87R9401 MEW-D
By: Meza H.B. No. 4064
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to policies and procedures for addressing bullying and
harassment in public schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, as amended by
Chapters 262 (H.B. 1597), 464 (S.B. 11), 467 (H.B. 4170), and 943
(H.B. 3), Acts of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, is
reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:
(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal
offense;
(2) the provisions in Chapter 554, Government Code;
and
(3) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
title, relating to:
(A) the Public Education Information Management
System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
Chapter 22;
(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading
instruction programs under Section 28.006;
(D) accelerated instruction under Section
28.0211;
(E) high school graduation requirements under
Section 28.025;
(F) special education programs under Subchapter
A, Chapter 29;
(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B,
Chapter 29;
(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E
or E-1, Chapter 29;
(I) extracurricular activities under Section
33.081;
(J) discipline management practices or behavior
management techniques under Section 37.0021;
(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;
(L) public school accountability under
Subchapters B, C, D, F, G, and J, Chapter 39, and Chapter 39A;
(M) the requirement under Section 21.006 to
report an educator's misconduct;
(N) intensive programs of instruction under
Section 28.0213;
(O) the right of a school employee to report a
crime, as provided by Section 37.148;
(P) bullying and harassment prevention policies
and procedures under Section 37.0832;
(Q) the right of a school under Section 37.0052
to place a student who has engaged in certain bullying behavior in a
disciplinary alternative education program or to expel the student;
(R) the right under Section 37.0151 to report to
local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or
harassment;
(S) a parent's right to information regarding the
provision of assistance for learning difficulties to the parent's
child as provided by Sections 26.004(b)(11) and 26.0081(c) and (d);
(T) establishment of residency under Section
25.001;
(U) [(T)] school safety requirements under
Sections 37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.109, 37.113, 37.114, 37.115,
37.207, and 37.2071;
(V) [(T)] the early childhood literacy and
mathematics proficiency plans under Section 11.185; and
(W) [(U)] the college, career, and military
readiness plans under Section 11.186.
SECTION 2. 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;
(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 resource for
interpersonal conflicts and discord involving two or more students,
including accusations of bullying or harassment under Section
37.0832.
SECTION 3. Section 37.0832, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 37.0832. BULLYING AND HARASSMENT PREVENTION POLICIES
AND PROCEDURES. (a) In this section:
(1) "Bullying":
(A) 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 engaging in written or
verbal expression, expression through electronic means, or
physical conduct that satisfies the applicability requirements
provided by Subsection (a-1), and that:
(i) has the effect or will have the effect
of physically harming a student, 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;
(ii) is sufficiently severe, persistent, or
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 any electronic communication device, including
through the use of a cellular or other type of telephone, a
computer, a camera, electronic mail, instant messaging, text
messaging, a social media application, an Internet website, or any
other Internet-based communication tool.
(3) "Harassment" has the meaning assigned by Section
37.001.
(a-1) This section applies to:
(1) bullying or harassment 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 or harassment that occurs on a publicly
or privately owned school bus or vehicle 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.
(b) Conduct that constitutes bullying or harassment may
include conduct that occurs due to:
(1) another student's actual or perceived race, color,
national origin, sex, disability status, sexual orientation,
gender identity, gender expression, ethnicity, or religion;
(2) a distinguishing characteristic of another
student, as identified in the model guidance developed by the
agency under Section 37.0833; or
(3) a student's association with a person or group with
one or more of the actual or perceived characteristics described by
Subdivisions (1) and (2).
(c) The board of trustees of each school district shall
adopt a policy, including any necessary procedures, concerning
bullying and harassment that:
(1) prohibits the bullying or harassment 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 or
harassment;
(3) establishes a procedure for providing notice,
while considering the circumstances of the incident and ensuring
the safety and well-being of the student, of an incident of bullying
or harassment to:
(A) a parent or guardian of the alleged victim on
or before the third business day after the date the incident is
reported; and
(B) a parent or guardian of the alleged bully or
harasser within a reasonable amount of time after the incident;
(4) establishes the actions a student should take to
obtain assistance and intervention in response to bullying and
harassment;
(5) sets out the available counseling options for a
student who is a victim of or a witness to bullying or harassment or
who engages in bullying or harassment;
(6) establishes procedures for reporting an incident
of bullying or harassment, including procedures for a student to
anonymously report an incident of bullying or harassment, promptly
investigating a reported incident of bullying or harassment, and
determining whether the reported incident of bullying or harassment
occurred;
(7) specifies that no remedial action may be taken
solely on the basis of an anonymous report of an incident of
bullying or harassment;
(8) prohibits the imposition of a disciplinary measure
on a student who, after an investigation, is found to be a victim of
bullying or harassment, on the basis of that student's use of
reasonable self-defense in response to the bullying or harassment;
[and]
(9) [(8)] requires that discipline for bullying or
harassment 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.);
(10) distinguishes various responses to reported
incidents of bullying or harassment, including age-appropriate
consequences;
(11) encourages positive and preventative approaches
to discipline for bullying or harassment that minimize a student's
removal from the classroom and ensure students are not subject to
disproportionate punishment;
(12) is consistent with the model guidance developed
by the agency under Section 37.0833;
(13) designates a school district employee to serve as
the primary contact regarding the policies and procedures adopted
under this section, including to:
(A) receive copies of all formal and informal
complaints regarding violations;
(B) assume responsibility for the implementation
of the policies and procedures; and
(C) serve as primary contact for the agency; and
(14) provides for the implementation of an
evidence-based program for discussing bullying and harassment
issues and related school policies with all students.
