H.F. 143 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 280.28A Parents of minor students 1 engaging in harassment or bullying —— duty to prevent —— 2 penalties —— harassment or bullying by students prohibited. 3 1. For purposes of this section: 4 a. “Harassment” and “bullying” mean the same as provided in 5 section 280.28, subsection 2. 6 b. “Student” means a student in a public or nonpublic school 7 who is an unemancipated minor child under the age of eighteen 8 years. 9 2. A parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian of a 10 student shall prevent the student from engaging in harassment 11 or bullying at any time. 12 3. a. If a student engages in harassment or bullying, 13 school officers shall attempt to work with the student and the 14 student’s parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian to 15 find the cause for the student’s harassing or bullying behavior 16 and to ensure that the student does not engage in further 17 harassing or bullying behavior. If the parent, guardian, or 18 legal or actual custodian, or student refuses to accept the 19 school’s attempt to ensure that the student does not engage 20 in further harassing or bullying behavior, or if the school’s 21 attempt to ensure that the student does not engage in further 22 harassing or bullying behavior is otherwise unsuccessful, the 23 school officers shall refer the matter to the county attorney 24 for mediation under this subsection or prosecution under 25 subsection 4. 26 b. If the matter is referred for mediation, the county 27 attorney shall cause a notice of the referral to be sent to the 28 parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian and designate 29 a person to serve as mediator in the matter. If mediation 30 services are available in the community, those services may 31 be used as the designated mediation service. If mediation 32 services are not available in the community, mediation shall 33 be provided by the county attorney or the county attorney’s 34 designee. The mediator shall contact the school, the parent, 35 -1- LSB 2007YH (2) 85 je/rj 1/ 7

H.F. 143 guardian, or legal or actual custodian, and any other person 1 the mediator deems appropriate and arrange meeting dates and 2 times for discussion of the student’s harassing or bullying 3 behavior. The mediator shall attempt to ascertain the cause 4 of the student’s harassing or bullying behavior, attempt to 5 cause the parties to arrive at an agreement to prevent any 6 further harassing or bullying behavior, and initiate referrals 7 to any agencies or counseling that the mediator believes to be 8 appropriate under the circumstances. The mediator may refer a 9 student to the juvenile court if mediation breaks down without 10 an agreement being reached. 11 c. If the parties reach an agreement, the agreement shall 12 be reduced to writing and signed by a school officer, parent, 13 guardian, or legal or actual custodian, and the student. The 14 mediator, the school, and the parent, guardian, or legal or 15 actual custodian shall each receive a copy of the agreement, 16 which shall set forth the resolution of the issues and future 17 responsibilities of each party. 18 d. The school shall be responsible for monitoring any 19 agreements arrived at through mediation. If a parent, 20 guardian, or legal or actual custodian refuses to engage in 21 mediation or violates a term of the agreement, the matter 22 shall be rereferred to the county attorney for prosecution 23 under subsection 4. The county attorney’s office or the 24 mediation service shall require the parent, guardian, or legal 25 or actual custodian and the school to pay a fee to help defray 26 the administrative cost of mediation services. The county 27 attorney’s office or the mediation service shall establish 28 a sliding scale of fees to be charged parents, guardians, 29 and legal or actual custodians based upon ability to pay. A 30 parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian shall not be 31 denied the services of a mediator solely because of inability 32 to pay the fee. 33 4. a. A parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian 34 who violates a mediation agreement under subsection 3, who 35 -2- LSB 2007YH (2) 85 je/rj 2/ 7

H.F. 143 refuses to participate in mediation under subsection 3, who is 1 referred for prosecution under subsection 3 and is convicted 2 of a violation of subsection 2, or who violates subsection 2, 3 as a first offense, is guilty of a simple misdemeanor. A first 4 offense is punishable by imprisonment not exceeding ten days 5 or a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars. The court may 6 order the person to perform not more than forty hours of unpaid 7 community service instead of any fine or imprisonment. 8 b. A parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian who 9 violates a mediation agreement under subsection 3, who refuses 10 to participate in mediation under subsection 3, who is referred 11 for prosecution under subsection 3 and is convicted of a 12 violation of subsection 2, or who violates subsection 2, as a 13 second offense, is guilty of a serious misdemeanor. A second 14 offense is punishable by imprisonment not exceeding twenty days 15 or a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or both a fine 16 and imprisonment. The court may order the person to perform 17 unpaid community service instead of any fine or imprisonment. 18 c. A parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian 19 who violates a mediation agreement under subsection 3, who 20 refuses to participate in mediation under subsection 3, who is 21 referred for prosecution under subsection 3 and is convicted 22 of a violation of subsection 2, or who violates subsection 23 2, as a third or subsequent offense, is guilty of a serious 24 misdemeanor. A third or subsequent offense is punishable by 25 imprisonment not exceeding thirty days or a fine not exceeding 26 one thousand dollars, or both a fine and imprisonment. The 27 court may order the person to perform unpaid community service 28 instead of any fine or imprisonment. 29 5. a. In lieu of a criminal proceeding under this section, 30 a county attorney may bring a civil action against a parent, 31 guardian, or legal or actual custodian who violates a mediation 32 agreement under subsection 3, who refuses to participate in 33 mediation under subsection 3, who is referred for prosecution 34 under subsection 3 and is convicted of a violation of 35 -3- LSB 2007YH (2) 85 je/rj 3/ 7

