House File 490 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 490 BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION (SUCCESSOR TO HSB 39) A BILL FOR An Act relating to state and school antiharassment and 1 antibullying policies, providing for training for school 2 personnel, establishing a bullying and violence prevention 3 student mentoring pilot program, providing for a school 4 climate and bullying work group, and making appropriations. 5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 6 TLSB 1414HV (2) 86 je/nh

H.F. 490 Section 1. Section 256.9, Code 2015, is amended by adding 1 the following new subsection: 2 NEW SUBSECTION . 66. Subject to an appropriation of funds by 3 the general assembly, ensure each school district has access to 4 adequate training on conducting investigations of complaints of 5 incidents of harassment or bullying pursuant to section 280.28 6 by offering such training on an annual basis to at least one 7 employee per district. 8 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 256.34 Bullying and violence 9 prevention student mentoring pilot program. 10 1. Subject to an appropriation of funds by the general 11 assembly, the department shall establish a student mentoring 12 pilot program to explore how student leadership can help 13 prevent bullying and violence in schools. The program shall 14 promote best practices for bullying and violence prevention for 15 middle and high school students. 16 2. The department shall establish the program in at least 17 two middle schools and two high schools in the state. The 18 selected schools shall include both urban and rural schools. 19 3. The department shall establish criteria for the 20 selection of participating schools and evaluation of the 21 program. 22 Sec. 3. Section 280.28, subsection 2, paragraphs a and c, 23 Code 2015, are amended to read as follows: 24 a. “Electronic” means any communication involving the 25 transmission of information by wire, radio, optical cable, 26 electromagnetic, or other similar means. “Electronic” includes 27 but is not limited to communication via electronic mail, 28 internet-based communications including social networking 29 sites , pager service, cell phones, and electronic text 30 messaging , or any other electronic communication site, device, 31 or means . 32 c. “Trait or characteristic of the student” includes but 33 is not limited to age, color, creed, national origin, race, 34 religion, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender 35 -1- LSB 1414HV (2) 86 je/nh 1/ 10

H.F. 490 identity, physical attributes, physical or mental ability or 1 disability, ancestry, political party preference, political 2 belief, socioeconomic status, or familial status , behavior, or 3 any other distinguishing characteristic. This paragraph shall 4 be construed broadly to achieve the purposes of this section . 5 Sec. 4. Section 280.28, subsection 3, Code 2015, is amended 6 by adding the following new paragraph: 7 NEW PARAGRAPH . h. A procedure for the notification as 8 soon as practicable of the parents or guardians of the alleged 9 targeted students and perpetrators in a reported incident 10 of harassment or bullying. The procedure shall include an 11 exception to the notification requirement if a school official 12 or a student whose parent or guardian would otherwise be 13 notified reasonably believes notification would subject the 14 student to rejection, abuse, or neglect. 15 Sec. 5. Section 280.28, Code 2015, is amended by adding the 16 following new subsections: 17 NEW SUBSECTION . 9. Authority off school grounds. 18 a. A school official may investigate and impose school 19 discipline in a founded case of harassment or bullying that 20 occurs outside of school, off of school property, or away from 21 a school function or school-sponsored activity if all of the 22 following apply: 23 (1) A parent, guardian, student, school employee, or 24 volunteer reports an incident of harassment or bullying 25 pursuant to the school’s policy adopted under subsection 3, 26 paragraph “e” . 27 (2) The alleged incident of harassment or bullying has 28 an effect on a student on school grounds that creates an 29 objectively hostile school environment that meets one or more 30 of the conditions set out under subsection 2, paragraph “b” . 31 b. A school official’s investigation and response to an 32 alleged incident of bullying or harassment that occurs outside 33 of school, off of school property, or away from a school 34 function or school-sponsored activity may include referring 35 -2- LSB 1414HV (2) 86 je/nh 2/ 10

