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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| HOUSE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY M. O'BRIEN, MARCH 2, 2011 |
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| REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, MARCH 2, 2011 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An |
2 | act relating to the public school system, including certain |
3 | provisions applicable as well to private and parochial |
4 | schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the |
5 | laws relating thereto," further providing for policy relating |
6 | to bullying. |
7 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
8 | hereby enacts as follows: |
9 | Section 1. Section 1303.1-A of act of March 10, 1949 |
10 | (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, added |
11 | July 9, 2008 (P.L.846, No.61), is amended to read: |
12 | Section 1303.1-A. Policy Relating to Bullying.--(a) No |
13 | later than January 1, 2009, each school entity shall adopt a |
14 | policy or amend its existing policy relating to bullying and |
15 | incorporate the policy into the school entity's code of student |
16 | conduct required under 22 Pa. Code § 12.3(c) (relating to school |
17 | rules). The policy shall delineate disciplinary consequences for |
18 | bullying and may provide for prevention, intervention and |
19 | education programs, provided that no school entity shall be |
20 | required to establish a new policy under this section if one |
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1 | currently exists and reasonably fulfills the requirements of |
2 | this section. The policy shall identify the appropriate school |
3 | staff person to receive reports of incidents of alleged |
4 | bullying. |
5 | (a.1) No later than January 1, 2012, each school entity |
6 | shall amend its existing policy relating to bullying in |
7 | accordance with the requirements of this section. The school |
8 | entity shall adopt the policy through a process that includes |
9 | representation of parents or guardians, school employees, |
10 | volunteers, students, administrators and community |
11 | representatives. A school entity shall have local control over |
12 | the content of the policy, except that the policy shall contain, |
13 | at a minimum, the following components: |
14 | (1) a statement prohibiting bullying of a student as defined |
15 | in subsection (e); |
16 | (2) a description of the type of behavior expected from each |
17 | student; |
18 | (3) consequences and appropriate remedial action for a |
19 | person who commits an act of harassment, intimidation or |
20 | bullying; |
21 | (4) a procedure for reporting an act of bullying, including |
22 | a provision that permits a person to report an act of bullying |
23 | anonymously; however, this shall not be construed to permit |
24 | formal disciplinary action solely on the basis of an anonymous |
25 | report. All acts of bullying shall be reported verbally to the |
26 | school principal on the same day when a school employee or |
27 | contracted service provider witnesses or receives reliable |
28 | information regarding any such incident. The principal shall |
29 | inform the parents or guardians of all students involved in the |
30 | alleged incident and may discuss, as appropriate, the |
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1 | availability of counseling and other intervention services. All |
2 | acts of bullying shall be reported in writing to the school |
3 | principal within two school days of when the school employee or |
4 | contracted service provider witnessed or received reliable |
5 | information that a student had been subject to bullying; |
6 | (5) a procedure for prompt investigation of reports of |
7 | violations and complaints, which procedure shall at a minimum |
8 | provide that: |
9 | (i) the investigation shall be initiated by the principal or |
10 | the principal's designee within one school day of the report of |
11 | the incident and shall be conducted by a school antibullying |
12 | specialist. The principal may appoint additional personnel who |
13 | are not school antibullying specialists to assist in the |
14 | investigation. The investigation shall be completed as soon as |
15 | possible, but not later than ten (10) school days from the date |
16 | of the written report of the incident of bullying. In the event |
17 | that there is information relative to the investigation that is |
18 | anticipated but not yet received by the end of the ten-day |
19 | period, the school antibullying specialist may amend the |
20 | original report of the results of the investigation to reflect |
21 | the information; |
22 | (ii) the results of the investigation shall be reported to |
23 | the superintendent of schools within two (2) school days of the |
24 | completion of the investigation, and the superintendent may |
25 | decide to provide intervention services, establish training |
26 | programs to reduce bullying and enhance school climate, impose |
27 | discipline, order counseling as a result of the findings of the |
28 | investigation or take or recommend other appropriate action; |
29 | (iii) the results of each investigation shall be reported to |
30 | the board of school directors no later than the date of the |
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1 | board meeting next following the completion of the |
2 | investigation, along with information on any services provided, |
3 | training established, discipline imposed or other action taken |
4 | or recommended by the superintendent; |
5 | (iv) parents or guardians of the students who are parties to |
6 | the investigation shall be entitled to receive information about |
7 | the investigation, in accordance with Federal or State law and |
8 | regulation, including the nature of the investigation, whether |
9 | the district found evidence of bullying or whether discipline |
10 | was imposed or services provided to address the incident of |
11 | bullying. This information shall be provided in writing within |
12 | five (5) school days after the results of the investigation are |
13 | reported to the board of school directors. A parent or guardian |
14 | may request a hearing before the board after receiving the |
15 | information, and the hearing shall be held within ten (10) days |
16 | of the request. The board shall meet in executive session for |
17 | the hearing to protect the confidentiality of the students. At |
18 | the hearing the board may hear from the school antibullying |
19 | specialist about the incident, recommendations for discipline or |
20 | services and any programs instituted to reduce such incidents; |
21 | (v) at the next board of school directors meeting following |
22 | its receipt of the report, the board of school directors shall |
