81R703 CAE-F
By: Dutton H.B. No. 936
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prevention of harassment in public schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as Corrine's Law.
SECTION 2. Chapter 37, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter H to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER H. HARASSMENT
Sec. 37.251. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "harassment"
means an intentional threatening, insulting, or dehumanizing
physical act, gesture, or written or oral expression, including an
expression made through an electronic medium, by a person directed
against a student or school employee or volunteer that the person
knows or reasonably should know will:
(1) place the student or school employee or volunteer
in reasonable fear of harm to the student's, employee's, or
volunteer's person or damage to the student's, employee's, or
volunteer's property; or
(2) because of the severity, persistence, or
pervasiveness of the action or expression, create an intimidating,
threatening, or abusive educational environment for the student or
school employee or volunteer, including by interference with a
student's educational performance, opportunities, or benefits or a
substantial disruption of the orderly operation of a school.
Sec. 37.252. SCHOOL DISTRICT POLICY PROHIBITING
HARASSMENT. (a) A school district board of trustees shall adopt a
policy prohibiting harassment:
(1) on school property;
(2) at a school-sponsored or school-related activity
or other educational program or activity conducted by the district
or a district school;
(3) in a school vehicle or at a designated school bus
stop; or
(4) through the use of school district technology.
(b) The harassment policy adopted under this section must
include:
(1) a definition of harassment that complies with the
definition provided under Section 37.251;
(2) a description of the possible consequences and
disciplinary actions that may result from committing an act of
harassment;
(3) a statement prohibiting retaliation against a
person who reports an act of harassment;
(4) a description of the possible consequences and
disciplinary actions that may result from an allegation of
harassment made in bad faith;
(5) a strategy for protecting a victim of harassment
from further harassment and retaliation;
(6) a procedure for reporting an act of harassment,
including a provision that allows a person to anonymously report an
act of harassment;
(7) a procedure for responding to, promptly
investigating, and documenting a report of harassment;
(8) a statement designating the school official who
will be responsible for investigating a report of harassment;
(9) a process for determining whether an investigation
of a report of harassment is the responsibility of the school
district and, if not, a process for referring the report to the
appropriate investigating authority;
(10) a procedure for referring victims and
perpetrators of harassment to counseling;
(11) a requirement that a parent of a student who is a
victim of harassment be notified of:
(A) the incident;
(B) any disciplinary action taken against the
perpetrator, to the extent permitted under the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g); and
(C) any action taken by the district to prevent
further acts of harassment by the perpetrator;
(12) a procedure for instructing students, parents,
and school employees and volunteers on identifying, preventing, and
responding to an act of harassment; and
(13) a statement encouraging students and school
employees and volunteers who have witnessed or have reliable
information that a student or school employee or volunteer has been
subject to harassment to report the incident to the appropriate
designated school official.
(c) The harassment policy adopted under this section:
(1) must grant all students and school employees and
volunteers the same protection, regardless of the legal status of a
student or school employee or volunteer;
(2) must be integrated with the curriculum, discipline
policies, and other violence prevention efforts of the school
district; and
(3) may not allow a formal disciplinary action to be
taken solely on the basis of an anonymous report.
(d) A school district shall provide public notice of the
harassment policy adopted under this section.
(e) The harassment policy adopted under this section must be
included in the student code of conduct adopted under Section
37.001 and in any school district employee manual.
Sec. 37.253. MODEL POLICY. The agency shall develop a model
policy that meets the requirements of Sections 37.252(a)-(c) and
shall publish the policy:
(1) on the agency's Internet website; and
(2) in any agency publication that states the rules,
procedures, and standards of conduct for public schools in this
state.
Sec. 37.254. TRAINING AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS. (a) A
school district shall implement programs designed to prevent
harassment and educate students and school employees and volunteers
about the district's harassment policy, including training
programs for school employees and volunteers who have direct
contact with students, and educational programs for students.
(b) A school district may incorporate the training required
under this section into an existing employee training program.
Sec. 37.255. IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY. (a) A student,
parent, or school employee or volunteer is not personally liable
for reporting an alleged act of harassment if the person:
(1) reports the act of harassment promptly and in good
faith;
(2) makes the report to the appropriate school
official designated in the school district's harassment policy; and
(3) makes the report in compliance with the procedures
provided in the school district harassment policy.
(b) A school official is not personally liable for failing
to remedy a reported incident of harassment.
Sec. 37.256. REMEDY; PROHIBITED DEFENSE. (a) This
subchapter:
(1) does not create a cause of action or alter an
existing cause of action; and
(2) may not be construed to prevent a victim of
harassment from seeking a remedy under another provision of civil
or criminal law.
(b) The physical location or time of access of an act of
harassment made through the use of school district technology may
not be raised as a defense in a criminal action or disciplinary
proceeding relating to the act of harassment.
Sec. 37.257. REPORT. (a) Not later than August 1 of each
year, a school district shall provide the agency with a report
listing, for the preceding school year:
(1) each reported incident of harassment that resulted
in disciplinary action; and
(2) each reported incident of harassment that was
determined to be false or not prohibited under this subchapter.
(b) A report submitted under Subsection (a) may not identify
any person involved in an actual or alleged incident of harassment.
The agency shall post each school district's report on the agency's
Internet website.
(c) The agency shall include a summary of the information
provided to the agency under Subsection (a) in the report required
under Section 39.182.
SECTION 3. Section 37.001(b)(1), Education Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(1) "Harassment" has the meaning assigned by Section
37.251 [means threatening to cause harm or bodily injury to another
student, engaging in sexually intimidating conduct, causing
physical damage to the property of another student, subjecting
another student to physical confinement or restraint, or
maliciously taking any action that substantially harms another
student's physical or emotional health or safety].
SECTION 4. (a) Not later than January 1, 2010, the Texas
Education Agency shall adopt a model harassment policy as required
by Section 37.253, Education Code, as added by this Act.
(b) Not later than August 1, 2010, a school district board
of trustees shall adopt a policy prohibiting harassment as required
by Section 37.252, Education Code, as added by this Act. The policy
applies beginning with the 2010-2011 school year unless the board
of trustees specifies an earlier date.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.