H.F. 490 the matter to appropriate community-based agencies including 1 but not limited to social services agencies, law enforcement 2 agencies, and nonprofit organizations. 3 NEW SUBSECTION . 10. Rule of construction. This section 4 shall not be construed to diminish a school administrator’s 5 discretion to impose discipline or take other action in the 6 case of an unfounded incident of harassment or bullying if a 7 student’s behavior otherwise constitutes student misconduct 8 based on other grounds. 9 Sec. 6. Section 282.18, subsection 11, Code 2015, is amended 10 to read as follows: 11 11. A pupil who participates in open enrollment for purposes 12 of attending a grade in grades nine through twelve in a school 13 district other than the district of residence is ineligible to 14 participate in varsity interscholastic athletic contests and 15 athletic competitions during the pupil’s first ninety school 16 days of enrollment in the district except that the pupil may 17 participate immediately in a varsity interscholastic sport if 18 the pupil is entering grade nine for the first time and did 19 not participate in an interscholastic athletic competition for 20 another school or school district during the summer immediately 21 following eighth grade, if the district of residence and the 22 other school district jointly participate in the sport, if the 23 sport in which the pupil wishes to participate is not offered 24 in the district of residence, if the pupil chooses to use 25 open enrollment to attend school in another school district 26 because the district in which the student previously attended 27 school was dissolved and merged with one or more contiguous 28 school districts under section 256.11, subsection 12 , if the 29 pupil participates in open enrollment because the pupil’s 30 district of residence has entered into a whole grade sharing 31 agreement with another district for the pupil’s grade, or if 32 the parent or guardian of the pupil participating in open 33 enrollment is an active member of the armed forces and resides 34 in permanent housing on government property provided by a 35 -3- LSB 1414HV (2) 86 je/nh 3/ 10

H.F. 490 branch of the armed services , or if the district of residence 1 determines that the pupil was subject to a founded incident 2 of harassment or bullying as defined in section 280.28 while 3 attending school in the district of residence in the current or 4 previous school year and both the district of residence and the 5 other school district agree to allow the pupil to participate 6 immediately in a varsity interscholastic sport . A pupil who 7 has paid tuition and attended school, or has attended school 8 pursuant to a mutual agreement between the two districts, 9 in a district other than the pupil’s district of residence 10 for at least one school year is also eligible to participate 11 immediately in interscholastic athletic contests and athletic 12 competitions under this section , but only as a member of a team 13 from the district that pupil had attended. For purposes of 14 this subsection , “school days of enrollment” does not include 15 enrollment in summer school. For purposes of this subsection , 16 “varsity” means the same as defined in section 256.46 . 17 Sec. 7. SCHOOL CLIMATE AND BULLYING WORK GROUP. 18 1. The department of education shall convene a 19 public-private work group of representatives of state and local 20 agencies, citizens, community groups, and organizations who 21 have experience and expertise in the areas of antibullying 22 education, research, and training. The work group, after 23 reviewing existing research, data, and strategies, shall 24 provide recommendations to the department regarding best 25 practices, training, resources, additional research needs, 26 data collection, changes to state law and administrative 27 rules, and any other matters to enhance statewide school 28 climate improvement and bullying prevention, awareness, and 29 intervention. 30 2. The membership of the work group shall include but not be 31 limited to the following, to be appointed by the director: 32 a. At least three Iowans who are experts in research-based 33 antibullying curricula or programs. 34 b. A public high school student and a nonpublic high school 35 -4- LSB 1414HV (2) 86 je/nh 4/ 10

