HR 1648 IHCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

112th CONGRESSCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

1st SessionCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

H. R. 1648CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to address and take action to prevent bullying and harassment of students.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

April 15, 2011CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California (for herself, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. BACA, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. CARNAHAN, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. CROWLEY, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. FILNER, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. HANABUSA, Mr. HANNA, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. NORTON, Mr. HOLT, Mr. HONDA, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. KUCINICH, Ms. LEE of California, Mrs. MALONEY, Ms. MATSUI, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. MOORE, Mr. MORAN, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. NEAL, Mr. OLVER, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. PINGREE of Maine, Mr. PLATTS, Mr. POLIS, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Ms. RICHARDSON, Mr. ROTHMAN of New Jersey, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. SABLAN, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. STARK, Ms. SUTTON, Mr. TONKO, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. YARMUTH, and Mr. YOUNG of Alaska) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the WorkforceCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

A BILLCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to address and take action to prevent bullying and harassment of students.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2011’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) Bullying fosters a climate of fear and disrespect that can seriously impair the physical and psychological health of its victims and create conditions that negatively affect learning, thereby undermining the ability of students to achieve their full potential.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) Bullying and harassment contribute to high dropout rates, increased absenteeism, and academic underachievement.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) Bullying and harassment includes a range of behaviors that negatively impact a student’s ability to learn and participate in educational opportunities and activities that schools offer. Such behaviors can include hitting or punching, teasing or name-calling, intimidation through gestures or social exclusion, and sending insulting or offensive messages through electronic communications such as Internet sites, e-mail, instant messaging, mobile phones and messaging, telephone, or any other means.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) Schools with enumerated anti-bullying and harassment policies have an increased level of reporting and teacher intervention in incidents of bullying and harassment, thereby reducing the overall frequency and number of such incidents.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) Students have been particularly singled out for bullying and harassment on the basis of their actual or perceived race, color, national origin, sex, disability status, sexual orientation or gender identity, among other categories.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) Some young people experience a form of bullying called relational aggression or psychological bullying, which harms individuals by damaging, threatening, or manipulating their relationships with their peers, or by injuring their feelings of social acceptance.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(7) Interventions to address bullying and harassment and create a positive and safe school climate, combined with evidence-based discipline policies and practices, such as Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and restorative practices, can minimize suspensions, expulsions, and other exclusionary discipline policies to ensure that students are not ‘pushed-out’ or diverted to the juvenile justice system.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(8) According to a recent poll, 85 percent of Americans strongly support or somewhat support a Federal law to require schools to enforce specific rules to prevent bullying.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(9) Students, parents, educators, and policymakers have come together to call for leadership and action to address the national crisis of bullying and harassment.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 3. SAFE SCHOOLS IMPROVEMENT.

(a) In General- Title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘PART D--SAFE SCHOOLS IMPROVEMENT

‘SEC. 4401. PURPOSE.

‘The purpose of this part is to address the problem of bullying and harassment of students in public elementary schools and secondary schools.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 4402. STATE REQUIREMENTS.

‘(a) State Reporting, Needs Assessment, and Technical Assistance- Each State that receives funds under this Act shall carry out the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) COLLECTION AND REPORT OF INFORMATION-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) IN GENERAL- The State shall collect and report information on the incidence, prevalence, age of onset, perception of health risk, and perception of social disapproval of bullying and harassment by youth in elementary schools and secondary schools and communities in the State.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) SOURCE OF INFORMATION- In collecting information described in subparagraph (A), the State shall include information collected from incident reports by school officials, anonymous student surveys, and anonymous teacher, administrator, specialized instructional support personnel, and other school personnel surveys reported to the State on a school-by-school basis but shall not identify victims of bullying or harassment or persons accused of bullying or harassment.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) REPORT- The chief executive officer of the State, in cooperation with the State educational agency, shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) submit a biennial report on the information described in this paragraph to the Secretary; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) make such information readily available to the public.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) NEEDS ASSESSMENT- The State shall conduct, and publicly report the results of, a needs assessment for bullying and harassment prevention programs, which shall be based on ongoing State evaluation activities, including data on--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) the incidence and prevalence of reported incidents of bullying and harassment; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) the perception of students, parents, and communities regarding their school environment, including with respect to the prevalence and seriousness of incidents of bullying and harassment and the responsiveness of the school to those incidents.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE- The State shall provide technical assistance to local educational agencies and schools in their efforts to prevent and appropriately respond to incidents of bullying and harassment.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(b) Available Funding for States- To implement the requirements described in subsection (a), the State may use--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) administrative funds consolidated under section 9201; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) other funds available to the State under this Act, to the extent consistent with the authorized uses of such funds.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 4403. LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY REQUIREMENTS.

