H-1377

   Amend  the amendment, H-1365, to Senate File 510, as amended, passed, and reprinted by the Senate, as follows:
   1.  Page 31, after line 31, by inserting: 

<DIVISION ___
ANTIHARASSMENT AND ANTIBULLYING
   Sec. ___.  Section 256.9, Code 2015, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  66.  Subject to an appropriation of funds by the general assembly, ensure each school district has access to adequate training on conducting investigations of complaints of incidents of harassment or bullying pursuant to section 280.28 by offering such training on an annual basis to at least one employee per district.
   Sec. ___.  NEW SECTION.  256.34  Bullying and violence prevention student mentoring pilot program.
   1.  Subject to an appropriation of funds by the general assembly, the department shall establish a student mentoring pilot program to explore how student leadership can help prevent bullying and violence in schools. The program shall promote best practices for bullying and violence prevention for middle and high school students.
   2.  The department shall establish the program in at least two middle schools and two high schools in the state. The selected schools shall include both urban and rural schools.
   3.  The department shall establish criteria for the selection of participating schools and evaluation of the program.
   Sec. ___.  Section 280.28, subsection 2, paragraphs a and c, Code 2015, are amended to read as follows:
   a.  “Electronic” means any communication involving the transmission of information by wire, radio, optical cable, electromagnetic, or other similar means. “Electronic” includes but is not limited to communication via electronic mail, internet-based communications including social networking sites, pager service, cell phones, and electronic text messaging, or any other electronic communication site, device, or means.
   c.  “Trait or characteristic of the student” includes but is not limited to age, color, creed, national origin, race, religion, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical attributes, physical or mental ability or disability, ancestry, political party preference, political belief, socioeconomic status, or familial status, behavior, or any other distinguishing characteristic. This paragraph shall be construed broadly to achieve the purposes of this section.
   Sec. ___.  Section 280.28, subsection 3, Code 2015, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  h.  A procedure for the notification as soon as practicable of the parents or guardians of the alleged targeted students and perpetrators in a reported incident of harassment or bullying. The procedure shall include an exception to the notification requirement if a school official or a student whose parent or guardian would otherwise be notified reasonably believes notification would subject the student to rejection, abuse, or neglect.
   Sec. ___.  Section 280.28, Code 2015, is amended by adding the following new subsections:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  9.  Authority off school grounds.
   a.  A school official may investigate and impose school discipline in a founded case of harassment or bullying that occurs outside of school, off of school property, or away from a school function or school-sponsored activity if all of the following apply:
   (1)  An incident of harassment or bullying is reported pursuant to the school’s policy adopted under subsection 3, paragraph “e”.
   (2)  The alleged incident of harassment or bullying has an effect on a student on school grounds that creates an objectively hostile school environment that meets one or more of the conditions set out under subsection 2, paragraph “b”.
   b.  A school official’s investigation and response to an alleged incident of bullying or harassment that occurs outside of school, off of school property, or away from a school function or school-sponsored activity may include referring the matter to appropriate community-based agencies including but not limited to social services agencies, law enforcement agencies, and nonprofit organizations.
   NEW SUBSECTION.  10.  Rule of construction.  This section shall not be construed to diminish a school administrator’s discretion to impose discipline or take other action in the case of an unfounded incident of harassment or bullying if a student’s behavior otherwise constitutes student misconduct based on other grounds.
   Sec. ___.  Section 282.18, subsection 11, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   11.  A pupil who participates in open enrollment for purposes of attending a grade in grades nine through twelve in a school district other than the district of residence is ineligible to participate in varsity interscholastic athletic contests and athletic competitions during the pupil’s first ninety school days of enrollment in the district except that the pupil may participate immediately in a varsity interscholastic sport if the pupil is entering grade nine for the first time and did not participate in an interscholastic athletic competition for another school or school district during the summer immediately following eighth grade, if the district of residence and the other school district jointly participate in the sport, if the sport in which the pupil wishes to participate is not offered in the district of residence, if the pupil chooses to use open enrollment to attend school in another school district because the district in which the student previously attended school was dissolved and merged with one or more contiguous school districts under section 256.11, subsection 12, if the pupil participates in open enrollment because the pupil’s district of residence has entered into a whole grade sharing agreement with another district for the pupil’s grade, or if the parent or guardian of the pupil participating in open enrollment is an active member of the