Senate File 345 - Introduced SENATE FILE 345 BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION (SUCCESSOR TO SSB 1044) 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, and providing for a school 4 climate and bullying work group. 5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 6 TLSB 1414SV (3) 86 je/nh
S.F. 345 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 1414SV (3) 86 je/nh 1/ 9
S.F. 345 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 the 35 -2- LSB 1414SV (3) 86 je/nh 2/ 9
S.F. 345 matter to appropriate community-based agencies. 1 NEW SUBSECTION . 10. Rule of construction. This section 2 shall not be construed to diminish a school administrator’s 3 discretion to impose discipline or take other action in the 4 case of an unfounded incident of harassment or bullying if a 5 student’s behavior otherwise constitutes student misconduct 6 based on other grounds. 7 Sec. 6. Section 282.18, subsection 11, Code 2015, is amended 8 to read as follows: 9 11. A pupil who participates in open enrollment for purposes 10 of attending a grade in grades nine through twelve in a school 11 district other than the district of residence is ineligible to 12 participate in varsity interscholastic athletic contests and 13 athletic competitions during the pupil’s first ninety school 14 days of enrollment in the district except that the pupil may 15 participate immediately in a varsity interscholastic sport if 16 the pupil is entering grade nine for the first time and did 17 not participate in an interscholastic athletic competition for 18 another school or school district during the summer immediately 19 following eighth grade, if the district of residence and the 20 other school district jointly participate in the sport, if the 21 sport in which the pupil wishes to participate is not offered 22 in the district of residence, if the pupil chooses to use 23 open enrollment to attend school in another school district 24 because the district in which the student previously attended 25 school was dissolved and merged with one or more contiguous 26 school districts under section 256.11, subsection 12 , if the 27 pupil participates in open enrollment because the pupil’s 28 district of residence has entered into a whole grade sharing 29 agreement with another district for the pupil’s grade, or if 30 the parent or guardian of the pupil participating in open 31 enrollment is an active member of the armed forces and resides 32 in permanent housing on government property provided by a 33 branch of the armed services , or if the district of residence 34 determines that the pupil was subject to a founded incident 35 -3- LSB 1414SV (3) 86 je/nh 3/ 9
S.F. 345 of harassment or bullying as defined in section 280.28 while 1 attending school in the district of residence in the current or 2 previous school year and both the district of residence and the 3 other school district agree to allow the pupil to participate 4 immediately in a varsity interscholastic sport . A pupil who 5 has paid tuition and attended school, or has attended school 6 pursuant to a mutual agreement between the two districts, 7 in a district other than the pupil’s district of residence 8 for at least one school year is also eligible to participate 9 immediately in interscholastic athletic contests and athletic 10 competitions under this section , but only as a member of a team 11 from the district that pupil had attended. For purposes of 12 this subsection , “school days of enrollment” does not include 13 enrollment in summer school. For purposes of this subsection , 14 “varsity” means the same as defined in section 256.46 . 15 Sec. 7. SCHOOL CLIMATE AND BULLYING WORK GROUP. 16 1. The department of education shall convene a 17 public-private work group of representatives of state and local 18 agencies, citizens, community groups, and organizations who 19 have experience and expertise in the areas of antibullying 20 education, research, and training. The work group, after 21 reviewing existing research, data, and strategies, shall 22 provide recommendations to the department regarding best 23 practices, training, resources, additional research needs, 24 data collection, changes to state law and administrative 25 rules, and any other matters to enhance statewide school 26 climate improvement and bullying prevention, awareness, and 27 intervention. 28 2. The membership of the work group shall include but not be 29 limited to the following, to be appointed by the director: 30 a. At least three Iowans who are experts in research-based 31 antibullying curricula or programs. 32 b. A public or nonpublic high school student. 33 c. A parent of an elementary or secondary school student. 34 d. A member from nominees submitted by the school 35 -4- LSB 1414SV (3) 86 je/nh 4/ 9
S.F. 345 administrators of Iowa. 1 e. A member from nominees submitted by the Iowa association 2 of school boards. 3 f. A member from nominees submitted by the Iowa state 4 education association. 5 g. Representatives from any organizations representing 6 other relevant school professionals. 7 h. A representative from a statewide organization that 8 provides research-based training on bullying for school 9 professionals. 10 i. A representative from at least one statewide 11 organization with at least five years’ experience in advocating 12 on bullying prevention based on research-based best practices. 13 j. A representative for children placed in foster care. 14 k. A representative of school counselors. 15 l. A member from nominees submitted by the Iowa parent 16 teacher association. 17 3. When making appointments to the work group, the director 18 shall ensure that public, nonpublic, urban, and rural schools 19 are adequately represented by the membership of the work group. 20 4. The work group shall also include two ex officio members 21 of each house of the general assembly. One member each shall 22 be selected by the majority leader of the senate and by the 23 minority leader of the senate, and one member each shall be 24 selected by the speaker of the house of representatives and by 25 the minority leader of the house of representatives. Members 26 of the general assembly shall serve for terms as provided in 27 section 69.1B and shall be entitled to receive per diem and 28 necessary travel and actual expenses pursuant to section 2.10, 29 subsection 5, while carrying out their official duties as 30 members of the work group. 31 5. The department shall convene the work group by October 32 1, 2015. The work group shall submit its findings and 33 recommendations in a final report to the department and the 34 chairpersons and ranking members of the senate and house 35 -5- LSB 1414SV (3) 86 je/nh 5/ 9
