08 LC 38
0486
Senate
Bill 461
By:
Senators Rogers of the 21st and Hill of the 32nd
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Subpart 2 of Part 2 of Article 16 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official
Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to discipline of students in elementary and
secondary education, so as to provide schools with certain guidelines regarding
bullying; to require schools to submit to the Department of Education a policy
regarding bullying; to direct the Department of Education to develop a model
policy regarding bullying; to provide immunity for certain individuals reporting
a bullying incident; to provide for rules and regulations; to provide for
related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Subpart
2 of Part 2 of Article 16 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of
Georgia Annotated, relating to discipline of students in elementary and
secondary education, is amended by revising Code Section 20-2-751.4, relating to
bullying, as follows:
"20-2-751.4.
(a)
As used in this Code section, the term 'bullying' means
any
intentional written, electronic, verbal, or physical act or actions against
another person that a reasonable person under the circumstances should know will
have the effect of:
(1)
Any willful
attempt or threat to inflict injury on another person, when accompanied by an
apparent present ability to do so
Placing a
person in reasonable fear of substantial harm to his or her emotional or
physical well-being or substantial damage to his or her
property;
or
(2)
Any
intentional display of force such as would give the victim reason to fear or
expect immediate bodily harm
Creating a
hostile, threatening, humiliating, or abusive educational environment due to the
pervasiveness or persistence of actions or due to a power differential between
the bully and the target;
(3)
Interfering with a student having a safe school environment that is necessary to
facilitate educational performance, opportunities, or benefits; or
(4)
Perpetuating bullying by inciting, soliciting, or coercing an individual or
group to demean, dehumanize, embarrass, or cause emotional, psychological, or
physical harm to another
person.
(b)
Each local board of education shall adopt
policies,
applicable to students in
grades
six
kindergarten
through
grade
12,
that prohibit bullying of a
student
person
by another
student
person
and shall require such prohibition to be included in the student code of conduct
for middle
and high schools in that school system.
Local board of
education policies regarding bullying adopted pursuant to this subsection shall,
at a minimum, include the following:
(1)
A statement prohibiting bullying of any person on school property or at school
related functions or by use of data or software that is accessed through a
computer, computer system, computer network, or other electronic technology of a
local school system from kindergarten through grade 12;
(2)
A definition of bullying no less inclusive than the definition in subsection (a)
of this Code section;
(3)
A requirement that each school develop a school-wide bullying prevention
program;
(4)
A requirement that each school establish a site based committee that shall be
responsible for coordinating the school´s bullying prevention program,
including the design, approval, and monitoring of such program. A majority of
the members of such site based committee shall be members of the school´s
professional staff, of which a majority shall be instructional staff. The
committee also shall contain representatives of the administrative staff,
support staff, student body for schools enrolling students in grades seven
through 12, parents or guardians, and staff from before-school or after-school
programs, if applicable. These representatives shall be chosen by members of
each respective group, except that representatives of the nonemployee groups
shall be appointed by the school principal;
(5)
A requirement that any school employee that has reliable information that would
lead a reasonable person to suspect that a person is a target of bullying shall
immediately report it to the school principal;
(6)
A requirement that each school have a procedure for the school administration to
promptly investigate in a timely manner and determine whether bullying has
occurred;
(7)
A requirement that, to the extent that funding is available, each school shall
develop a plan for a system of supervision in nonclassroom areas. The plan
shall provide for the review and exchange of information regarding nonclassroom
areas;
(8)
An identification of an appropriate range of consequences for
bullying;
(9)
A procedure for a student and parent or guardian to provide information on
bullying activity. However, this paragraph shall not permit formal disciplinary
action solely based on an anonymous report;
(10)
A requirement that a parent or guardian of any target of bullying or person who
bullies another shall be notified;
(11)
A requirement that all bullying incidents shall be reported to the Department of
Education within five working days;
(12)
A statement prohibiting retaliation following a report of bullying;
(13)
A procedure for communication between school staff members and medical
professionals who are involved in treating students for bullying issues;
and
(14)
A requirement that the school bullying prevention program shall be implemented
throughout the year and integrated with the school´s discipline
policies.
(c)
Local board policies shall require
that,
upon a finding that a student has committed the offense of bullying for the
third time in a school year, such student shall be assigned to an alternative
school. Each local board of education shall ensure that students and parents of
students are notified of the prohibition against
bullying,
and the penalties for violating
the
such
prohibition,
by posting such information at each
middle and
high school and by including such
information in student and parent handbooks.
(d)
Each local school system shall adopt policies consistent with subsections (b)
and (c) of this Code section and submit a copy of such policies to the
Department of Education by January 1, 2009, and such policies shall appear in
the student and staff handbook, and if no handbook is available, or it is not
practical to reprint new handbooks, a copy of such policies shall be distributed
annually to all students, parents or guardians, faculty, and staff.
(e)
The Department of Education shall develop a model policy, that may change from
time to time, that is applicable to students in kindergarten through grade 12
and shall post this policy on its website in order to assist local school
systems.
(f)
A school employee, school volunteer, student, parent, or guardian shall be
individually immune from a cause of action for damages arising from reporting
bullying in good faith to the appropriate person or persons using the procedures
specified in the local school system´s bullying prevention
policy.
(g)
The Department of Education shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to
implement this Code section.
(c)(h)
Any school system which is not in compliance with the requirements of this Code
section shall be ineligible to receive state funding pursuant to Code Sections
20-2-161 and 20-2-260."
SECTION
2.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.