(c-1) The procedures established under Subsection (c)(6)
must designate the principal, or the principal's designee, at the
campus in which the incident of bullying or harassment was reported
as the person responsible for overseeing the investigation.
(c-2) A school district must:
(1) review and revise the district's policy adopted
under Subsection (c) at least once every two years; and
(2) submit the district's policy to the agency.
(d) The policy and any necessary procedures adopted under
Subsection (c) must be included:
(1) annually, in the student and employee school
district handbooks and as part of any new employee training
materials; and
(2) in the district improvement plan under Section
11.252.
(e) The procedure for reporting bullying or harassment
established under Subsection (c) must be posted on the district's
Internet website to the extent practicable.
(f) Each school district may establish a district-wide
policy to assist in the prevention and mediation of bullying and
harassment incidents between students that:
(1) interfere with a student's educational
opportunities; or
(2) substantially disrupt the orderly operation of a
classroom, school, or school-sponsored or school-related activity.
SECTION 4. Subchapter C, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.0833 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.0833. BULLYING AND HARASSMENT MODEL GUIDANCE AND
PROCEDURES. (a) In this section:
(1) "Bullying" has the meaning assigned by Section
37.0832.
(2) "Harassment" has the meaning assigned by Section
37.001.
(b) To assist school districts in establishing bullying and
harassment policies and procedures as required by Section 37.0832,
the agency shall develop model guidance that:
(1) includes definitions of bullying and harassment
consistent with this section;
(2) identifies distinguishing characteristics of
students that are protected from bullying or harassment; and
(3) includes guidance for school districts on:
(A) the adoption and implementation of the
district's policies and procedures; and
(B) the needs of transgender, non-binary, and
gender-nonconforming students that addresses:
(i) maintenance of a safe and supportive
learning environment free from discrimination and harassment for
all students;
(ii) terms, definitions, and discussion of
gender identity and expression;
(iii) maintenance of gender, name, and
pronoun information to reflect a student's gender identity;
(iv) protection of student privacy and the
confidentiality of sensitive information;
(v) student participation in school
activities and events segregated by sex, including athletics and
the use of school facilities; and
(vi) compliance with all applicable state
and local nondiscrimination and privacy laws or ordinances.
(c) The agency shall hire a safe school specialist to:
(1) identify evidence-based training resources; and
(2) provide additional technical assistance for
policy implementation by school districts that incorporates state
bullying and harassment prevention standards.
(d) The agency shall develop procedures for:
(1) monitoring school district compliance with
Section 37.0832;
(2) providing technical assistance to school
districts in implementing policies and procedures under Section
37.0832;
(3) collecting reports on incidents of bullying and
harassment from school districts, while maintaining student
confidentiality;
(4) publishing a biannual report that includes
statewide statistics of incidents of bullying and harassment,
disaggregated by characteristics identified under Subsection
(b)(2); and
(5) reporting of and responding to failures to
implement bullying and harassment policies and procedures by school
districts and administrators, including by:
(A) investigating violations of law relating to
bullying and harassment; and
(B) imposing sanctions on school districts that
fail to develop and implement policies and procedures in accordance
with Section 37.0832.
(e) For any school district that the agency determines is
out of compliance with Section 37.0832, the agency shall conduct an
investigation and issue a report detailing guidance for compliance.
If the school district has not complied not later than one month
after receiving the report from the agency, the commissioner may
take any appropriate action authorized to be taken by the
commissioner under Chapter 39A.
(f) The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to
implement this section.
SECTION 5. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act:
(1) the Texas Education Agency shall develop the model
guidance and procedures as required by Section 37.0833, Education
Code, as added by this Act; and
(2) each school district shall adopt a policy
concerning bullying and harassment as required by Section
37.0832(c), Education Code, as amended by this Act.
SECTION 6. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
over another Act of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021,
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
codes.
SECTION 7. This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022
school year.
SECTION 8. 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, 2021.