H.F. 490 student. 1 c. A parent of an elementary or secondary school student. 2 d. A member from nominees submitted by the school 3 administrators of Iowa. 4 e. A member from nominees submitted by the Iowa association 5 of school boards. 6 f. A member from nominees submitted by the Iowa state 7 education association. 8 g. Representatives from any organizations representing 9 other relevant school professionals. 10 h. A representative from a statewide organization that 11 provides research-based training on bullying for school 12 professionals. 13 i. A representative from at least one statewide 14 organization with at least five years’ experience in advocating 15 on bullying prevention based on research-based best practices. 16 j. A representative for children placed in foster care. 17 k. A representative of school counselors. 18 l. A member from nominees submitted by the Iowa parent 19 teacher association. 20 3. When making appointments to the work group, the director 21 shall ensure that public, nonpublic, urban, and rural schools 22 are adequately represented by the membership of the work group. 23 4. The work group shall also include two ex officio members 24 of each house of the general assembly. One member each shall 25 be selected by the majority leader of the senate and by the 26 minority leader of the senate, and one member each shall be 27 selected by the speaker of the house of representatives and by 28 the minority leader of the house of representatives. Members 29 of the general assembly shall serve for terms as provided in 30 section 69.16B and shall be entitled to receive per diem and 31 necessary travel and actual expenses pursuant to section 2.10, 32 subsection 5, while carrying out their official duties as 33 members of the work group. 34 5. The department shall convene the work group by October 35 -5- LSB 1414HV (2) 86 je/nh 5/ 10

H.F. 490 1, 2015. The work group shall submit its findings and 1 recommendations in a final report to the department and the 2 chairpersons and ranking members of the senate and house 3 education committees by December 15, 2016. 4 Sec. 8. APPROPRIATIONS. There is appropriated from the 5 general fund of the state to the department of education 6 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2015, and ending June 7 30, 2016, the following amounts, or so much thereof as is 8 necessary, to be used for the purposes designated: 9 1. For the provision of training on conducting 10 investigations of complaints of incidents of harassment or 11 bullying pursuant to section 256.9, subsection 66: 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 150,000 13 The department shall utilize a request for proposals process 14 to implement the training. 15 2. For the establishment of a bullying and violence 16 prevention student mentoring pilot program pursuant to section 17 256.34: 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 50,000 19 The department shall utilize a request for proposals process 20 to implement the pilot program. 21 EXPLANATION 22 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 23 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 24 This bill requires the director of the department of 25 education, subject to an appropriation of funds by the general 26 assembly, to ensure each school district has access to adequate 27 training on conducting investigations of complaints of 28 incidents of harassment or bullying pursuant to Code section 29 280.28, the state law relating to school antiharassment and 30 antibullying policies, by offering such training on an annual 31 basis to at least one employee per district. 32 The bill requires the department of education, subject to an 33 appropriation of funds by the general assembly, to establish 34 a student mentoring pilot program to explore how student 35 -6- LSB 1414HV (2) 86 je/nh 6/ 10

H.F. 490 leadership can help prevent bullying and violence in schools. 1 The program shall promote best practices for bullying and 2 violence prevention for middle and high school students. The 3 department must establish the program in at least two middle 4 schools and two high schools, which shall include both urban 5 and rural schools. The department must establish criteria 6 for selection of participating schools and evaluation of the 7 program. 8 The bill modifies the definition of “electronic” under Code 9 section 280.28 by adding any other electronic communication 10 site, device, or means to the definition and by including 11 social networking sites as part of the term “internet-based 12 communications”. 13 Under Code section 280.28, subsection 2, “harassment” and 14 “bullying” shall be construed to mean any electronic, written, 15 verbal, or physical act or conduct toward a student which is 16 based on any actual or perceived trait or characteristic of 17 the student and which creates an objectively hostile school 18 environment that meets one or more of certain conditions. The 19 bill modifies the definition of “harassment” and “bullying” 20 under Code section 280.28 by adding behavior or any other 21 distinguishing characteristic to the definition. The bill 22 provides that the definition of “harassment” and “bullying” is 23 to be construed broadly to achieve the purposes of the law. 24 The bill requires school antiharassment and antibullying 25 policies to include a procedure for the notification as soon as 26 practicable of the parents or guardians of the alleged targeted 27 students and perpetrators in a reported incident of harassment 28 or bullying. The procedure must include an exception to the 29 notification requirement if a school official or a student 30 whose parent or guardian would otherwise be notified reasonably 31 believes notification would subject the targeted student to 32 rejection, abuse, or neglect. 33 The bill grants school officials the authority to 34 investigate and impose school discipline or take other action 35 -7- LSB 1414HV (2) 86 je/nh 7/ 10

