347	and protective hairstyles , and
348	348	b. "protective hairstyles " includes, but is not limited
349	349	to, braids, locks and twists .
350	350	F. The board of education of each school district in this state
351	351	shall have the option of adopting a procedure that requires students
352	352	to perform campus-site service for violating the district 's policy.
353	353	G. The State Board of Education shall:
354	354	1. Promulgate rules fo r periodically monitoring school
355	355	districts for compliance w ith this section and providing sanctions
356	356	for noncompliance with this section;
357	357	2. Establish and maintain a central repository for the
358	358	collection of information regarding documented and verified
359	359	incidents of bullying; and
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386	386	3. Publish a report annually on th e State Department of
387	387	Education website regarding the number of documented and verified
388	388	incidents of bullying in the public schools in the state.
389	389	SECTION 2. This act shall become e ffective November 1, 2023.
390	390
391	391	59-1-6821 MJ 01/05/21

Oklahoma 2023 Regular Session

Oklahoma House Bill HB2048 Compare Versions