S.F. 345 education committees by December 15, 2016. 1 EXPLANATION 2 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 3 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 4 This bill requires the director of the department of 5 education, subject to an appropriation of funds by the general 6 assembly, to ensure each school district has access to adequate 7 training on conducting investigations of complaints of 8 incidents of harassment or bullying pursuant to Code section 9 280.28, the state law relating to school antiharassment and 10 antibullying policies, by offering such training on an annual 11 basis to at least one employee per district. 12 The bill requires the department of education, subject to an 13 appropriation of funds by the general assembly, to establish 14 a student mentoring pilot program to explore how student 15 leadership can help prevent bullying and violence in schools. 16 The program shall promote best practices for bullying and 17 violence prevention for middle and high school students. The 18 department must establish the program in at least two middle 19 schools and two high schools, which shall include both urban 20 and rural schools. The department must establish criteria 21 for selection of participating schools and evaluation of the 22 program. 23 The bill modifies the definition of “electronic” under Code 24 section 280.28 by adding any other electronic communication 25 site, device, or means to the definition and by including 26 social networking sites as part of the term “internet-based 27 communications”. 28 Under Code section 280.28, subsection 2, “harassment” and 29 “bullying” shall be construed to mean any electronic, written, 30 verbal, or physical act or conduct toward a student which is 31 based on any actual or perceived trait or characteristic of 32 the student and which creates an objectively hostile school 33 environment that meets one or more of certain conditions. The 34 bill modifies the definition of “harassment” and “bullying” 35 -6- LSB 1414SV (3) 86 je/nh 6/ 9
S.F. 345 under Code section 280.28 by adding behavior or any other 1 distinguishing characteristic to the definition. The bill 2 provides that the definition of “harassment” and “bullying” is 3 to be construed broadly to achieve the purposes of the law. 4 The bill requires school antiharassment and antibullying 5 policies to include a procedure for the notification as soon as 6 practicable of the parents or guardians of the alleged targeted 7 students and perpetrators in a reported incident of harassment 8 or bullying. The procedure must include an exception to the 9 notification requirement if a school official or a student 10 whose parent or guardian would otherwise be notified reasonably 11 believes notification would subject the targeted student to 12 rejection, abuse, or neglect. 13 The bill grants school officials the authority to 14 investigate and impose school discipline or take other action 15 in cases of alleged incidents of harassment or bullying that 16 occur outside of school, off of school property, or away from 17 school functions or school-sponsored activities if certain 18 conditions are met. Those conditions are that a parent, 19 guardian, student, school employee, or volunteer reports an 20 incident of harassment or bullying pursuant to the school’s 21 antiharassment and antibullying policy; and that the alleged 22 incident of harassment or bullying has an effect on school 23 grounds that creates an objectively hostile school environment 24 that places the student in reasonable fear of harm to the 25 student’s person or property; has a substantially detrimental 26 effect on the student’s physical or mental health; has the 27 effect of substantially interfering with a student’s academic 28 performance; or has the effect of substantially interfering 29 with the student’s ability to participate in or benefit from 30 the services, activities, or privileges provided by a school. 31 The bill provides that a school official’s investigation 32 and response to an alleged incident of bullying or harassment 33 that occurs outside of school, off of school property, or away 34 from a school function or school-sponsored activity may include 35 -7- LSB 1414SV (3) 86 je/nh 7/ 9
S.F. 345 referring the matter to appropriate community-based agencies. 1 The bill provides that Code section 280.28 shall not be 2 construed to diminish a school administrator’s discretion 3 to impose discipline or take other action in the case of an 4 unfounded incident of harassment or bullying if a student’s 5 behavior otherwise constitutes student misconduct based on 6 other grounds. 7 Current law provides that a high school student who 8 participates in open enrollment in a school district other 9 than the student’s district of residence is ineligible to 10 participate in varsity interscholastic athletic contests and 11 athletic competitions during the student’s first 90 school 12 days of enrollment in the district. However, a student may 13 participate in a varsity interscholastic sport immediately upon 14 open enrollment under various exceptions to that requirement. 15 The bill adds an additional exception if a student’s 16 district of residence determines that the student was subject 17 to a founded incident of harassment or bullying while attending 18 school in the district of residence in the current or previous 19 school year and both the district of residence and the other 20 school district agree to allow the pupil to participate 21 immediately in a varsity interscholastic sport. 22 The bill requires the department of education to convene 23 a public-private work group of representatives of state and 24 local agencies, citizens, community groups, and organizations 25 who have experience and expertise in the areas of antibullying 26 education, research, and training. The work group, after 27 reviewing existing research, data, and strategies, shall 28 provide recommendations to the department regarding matters 29 to enhance statewide school climate improvement and bullying 30 prevention, awareness, and intervention. The bill provides for 31 membership of the work group to be appointed by the director of 32 the department. When making appointments to the work group, 33 the director must ensure that public, nonpublic, urban, and 34 rural schools are adequately represented by the membership 35 -8- LSB 1414SV (3) 86 je/nh 8/ 9
S.F. 345 of the work group. The work group shall also include ex 1 officio legislative members. The department must convene the 2 work group by October 1, 2015. The work group must submit 3 its findings and recommendations in a final report to the 4 department and the chairpersons and ranking members of the 5 senate and house education committees by December 15, 2016. 6 -9- LSB 1414SV (3) 86 je/nh 9/ 9