Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB936 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R703 CAE-F
2	2	By: Dutton H.B. No. 936
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the prevention of harassment in public schools.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as Corrine's Law.
10	10	SECTION 2. Chapter 37, Education Code, is amended by adding
11	11	Subchapter H to read as follows:
12	12	SUBCHAPTER H. HARASSMENT
13	13	Sec. 37.251. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "harassment"
14	14	means an intentional threatening, insulting, or dehumanizing
15	15	physical act, gesture, or written or oral expression, including an
16	16	expression made through an electronic medium, by a person directed
17	17	against a student or school employee or volunteer that the person
18	18	knows or reasonably should know will:
19	19	(1) place the student or school employee or volunteer
20	20	in reasonable fear of harm to the student's, employee's, or
21	21	volunteer's person or damage to the student's, employee's, or
22	22	volunteer's property; or
23	23	(2) because of the severity, persistence, or
24	24	pervasiveness of the action or expression, create an intimidating,
25	25	threatening, or abusive educational environment for the student or
26	26	school employee or volunteer, including by interference with a
27	27	student's educational performance, opportunities, or benefits or a
28	28	substantial disruption of the orderly operation of a school.
29	29	Sec. 37.252. SCHOOL DISTRICT POLICY PROHIBITING
30	30	HARASSMENT. (a) A school district board of trustees shall adopt a
31	31	policy prohibiting harassment:
32	32	(1) on school property;
33	33	(2) at a school-sponsored or school-related activity
34	34	or other educational program or activity conducted by the district
35	35	or a district school;
36	36	(3) in a school vehicle or at a designated school bus
37	37	stop; or
38	38	(4) through the use of school district technology.
39	39	(b) The harassment policy adopted under this section must
40	40	include:
41	41	(1) a definition of harassment that complies with the
42	42	definition provided under Section 37.251;
43	43	(2) a description of the possible consequences and
44	44	disciplinary actions that may result from committing an act of
45	45	harassment;
46	46	(3) a statement prohibiting retaliation against a
47	47	person who reports an act of harassment;
48	48	(4) a description of the possible consequences and
49	49	disciplinary actions that may result from an allegation of
50	50	harassment made in bad faith;
51	51	(5) a strategy for protecting a victim of harassment
52	52	from further harassment and retaliation;
53	53	(6) a procedure for reporting an act of harassment,
54	54	including a provision that allows a person to anonymously report an
55	55	act of harassment;
56	56	(7) a procedure for responding to, promptly
57	57	investigating, and documenting a report of harassment;
58	58	(8) a statement designating the school official who
59	59	will be responsible for investigating a report of harassment;
60	60	(9) a process for determining whether an investigation
61	61	of a report of harassment is the responsibility of the school
62	62	district and, if not, a process for referring the report to the
63	63	appropriate investigating authority;
64	64	(10) a procedure for referring victims and
65	65	perpetrators of harassment to counseling;
66	66	(11) a requirement that a parent of a student who is a
67	67	victim of harassment be notified of:
68	68	(A) the incident;
69	69	(B) any disciplinary action taken against the
70	70	perpetrator, to the extent permitted under the Family Educational
71	71	Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g); and
72	72	(C) any action taken by the district to prevent
73	73	further acts of harassment by the perpetrator;
74	74	(12) a procedure for instructing students, parents,
75	75	and school employees and volunteers on identifying, preventing, and
76	76	responding to an act of harassment; and
77	77	(13) a statement encouraging students and school
78	78	employees and volunteers who have witnessed or have reliable
79	79	information that a student or school employee or volunteer has been
80	80	subject to harassment to report the incident to the appropriate
81	81	designated school official.
82	82	(c) The harassment policy adopted under this section:
83	83	(1) must grant all students and school employees and
84	84	volunteers the same protection, regardless of the legal status of a
85	85	student or school employee or volunteer;
86	86	(2) must be integrated with the curriculum, discipline
87	87	policies, and other violence prevention efforts of the school
88	88	district; and
89	89	(3) may not allow a formal disciplinary action to be
90	90	taken solely on the basis of an anonymous report.