‘(a) Local Educational Agency Discipline Policies, Performance Indicators, and Grievance Procedures- Each local educational agency that receives funds under this Act shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) include within the agency’s comprehensive discipline policies clear prohibitions against bullying and harassment for the protection of all students;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) establish and monitor performance indicators for incidents of bullying and harassment;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) provide annual notice to parents, students, and educational professionals--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) describing the full range of bullying and harassment conduct prohibited by the agency’s discipline policies; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) reporting on the numbers and nature of bullying and harassment incidents for each school served by the local educational agency; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(4) establish and provide annual notice to students, parents, and educational professionals of grievance procedures for students, parents, or educational professionals who seek to register complaints regarding bullying and harassment prohibited by the discipline policies, including--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) the name of the local educational agency official who is designated as responsible for receiving such complaints; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) timelines that the local educational agency will follow in the resolution of such complaints.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(b) Available Funding for Local Educational Agencies- To implement the requirements described in subsection (a), the local educational agency may use--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) administrative funds consolidated under section 9203; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) other funds available to the local educational agency under this Act, to the extent consistent with the authorized uses of such funds.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 4404. EVALUATION.

‘(a) Biennial Evaluation- The Secretary shall conduct an independent biennial evaluation of programs to combat bullying and harassment in elementary schools and secondary schools, including implementation of the requirements described in sections 4402 and 4403, including whether such programs have appreciably reduced the level of bullying and harassment and have conducted effective parent involvement and training programs.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(b) Data Collection- The Commissioner for Education Statistics shall collect data, that are subject to independent review, to determine the incidence and prevalence of bullying and harassment in elementary schools and secondary schools in the United States. The collected data shall include incident reports by school officials, anonymous student surveys, anonymous parent surveys, and anonymous teacher, administrator, specialized instructional support personnel, and other school personnel surveys.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(c) Biennial Report- Not later than January 1, 2012, and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the President and Congress a report on the findings of the evaluation conducted under subsection (a) together with the data collected under subsection (b) and data submitted by the States under section 4402(a)(1)(C)(i).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 4405. DEFINITIONS.

‘In this part:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) BULLYING- The term ‘bullying’--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) means conduct, including an electronic communication, that adversely affects the ability of 1 or more students to participate in or benefit from the school’s educational programs or activities by placing the student (or students) in reasonable fear of physical harm; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) includes conduct that is based on--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) a student’s actual or perceived--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(I) race;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(II) color;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(III) national origin;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(IV) sex;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(V) disability;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(VI) sexual orientation;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(VII) gender identity; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(VIII) religion;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) any other distinguishing characteristics that may be defined by a State or local educational agency; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iii) association with a person or group with 1 or more of the actual or perceived characteristics listed in clause (i) or (ii).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION- The term ‘electronic communication’ means a communication transmitted by means of an electronic device, such as a telephone, cellular phone, computer, or pager.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) HARASSMENT- The term ‘harassment’--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) means conduct, including an electronic communication, that adversely affects the ability of 1 or more students to participate in or benefit from the school’s educational programs or activities because the conduct, as reasonably perceived by the student (or students), is so severe, persistent, or pervasive; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) includes conduct that is based on--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) a student’s actual or perceived--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(I) race;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(II) color;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(III) national origin;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(IV) sex;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(V) disability;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(VI) sexual orientation;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(VII) gender identity; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(VIII) religion;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) any other distinguishing characteristic that may be defined by a State or local educational agency; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iii) association with a person or group with 1 or more of the actual or perceived characteristics listed in clause (i) or (ii).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 4406. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.

‘(a) Federal and State Nondiscrimination Laws- Nothing in this part shall be construed to invalidate or limit rights, remedies, procedures, or legal standards available to victims of discrimination under any other Federal law or law of a State or political subdivision of a State, including title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), section 504 or 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794, 794a), or the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). The obligations imposed by this part are in addition to those imposed by title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(b) Free Speech and Expression Laws- Nothing in this part shall be construed to alter legal standards regarding, or affect the rights (including remedies and procedures) available to individuals under, other Federal laws that establish protections for freedom of speech or expression.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 4407. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

‘Nothing in this part shall be construed to prohibit a State or local entity from enacting any law with respect to the prevention of bullying or harassment of students that is not inconsistent with this part.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Table of Contents- The table of contents in section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 4304 the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘PART D--Safe Schools Improvement

‘Sec. 4401. Purpose.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘Sec. 4402. State requirements.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘Sec. 4403. Local educational agency requirements.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘Sec. 4404. Evaluation.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘Sec. 4405. Definitions.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘Sec. 4406. Effect on other laws.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘Sec. 4407. Rule of construction.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink