85R3559 MEW-D
By: Minjarez H.B. No. 305
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to student harassment, bullying, and cyberbullying.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as David's Law.
SECTION 2. Section 37.0832, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (c), (d), and (e) and adding Subsection
(a-1) to read as follows:
(a) In this section:
(1) "Bullying":
(A) [, "bullying"] means a single significant act
or a pattern of acts by one or more students directed at another
student that exploits an imbalance of power and involves [, subject
to Subsection (b),] engaging in written or verbal expression,
expression through electronic means, or physical conduct, that
satisfies the applicability requirements provided by Subsection
(a-1), [that occurs on school property, at a school-sponsored or
school-related activity, or in a vehicle operated by the district]
and that:
(i) [(1)] has the effect or will have the
effect of physically harming a student, causing a student to
experience substantial negative mental health effects, damaging a
student's property, or placing a student in reasonable fear of harm
to the student's person or of damage to the student's property; [or]
(ii) [(2)] is sufficiently severe,
persistent, and pervasive enough that the action or threat creates
an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment
for a student;
(iii) materially and substantially
disrupts the educational process or the orderly operation of a
classroom or school; or
(iv) infringes on the rights of the victim
at school; and
(B) includes cyberbullying.
(2) "Cyberbullying" means bullying that is done
through the use of electronic communication, including through the
use of a cellular or other type of telephone, a computer, a pager, a
camera, electronic mail, instant messaging, text messaging, a
social media account, or an Internet website.
(a-1) This section applies to:
(1) bullying that occurs on or is delivered to school
property or to the site of a school-sponsored or school-related
activity on or off school property;
(2) bullying that occurs on a publicly or privately
owned school bus or van being used for transportation of students to
or from school or a school-sponsored or school-related activity;
and
(3) cyberbullying that occurs off school property or
outside of a school-sponsored or school-related activity if the
cyberbullying:
(A) interferes with a student's educational
opportunities; or
(B) substantially disrupts the orderly operation
of a classroom, school, or school-sponsored or school-related
activity.
(c) The board of trustees of each school district and the
governing body of each open-enrollment charter school or private
school shall adopt a policy, including any necessary procedures,
concerning bullying that:
(1) prohibits the bullying of a student;
(2) prohibits retaliation against any person,
including a victim, a witness, or another person, who in good faith
provides information concerning an incident of bullying;
(3) establishes a procedure for providing notice of an
incident of bullying to a parent or guardian of the victim and a
parent or guardian of the bully not later than the next school day
[within a reasonable amount of time] after the incident is
reported;
(4) establishes the actions a student should take to
obtain assistance and intervention in response to bullying;
(5) sets out the available counseling options for a
student who is a victim of or a witness to bullying or who engages in
bullying;
(6) establishes procedures for reporting an incident
of bullying, including procedures for a student, parent, teacher,
or administrator to anonymously report an incident of bullying,
investigating a reported incident of bullying, and determining
whether the reported incident of bullying occurred;
(7) prohibits the imposition of a disciplinary measure
on a student who, after an investigation, is found to be a victim of
bullying, on the basis of that student's use of reasonable
self-defense in response to the bullying; and
(8) requires that discipline for bullying of a student
with disabilities comply with applicable requirements under
federal law, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400 et seq.).
(d) The policy and any necessary procedures adopted under
Subsection (c) must be included:
(1) annually, in any [the] student and employee
[school district] handbooks; and
(2) in the district improvement plan under Section
11.252.
(e) The procedure for reporting bullying established under
Subsection (c) must be posted on the district's or school's Internet
website to the extent practicable.
SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.0052 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.0052. PLACEMENT OR EXPULSION OF STUDENTS WHO HAVE
ENGAGED IN CERTAIN BULLYING BEHAVIOR. (a) In this section:
(1) "Bullying" has the meaning assigned by Section
37.0832.
(2) "Intimate visual material" has the meaning
assigned by Section 98B.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
(b) A student may be removed from class and placed in a
disciplinary alternative education program as provided by Section
37.008 or expelled if the student:
(1) engages in bullying that encourages a minor to
commit or attempt to commit suicide;
(2) incites violence against a minor through group
bullying; or
(3) releases or threatens to release intimate visual
material of a minor.
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.0151 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.0151. REPORT TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT REGARDING
CERTAIN CONDUCT CONSTITUTING ASSAULT OR HARASSMENT; LIABILITY. (a)
The principal of a public or private primary or secondary school, or
a person designated by the principal under Subsection (c), shall
make a report to any school district police department and the
police department of the municipality in which the school is
located or, if the school is not in a municipality, the sheriff of
the county in which the school is located if the principal has
reasonable grounds to believe that a student engaged in conduct
that constitutes an offense under Section 22.01 or 42.07(a)(7),
Penal Code.
(b) A person who makes a report under this section shall
include the name and address of each student the person believes may
have participated in the conduct.
(c) The principal of a public or private primary or
secondary school may designate a school employee, other than a
school counselor, who is under the supervision of the principal to
make the report under this section.
(d) A person is not liable in civil damages for making a
report in good faith under this section.
SECTION 5. Sections 37.218(a)(1) and (2), Education Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(1) "Bullying" has the meaning assigned by Section
37.0832 [25.0342].
(2) "Cyberbullying" has the meaning assigned by
Section 37.0832 [means the use of any electronic communication
device to engage in bullying or intimidation].
SECTION 6. Section 33.006(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) In addition to a school counselor's responsibility
under Subsection (a), the school counselor shall:
(1) participate in planning, implementing, and
evaluating a comprehensive developmental guidance program to serve
all students and to address the special needs of students:
(A) who are at risk of dropping out of school,
becoming substance abusers, participating in gang activity, or
committing suicide;
(B) who are in need of modified instructional
strategies; or
(C) who are gifted and talented, with emphasis on
identifying and serving gifted and talented students who are
educationally disadvantaged;
(2) consult with a student's parent or guardian and
make referrals as appropriate in consultation with the student's
parent or guardian;
(3) consult with school staff, parents, and other
community members to help them increase the effectiveness of
student education and promote student success;
(4) coordinate people and resources in the school,
home, and community;
(5) with the assistance of school staff, interpret
standardized test results and other assessment data that help a
student make educational and career plans; [and]
(6) deliver classroom guidance activities or serve as
a consultant to teachers conducting lessons based on the school's
guidance curriculum; and
(7) serve as an impartial, nonreporting mediator for
interpersonal conflicts involving two or more students, including
accusations of bullying or cyberbullying under Section 37.0832.
SECTION 7. Section 42.07(b)(1), Penal Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(1) "Electronic communication" means a transfer of
signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of
any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio,
electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system. The
term includes:
(A) a communication initiated by electronic
mail, instant message, Internet website, social media application,
network call, [or] facsimile machine, or other Internet-based
communication tool; and
(B) a communication made to a pager.
SECTION 8. Section 37.0832(b), Education Code, is repealed.
SECTION 9. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an offense committed or conduct violating a penal law of this
state that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. An
offense committed or conduct that occurs before the effective date
of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense
was committed or conduct occurred, and the former law is continued
in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an
offense was committed or conduct violating a penal law of this state
occurred before the effective date of this Act if any element of the
offense or conduct occurred before that date.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.