91	91	(d) A school district shall provide public notice of the
92	92	harassment policy adopted under this section.
93	93	(e) The harassment policy adopted under this section must be
94	94	included in the student code of conduct adopted under Section
95	95	37.001 and in any school district employee manual.
96	96	Sec. 37.253. MODEL POLICY. The agency shall develop a model
97	97	policy that meets the requirements of Sections 37.252(a)-(c) and
98	98	shall publish the policy:
99	99	(1) on the agency's Internet website; and
100	100	(2) in any agency publication that states the rules,
101	101	procedures, and standards of conduct for public schools in this
102	102	state.
103	103	Sec. 37.254. TRAINING AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS. (a) A
104	104	school district shall implement programs designed to prevent
105	105	harassment and educate students and school employees and volunteers
106	106	about the district's harassment policy, including training
107	107	programs for school employees and volunteers who have direct
108	108	contact with students, and educational programs for students.
109	109	(b) A school district may incorporate the training required
110	110	under this section into an existing employee training program.
111	111	Sec. 37.255. IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY. (a) A student,
112	112	parent, or school employee or volunteer is not personally liable
113	113	for reporting an alleged act of harassment if the person:
114	114	(1) reports the act of harassment promptly and in good
115	115	faith;
116	116	(2) makes the report to the appropriate school
117	117	official designated in the school district's harassment policy; and
118	118	(3) makes the report in compliance with the procedures
119	119	provided in the school district harassment policy.
120	120	(b) A school official is not personally liable for failing
121	121	to remedy a reported incident of harassment.
122	122	Sec. 37.256. REMEDY; PROHIBITED DEFENSE. (a) This
123	123	subchapter:
124	124	(1) does not create a cause of action or alter an
125	125	existing cause of action; and
126	126	(2) may not be construed to prevent a victim of
127	127	harassment from seeking a remedy under another provision of civil
128	128	or criminal law.
129	129	(b) The physical location or time of access of an act of
130	130	harassment made through the use of school district technology may
131	131	not be raised as a defense in a criminal action or disciplinary
132	132	proceeding relating to the act of harassment.
133	133	Sec. 37.257. REPORT. (a) Not later than August 1 of each
134	134	year, a school district shall provide the agency with a report
135	135	listing, for the preceding school year:
136	136	(1) each reported incident of harassment that resulted
137	137	in disciplinary action; and
138	138	(2) each reported incident of harassment that was
139	139	determined to be false or not prohibited under this subchapter.
140	140	(b) A report submitted under Subsection (a) may not identify
141	141	any person involved in an actual or alleged incident of harassment.
142	142	The agency shall post each school district's report on the agency's
143	143	Internet website.
144	144	(c) The agency shall include a summary of the information
145	145	provided to the agency under Subsection (a) in the report required
146	146	under Section 39.182.
147	147	SECTION 3. Section 37.001(b)(1), Education Code, is
148	148	amended to read as follows:
149	149	(1) "Harassment" has the meaning assigned by Section
150	150	37.251 [means threatening to cause harm or bodily injury to another
151	151	student, engaging in sexually intimidating conduct, causing
152	152	physical damage to the property of another student, subjecting
153	153	another student to physical confinement or restraint, or
154	154	maliciously taking any action that substantially harms another
155	155	student's physical or emotional health or safety].
156	156	SECTION 4. (a) Not later than January 1, 2010, the Texas
157	157	Education Agency shall adopt a model harassment policy as required
158	158	by Section 37.253, Education Code, as added by this Act.
159	159	(b) Not later than August 1, 2010, a school district board
160	160	of trustees shall adopt a policy prohibiting harassment as required
161	161	by Section 37.252, Education Code, as added by this Act. The policy
162	162	applies beginning with the 2010-2011 school year unless the board
163	163	of trustees specifies an earlier date.
164	164	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
165	165	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
166	166	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
167	167	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
168	168	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.