OK
Oklahoma Senate Bill SB792

Oklahoma 2025 Regular Session

Oklahoma Senate Bill SB792 Compare Versions

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29-SENATE FLOOR VERSION
30-February 25, 2025
53+STATE OF OKLAHOMA
3154
55+1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
3256
33-SENATE BILL NO. 792 By: Jett
57+SENATE BILL 792 By: Jett
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62+
63+AS INTRODUCED
3864
3965 An Act relating to the School Safety and Bullying
4066 Prevention Act; amending 70 O.S. 2021, Section 24 -
4167 100.4, as amended by Section 6, Chapter 15, O.S.L.
4268 2023 (70 O.S. Supp. 2024, Section 24 -100.4), which
4369 relates to discipline and bullying policies; updating
4470 statutory language; requiring policy to recognize
4571 certain right of students to take certain actions to
4672 defend himself or herself; requiring policy to
4773 contain certain confirming statements; requiring
4874 policy to include statement regarding a zero
4975 tolerance disciplinary policy; defining term;
5076 requiring policy to include statement relating to
5177 students who engage in self -defense; providing an
5278 effective date; and declaring an emergency .
5379
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5783 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
5884 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 24 -100.4, as
5985 amended by Section 6, Chapter 15, O.S.L. 2023 (70 O.S. Supp. 2024,
6086 Section 24-100.4), is amended to read as follows:
6187 Section 24-100.4. A. Each school district board of education
6288 shall adopt a policy for the discipline of all children attending
6389 public school in that district , and for the investigation of
6490 reported incidents of bullying. The policy shall provide options
6591 for the discipline of the students and shall define standards of
6692
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93143 conduct to which students are expected to conform. The policy
94144 shall:
95145 1. Specifically address bullying by students at school and by
96146 electronic communication, if the communication is specifically
97147 directed at students or school personnel and concerns bullying at
98148 school;
99149 2. Contain a procedure for reporting an act of bullying to a
100150 school official or law enforcement agency , including a provision
101151 that permits a person to report an act anonymously. No formal
102152 disciplinary action shall be taken solely on the basis of an
103153 anonymous report;
104154 3. Contain a requirement that any school employee that has
105155 reliable information that would lead a reasonable perso n to suspect
106156 that a person is a target of bullying shall immediately report it to
107157 the principal or a designee of the principal;
108158 4. Contain a statement of how the policy is to be publicized
109159 including a requirement that:
110160 a. an annual written notice of the p olicy be provided to
111161 parents, guardians, staff, volunteers , and students,
112162 with age-appropriate language for students,
113163 b. notice of the policy be posted at various locations
114164 within each school site , including, but not limited
115165 to, cafeterias, school bulletin boards, and
116166 administration offices,
117167
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144218 c. the policy be posted on the Internet w ebsite for the
145219 school district and each school site that has an
146220 Internet website, and
147221 d. the policy be included in all student and employee
148222 handbooks;
149223 5. Require that appropriat e school district personnel involved
150224 in investigating reports of bullying make a determination regarding
151225 whether the conduct is actually occurring;
152226 6. Contain a procedure for providing timely notification to the
153227 parents or guardians of a victim of documen ted and verified bullying
154228 and to the parents or guardians of the perpetrator o f the documented
155229 and verified bullying;
156230 7. Identify by job title the school official responsible for
157231 enforcing the policy;
158232 8. Contain procedures for reporting to law enforcemen t all
159233 documented and verified acts of bullying which may constitute
160234 criminal activity or reasonably have the potential to endanger
161235 school safety;
162236 9. Recognize the fundamental right of every student to take
163237 reasonable actions as may be necessary to defend himself or herself
164238 from an attack by another student who has evidenced bullyin g or
165239 threatening behavior, as defined by Section 24 -100.3 of this title.
166240 The policy shall contain statements confirming the following:
167241
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194292 a. a student who is physically attacked sh all be entitled
195293 to use physical force that is reasonable and necessary
196294 for self-protection,
197295 b. a student who witnesses another person being
198296 physically attacked is entitled to use reasonable and
199297 necessary physical restraint, defined as the placing
200298 of hands on another in a manner that is reasonable or
201299 necessary, to protect the person from physical harm,
202300 and
203301 c. a school district shall investigate a student ’s use of
204302 physical force and may not reprimand or discipline a
205303 student who is found through the investigat ion to have
206304 more likely than not used physical force for self -
207305 protection or in protection of another;
208306 10. Require training for administrators and school employees as
209307 developed and provided by the State Department of Education in
210308 preventing, identifying, r esponding to, and reporting incidents of
211309 bullying. The training shall be comp leted the first year an
212310 administrator or school employee is employed by a school district ,
213311 and then once every fifth academic year thereafter;
214312 10. 11. Provide for an educational program as designed and
215313 developed by the State Department of Education and in consultation
216314 with the Office of Juvenile Affairs for students and parents in
217315
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244366 preventing, identifying, responding to , and reporting incidents of
245367 bullying;
246368 11. 12. Establish a procedure for referral of a person who
247369 commits an act of bullying to a delinquen cy prevention and diversion
248370 program administered by the Office of Juvenile Affairs;
249371 12. 13. Address prevention by providing:
250372 a. consequences and remedial action for a person who
251373 commits an act of bullying,
252374 b. consequences and remedial action for a student found
253375 to have falsely accused another as a means of
254376 retaliation, reprisal , or as a means of bullying, and
255377 c. a strategy for providing counseling or referral to