H.F. 490 in cases of alleged incidents of harassment or bullying that 1 occur outside of school, off of school property, or away from 2 school functions or school-sponsored activities if certain 3 conditions are met. Those conditions are that a parent, 4 guardian, student, school employee, or volunteer reports an 5 incident of harassment or bullying pursuant to the school’s 6 antiharassment and antibullying policy; and that the alleged 7 incident of harassment or bullying has an effect on school 8 grounds that creates an objectively hostile school environment 9 that places the student in reasonable fear of harm to the 10 student’s person or property; has a substantially detrimental 11 effect on the student’s physical or mental health; has the 12 effect of substantially interfering with a student’s academic 13 performance; or has the effect of substantially interfering 14 with the student’s ability to participate in or benefit from 15 the services, activities, or privileges provided by a school. 16 The bill provides that a school official’s investigation 17 and response to an alleged incident of bullying or harassment 18 that occurs outside of school, off of school property, or away 19 from a school function or school-sponsored activity may include 20 referring the matter to appropriate community-based agencies, 21 including but not limited to social services agencies, law 22 enforcement agencies, and nonprofit organizations. 23 The bill provides that Code section 280.28 shall not be 24 construed to diminish a school administrator’s discretion 25 to impose discipline or take other action in the case of an 26 unfounded incident of harassment or bullying if a student’s 27 behavior otherwise constitutes student misconduct based on 28 other grounds. 29 Current law provides that a high school student who 30 participates in open enrollment in a school district other 31 than the student’s district of residence is ineligible to 32 participate in varsity interscholastic athletic contests and 33 athletic competitions during the student’s first 90 school 34 days of enrollment in the district. However, a student may 35 -8- LSB 1414HV (2) 86 je/nh 8/ 10

H.F. 490 participate in a varsity interscholastic sport immediately upon 1 open enrollment under various exceptions to that requirement. 2 The bill adds an additional exception if a student’s 3 district of residence determines that the student was subject 4 to a founded incident of harassment or bullying while attending 5 school in the district of residence in the current or previous 6 school year and both the district of residence and the other 7 school district agree to allow the pupil to participate 8 immediately in a varsity interscholastic sport. 9 The bill requires the department of education to convene 10 a public-private work group of representatives of state and 11 local agencies, citizens, community groups, and organizations 12 who have experience and expertise in the areas of antibullying 13 education, research, and training. The work group, after 14 reviewing existing research, data, and strategies, shall 15 provide recommendations to the department regarding matters 16 to enhance statewide school climate improvement and bullying 17 prevention, awareness, and intervention. The bill provides for 18 membership of the work group to be appointed by the director of 19 the department. When making appointments to the work group, 20 the director must ensure that public, nonpublic, urban, and 21 rural schools are adequately represented by the membership 22 of the work group. The work group shall also include ex 23 officio legislative members. The department must convene the 24 work group by October 1, 2015. The work group must submit 25 its findings and recommendations in a final report to the 26 department and the chairpersons and ranking members of the 27 senate and house education committees by December 15, 2016. 28 The bill appropriates from the general fund of the state to 29 the department of education for fiscal year 2015-2016, $150,000 30 for the provision of training on conducting investigations of 31 complaints of incidents of harassment or bullying pursuant to 32 the bill. 33 The bill appropriates from the general fund to the 34 department of education for fiscal year 2015-2016, $50,000 for 35 -9- LSB 1414HV (2) 86 je/nh 9/ 10