armed forces and resides in permanent housing on government property provided by a branch of the armed services, or if the district of residence determines that the pupil was subject to a founded incident of harassment or bullying as defined in section 280.28 while attending school in the district of residence in the current or previous school year and both the district of residence and the other school district agree to allow the pupil to participate immediately in a varsity interscholastic sport. A pupil who has paid tuition and attended school, or has attended school pursuant to a mutual agreement between the two districts, in a district other than the pupil’s district of residence for at least one school year is also eligible to participate immediately in interscholastic athletic contests and athletic competitions under this section, but only as a member of a team from the district that pupil had attended. For purposes of this subsection, “school days of enrollment” does not include enrollment in summer school. For purposes of this subsection, “varsity” means the same as defined in section 256.46.
   Sec. ___.  SCHOOL CLIMATE AND BULLYING WORK GROUP.
   1.  The department of education shall convene a public-private work group of representatives of state and local agencies, citizens, community groups, and organizations who have experience and expertise in the areas of antibullying education, research, and training. The work group, after reviewing existing research, data, and strategies, shall provide recommendations to the department regarding best practices, training, resources, additional research needs, data collection, changes to state law and administrative rules, and any other matters to enhance statewide school climate improvement and bullying prevention, awareness, and intervention.
   2.  The membership of the work group shall include but not be limited to the following, to be appointed by the director:
   a.  At least three Iowans who are experts in research-based antibullying curricula or programs.
   b.  A public or nonpublic high school student.
   c.  A parent of a student enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school on a full-time basis.
   d.  A parent of a student enrolled in a nonpublic elementary or secondary school on a full-time basis.
   e.  A member from nominees submitted by the school administrators of Iowa.
   f.  A member from nominees submitted by the Iowa association of school boards.
   g.  A member from nominees submitted by the Iowa state education association.
   h.  Representatives from any organizations representing other relevant public or nonpublic school professionals.
   i.  A representative from a statewide organization that provides research-based training on bullying for school professionals.
   j.  A representative from at least one statewide organization with at least five years’ experience in advocating on bullying prevention based on research-based best practices.
   k.  A representative for children placed in foster care.
   l.  A representative of school counselors.
   m.  A member from nominees submitted by the Iowa parent teacher association.
   3.  When making appointments to the work group, the director shall ensure that public, nonpublic, urban, and rural schools are adequately represented by the membership of the work group.
   4.  The work group shall also include two ex officio members of each house of the general assembly. One member each shall be selected by the majority leader of the senate and by the minority leader of the senate, and one member each shall be selected by the speaker of the house of representatives and by the minority leader of the house of representatives. Members of the general assembly shall serve for terms as provided in section 69.16B and shall be entitled to receive per diem and necessary travel and actual expenses pursuant to section 2.10, subsection 5, while carrying out their official duties as members of the work group.
   5.  The department shall convene the work group by October 1, 2015. The work group shall submit its findings and recommendations in a final report to the department and the chairpersons and ranking members of the senate and house education committees by December 15, 2016.>

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HALL of Woodbury

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ABDUL-SAMAD of Polk

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BENNETT of Linn

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BROWN-POWERS of Black Hawk

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COHOON of Des Moines

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FINKENAUER of Dubuque

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FORBES of Polk

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GAINES of Polk

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GASKILL of Wapello

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HUNTER of Polk

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ISENHART of Dubuque

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KELLEY of Jasper

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LENSING of Johnson

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LYKAM of Scott

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McCONKEY of Pottawattamie

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OLDSON of Polk

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RUFF of Clayton

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SMITH of Marshall

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STUTSMAN of Johnson

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T. TAYLOR of Linn

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 THEDE of Scott

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 WESSEL-KROESCHELL of Story

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 WINCKLER of Scott