23 | issue a decision, in writing, to affirm, reject or modify the |
24 | superintendent's decision. The board's decision may be appealed |
25 | to the Department of Eduction, in accordance with the procedures |
26 | set forth in law and regulation, no later than the ninety (90) |
27 | days after the issuance of the board's decision; and |
28 | (vi) a parent, student, guardian or organization may file a |
29 | complaint with the Human Relations Commission within one hundred |
30 | eighty (180) days of the occurrence of any incident of bullying |
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1 | based on membership in a protected group as enumerated in the |
2 | act of October 27, 1955 (P.L.744, No.222), known as the |
3 | "Pennsylvania Human Relations Act"; |
4 | (7) the range of ways in which a school will respond once an |
5 | incident of bullying is identified, which shall be defined by |
6 | the principal in conjunction with the school antibullying |
7 | specialist, but shall include an appropriate combination of |
8 | counseling, support services, intervention services and other |
9 | programs, as defined by the Department of Education; |
10 | (8) a statement that prohibits reprisal or retaliation |
11 | against any person who reports an act of bullying and the |
12 | consequence and appropriate remedial action for a person who |
13 | engages in reprisal or retaliation; |
14 | (9) consequences and appropriate remedial action for a |
15 | person found to have falsely accused another as a means of |
16 | retaliation or as a means of bullying; |
17 | (10) a statement of how the policy is to be publicized, |
18 | including notice that the policy applies to participation in |
19 | school-sponsored functions and actions occurring off school |
20 | grounds; |
21 | (11) a requirement that the name, school telephone number, |
22 | school address and school e-mail address of the district |
23 | antibullying coordinator be listed on the home page of the |
24 | school entity's Internet website and that on the home page of |
25 | each school's Internet website the name, school telephone |
26 | number, school address and school e-mail address of the school |
27 | antibullying specialist and the district antibullying |
28 | coordinator be listed. The information concerning the district |
29 | antibullying coordinator and the school antibullying specialists |
30 | shall also be maintained on the Department of Education's |
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1 | Internet website. |
2 | (a.2) To assist school entities in developing policies for |
3 | the prevention of bullying, the Department of Education shall |
4 | develop a model policy applicable to grades kindergarten through |
5 | twelve (12). This model policy shall be issued no later than |
6 | September 1, 2011. The department shall update the model policy |
7 | as the department deems necessary. |
8 | (a.3) Notice of the school entity's policy shall appear in |
9 | any publication of the school entity that sets forth the |
10 | comprehensive rules, procedures and standards of conduct for the |
11 | school entity and in any student handbook. |
12 | (a.4) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a school entity |
13 | from adopting a policy that includes components that are more |
14 | stringent than the components set forth in this section. |
15 | (b) Each school entity shall make the policy available on |
16 | its publicly accessible Internet website, if available, and in |
17 | every classroom. Each school entity shall post the policy at a |
18 | prominent location within each school building where such |
19 | notices are usually posted and shall distribute the policy |
20 | annually to parents and guardians who have children enrolled in |
21 | the school entity. Each school entity shall ensure that the |
22 | policy and procedures for reporting bullying incidents are |
23 | reviewed with students within ninety (90) days after their |
24 | adoption and thereafter at least once each school year. |
25 | (c) Each school entity shall review its policy [every three |
26 | (3) years and annually provide the office with a copy of its |
27 | policy relating to bullying, including information related to |
28 | the development and implementation of any bullying prevention, |
29 | intervention and education programs] annually making any |
30 | necessary revisions and additions. The school entity shall |
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1 | include input from the school antibullying specialists in |
2 | conducting its reevaluation, reassessment and review. The school |
3 | entity shall transmit a copy of the revised policy to the |
4 | Department of Education within thirty (30) school days of the |
5 | revision. The information required under this subsection shall |
6 | be attached to or made part of the annual report required under |
7 | section 1303-A(b). |
8 | (d) [In its policy relating to bullying adopted or |
9 | maintained under subsection (a), a school entity shall not be |
10 | prohibited from defining bullying in such a way as to encompass |
11 | acts that occur outside a school setting if those acts meet the |
12 | requirements contained in subsection (e)(1), (3) and (4). If a] |
13 | A school entity [reports] shall report acts of bullying to the |
14 | office in accordance with section 1303-A(b)[, it shall report |
15 | all incidents that qualify as bullying under the entity's |
16 | adopted definition of that term]. |
17 | (e) For purposes of this article, "bullying" shall mean an |
18 | intentional electronic, written, verbal or physical act, or a |
19 | series of acts: |
20 | (1) directed at another student or students; |
21 | (2) which occurs in a school setting or off school grounds |
22 | that substantially disrupts or interferes with the orderly |
23 | operation of the school or the rights of other students; |
24 | (3) that is severe, persistent or pervasive; and |
25 | (4) that has the effect of doing any of the following: |
26 | (i) substantially interfering with a student's education; |
27 | (ii) creating a threatening environment; [or] |
28 | (iii) [substantially disrupting the orderly operation of the |
29 | school; and] physically or emotionally harming a student or |
30 | damaging a student's property, or placing a student in |
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1 | reasonable fear of physical or emotional harm to the student's |
2 | person or property; or |
3 | (iv) insulting or demeaning any student or group of |
4 | students; and |
5 | "school setting" shall mean in the school, on school grounds, |
6 | in school vehicles, at a designated bus stop or at any activity |
7 | sponsored, supervised or sanctioned by the school. |
8 | Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days. |
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