H.F. 143 subsection 2, or who violates subsection 2. If the court finds 1 that a parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian has 2 violated a mediation agreement under subsection 3, has refused 3 to participate in mediation under subsection 3, was referred 4 for prosecution under subsection 3 and was convicted of a 5 violation of subsection 2, or has violated subsection 2, the 6 court shall assess a civil penalty of not less than one hundred 7 but not more than one thousand dollars against the parent, 8 guardian, or legal or actual custodian for each violation. 9 b. Funds received from civil penalties assessed pursuant 10 to this section shall be paid to the school district of 11 residence or school district of enrollment, if open enrolled, 12 or nonpublic school of the student who engaged in the harassing 13 or bullying behavior. The school district or nonpublic school 14 shall use moneys received under this subsection to support 15 programs to prevent harassment and bullying. 16 6. An individual enrolled in a public or nonpublic school 17 shall not engage in harassment or bullying at any time. 18 EXPLANATION 19 This bill provides that a parent, guardian, or legal or 20 actual custodian of a public or nonpublic school student who is 21 an unemancipated minor child under the age of 18 years shall 22 prevent the student from engaging in harassment or bullying at 23 any time. 24 The bill provides that if a student engages in harassment 25 or bullying, school officers shall attempt to work with the 26 student and the student’s parent, guardian, or legal or actual 27 custodian to find the cause for the student’s harassing or 28 bullying behavior and to ensure that the student does not 29 engage in further harassing or bullying behavior. The bill 30 provides that if the parent, guardian, or legal or actual 31 custodian, or student refuses to accept the school’s attempt to 32 ensure that the student does not engage in further harassing or 33 bullying behavior, or if the school’s attempt to ensure that 34 the student does not engage in further harassing or bullying 35 -4- LSB 2007YH (2) 85 je/rj 4/ 7

H.F. 143 behavior is otherwise unsuccessful, the school officers shall 1 refer the matter to the county attorney for mediation or 2 prosecution under the bill. 3 The bill provides that if the matter is referred for 4 mediation, the county attorney shall cause a notice of the 5 referral to be sent to the parent, guardian, or legal or actual 6 custodian and designate a person to serve as mediator in the 7 matter. The bill provides that the mediator shall contact the 8 school, the parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian, 9 and any other person the mediator deems appropriate and 10 arrange meeting dates and times for discussion of the student’s 11 harassing or bullying behavior. The bill provides that the 12 mediator shall attempt to ascertain the cause of the student’s 13 harassing or bullying behavior, attempt to cause the parties 14 to arrive at an agreement to prevent any further harassing or 15 bullying behavior, and initiate referrals to any agencies or 16 counseling that the mediator believes to be appropriate under 17 the circumstances. The bill provides that the mediator may 18 refer a student to the juvenile court if mediation breaks down 19 without an agreement being reached. 20 The bill provides that if the parties reach an agreement, the 21 agreement shall be reduced to writing, shall be signed by all 22 parties, and shall set forth the resolution of the issues and 23 future responsibilities of each party. 24 The bill provides that the student’s school shall be 25 responsible for monitoring any agreements arrived at through 26 mediation. The bill provides that if a parent, guardian, 27 or legal or actual custodian refuses to engage in mediation 28 or violates a term of the agreement, the matter shall be 29 rereferred to the county attorney for prosecution under the 30 bill. 31 The bill establishes criminal penalties for a parent, 32 guardian, or legal or actual custodian who violates a mediation 33 agreement, who refuses to participate in mediation, who is 34 referred for prosecution and is convicted of failing to prevent 35 -5- LSB 2007YH (2) 85 je/rj 5/ 7

H.F. 143 a student from engaging in harassing or bullying behavior, or 1 who fails to prevent a student from engaging in harassing or 2 bullying behavior. A first offense is a simple misdemeanor, 3 punishable by imprisonment not exceeding 10 days or a fine not 4 exceeding $100. A second offense is a serious misdemeanor, 5 punishable by imprisonment not exceeding 20 days or a fine 6 not exceeding $500, or both a fine and imprisonment. A third 7 or subsequent offense is a serious misdemeanor, punishable by 8 imprisonment not exceeding 30 days or a fine not exceeding 9 $1,000, or both a fine and imprisonment. The bill provides 10 that a court may order the offender to perform unpaid community 11 service instead of any fine or imprisonment. 12 The bill provides that in lieu of a criminal proceeding, 13 a county attorney may bring a civil action against a parent, 14 guardian, or legal or actual custodian for violating a 15 mediation agreement, refusing to participate in mediation, 16 being referred for prosecution and convicted of failing to 17 prevent a student from engaging in harassing or bullying 18 behavior, or failing to prevent a student from engaging in 19 harassing or bullying behavior. The bill provides that the 20 court shall assess a civil penalty of not less than $100 but 21 not more than $1,000 against the parent, guardian, or legal 22 or actual custodian for each violation. The bill provides 23 that funds received from civil penalties assessed pursuant to 24 the bill shall be paid to the school district of residence or 25 school district of enrollment, if open enrolled, or nonpublic 26 school of the student who engaged in the harassing or bullying 27 behavior. The bill provides that the school district or 28 nonpublic school shall use such funds to support programs to 29 prevent harassment and bullying. 30 The bill prohibits individuals enrolled in public or 31 nonpublic schools from engaging in harassment or bullying at 32 any time. 33 Code section 280.28, subsection 2, paragraph “b”, defines 34 “harassment” or “bullying” to mean any electronic, written, 35 -6- LSB 2007YH (2) 85 je/rj 6/ 7

H.F. 143 verbal, or physical act or conduct toward a student which is 1 based on any actual or perceived trait or characteristic of 2 the student and which creates an objectively hostile school 3 environment that places the student in reasonable fear of 4 harm to the student’s person or property; has a substantially 5 detrimental effect on the student’s physical or mental health; 6 has the effect of substantially interfering with a student’s 7 academic performance; or has the effect of substantially 8 interfering with the student’s ability to participate in or 9 benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided 10 by a school. 11 -7- LSB 2007YH (2) 85 je/rj 7/ 7