256378 appropriate services, including guidance, academic
257379 intervention, and other protection for stude nts, both
258380 targets and perpetrators, and family members affected
259381 by bullying, as necessary;
260382 13. 14. Establish a procedure for:
261383 a. the investigation, determination , and documentation of
262384 all incidents of bullying reported to school
263385 officials,
264386 b. identifying the principal or a designee of the
265387 principal as the person responsible for investigating
266388 incidents of bullying,
267389 c. reporting the number of incidents of bullying, and
268390
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295441 d. determining the severity of the incidents and their
296442 potential to result in future viole nce;
297443 14. 15. Establish a procedure whereby, upon completing an
298444 investigation of bullying, a school may recommend that available
299445 community mental health care, substance abuse , or other counseling
300446 options be provided to the student, if appropriate; and
301447 15. 16. Establish a procedure whereby a school may request the
302448 disclosure of any information concerning students who have received
303449 mental health, substance abuse, or other care purs uant to paragraph
304450 14 15 of this subsection that indicates an explicit threat t o the
305451 safety of students or school personnel, provided the disclosure of
306452 the information does not violate the requirements and provisions of
307453 the Family Educational Rights and Pri vacy Act of 1974, the Health
308454 Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Section 2503
309455 of Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, Section 1376 of Title 59 of
310456 the Oklahoma Statutes, or any other state or federal laws regarding
311457 the disclosure of confiden tial information.
312458 B. The policy adopted by a school district board of educati on
313459 for the investigation of reported incidents of bullying or
314460 threatening behavior pursuant to this section shall include:
315461 1. A statement, relating to victims of bullying , that the
316462 school district prohibits, does not have, and will not adopt, in
317463 name or in practice, a zero -tolerance disciplinary policy. For the
318464 purposes of this section, “zero-tolerance disciplinary policy ” means
319465
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346516 a policy or practice of discipline that results in an automatic
347517 disciplinary consequence such as suspension or expulsion for any
348518 student who commits one or more acts of school violence or violent
349519 behavior even if school district administrators have some discretion
350520 to modify the consequence on a case -by-case basis; and
351521 2. A statement relating to students who engage in self -defense,
352522 pursuant to paragraph 9 of subsection A of this section, that the
353523 school district administration, when determining the disciplinary
354524 action for the student who has committed an a ct of school violence
355525 or exhibited violent behavior, will take into account if such act
356526 was committed in self -defense as an immediate response to an act of
357527 school violence or violent behavior committed by another student.
358528 C. In developing the policy, the school district board of
359529 education shall make an effort to involve the teachers, parents,
360530 administrators, school staff, school volunteers, community
361531 representatives, local law enforcement agencies , and students. The
362532 students, teachers, and parents or guar dian of every child residing
363533 within a school district shall be notified by the school district
364534 board of education of its adoption of the policy and shall receive a
365535 copy upon request. The school district policy shall be implemented
366536 in a manner that is ongo ing throughout the school year and is
367537 integrated with other violence prevention efforts.
368538 C. D. The teacher of a child attending a public school shall
369539 have the same right as a parent or guardian to control and
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397591 discipline such child according to district po licies during the time
398592 the child is in attendance or in transit to or from the school or
399593 any other school function authorized by the school district or
400594 classroom presided over by the teacher.
401595 D. E. Except concerning students on individualized education
402596 plans (IEP) pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education
403597 Act (IDEA), P.L. No. 101 -476, the State Board of Education shall not
404598 have authority to prescribe student disciplinary policies for school
405599 districts or to proscribe corporal punishment in the public schools.
406600 The State Board of Education shall not have authority to req uire
407601 school districts to file student disciplinary action reports more
408602 often than once each year and shall not use disciplinary action
409603 reports in determining a school district ’s or school site’s
410604 eligibility for program assistance including competitive grants.
411605 E. F. The board of education of each school district in this
412606 state shall have the option of adopting a dress code for students
413607 enrolled in the school district. The board of education of a school
414608 district shall also have the option of adopting a dress code which
415609 includes school uniforms.
416610 F. G. The board of education of each school district in this
417611 state shall have the option of adopting a procedure that requires
418612 students to perform campus-site service for violating the district ’s
419613 policy.
420614 G. H. The State Board of Education shall:
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448666 1. Promulgate rules for periodically monitoring school
449667 districts for compliance with this section and providing sanctions
450668 for noncompliance with th is section;
451669 2. Establish and maintain a central repository for the
452670 collection of information regarding documented and verified
453671 incidents of bullying; and
454672 3. Publish a report annually on the State Department of
455673 Education website regarding the number of do cumented and verified
456674 incidents of bullying in the public schools in the state.
457675 SECTION 2. This act shall become effective July 1, 2025.
458676 SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
459677 of the public peace, h ealth, or safety, an emergency is hereby
460678 declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
461679 be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
462-COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
463-February 25, 2025 - DO PASS
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681+60-1-1227 EB 1/15/2025 6:07:53 PM