By: Davis	S.B. No. 245

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to bullying, including cyberbullying, in public schools.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 21.451(d), Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(d)  The staff development:
	(1)  may include training in:
	(A)  technology;
	(B)  conflict resolution; and
	(C)  discipline strategies, including classroom
	management, district discipline policies, and the student code of
	conduct adopted under Section 37.001 and Chapter 37; [and]
	(2)  subject to Subsection (e), must include training
	based on scientifically based research, as defined by Section 9101,
	No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Section 7801), that:
	(A)  relates to instruction of students with
	disabilities; and
	(B)  is designed for educators who work primarily
	outside the area of special education; and
	(3)  must include the training required under Section
	37.0832(g)(1) in preventing, identifying, responding to, and
	reporting incidents of bullying.
	SECTION 2.  The heading to Section 25.0342, Education Code,
	is amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 25.0342.  TRANSFER OF STUDENTS WHO ARE VICTIMS OF OR
	HAVE ENGAGED IN BULLYING.
	SECTION 3.  Section 25.0342, Education Code, is amended by
	amending Subsections (a), (c), and (e) and adding Subsections (b-1)
	and (b-2) to read as follows:
	(a)  In this section, "bullying" has the meaning assigned by
	Section 37.0832 [means engaging in written or verbal expression or
	physical conduct that a school district board of trustees or the
	board's designee determines:
	[(1)  will have the effect of physically harming a
	student, damaging a student's property, or placing a student in
	reasonable fear of harm to the student's person or of damage to the
	student's property; or
	[(2)  is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive
	enough that the action or threat creates an intimidating,
	threatening, or abusive educational environment for a student].
	(b-1)  On the request of a parent or other person with
	authority to act on behalf of a student who is a victim of bullying,
	the board of trustees of a school district or the board's designee
	may transfer the student who engaged in bullying to:
	(1)  another classroom at the campus to which the
	victim was assigned at the time the bullying occurred; or
	(2)  a campus in the district other than the campus to
	which the victim was assigned at the time the bullying occurred.
	(b-2)  To the extent practicable, the board of trustees and
	each district educator with knowledge of the request shall keep a
	request received under Subsection (b) or (b-1) confidential.
	(c)  The board of trustees or the board's designee shall
	verify that a student has been a victim of or has engaged in
	bullying, as applicable, before transferring the student under this
	section.
	(e)  A [The] determination by the board of trustees or the
	board's designee under this section is final and may not be
	appealed.
	SECTION 4.  Section 37.001(b), Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(b)  In this section:
	(1)  "Bullying" has the meaning assigned by Section
	37.0832.
	(2)  "Harassment" means threatening to cause harm or
	bodily injury to another student, engaging in sexually intimidating
	conduct, causing physical damage to the property of another
	student, subjecting another student to physical confinement or
	restraint, or maliciously taking any action that substantially
	harms another student's physical or emotional health or safety.
	(3) [(2)]  "Hit list" means a list of people targeted
	to be harmed, using:
	(A)  a firearm, as defined by Section 46.01(3),
	Penal Code;
	(B)  a knife, as defined by Section 46.01(7),
	Penal Code; or
	(C)  any other object to be used with intent to
	cause bodily harm.
	SECTION 5.  Section 37.083(a), Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(a)  Each school district shall adopt and implement a
	discipline management program to be included in the district
	improvement plan under Section 11.252. The program must provide
	for prevention of and education concerning unwanted physical or
	verbal aggression and[,] sexual harassment[, and other forms of
	bullying] in school, on school grounds, and in school vehicles.
	SECTION 6.  Subchapter C, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Section 37.0832 to read as follows:
	Sec. 37.0832. BULLYING, INCLUDING CYBERBULLYING: POLICIES,
	PROCEDURES, AND TRAINING. (a)  In this section:
	(1)  "Bullying":
	(A)  means engaging in written or verbal
	expression or physical conduct, including an action motivated by a
	perceived imbalance of power based on another student's actual or
	perceived personal characteristics, behavior, or beliefs or by
	another student's association with a third person and based on the
	third person's characteristics, behavior, or beliefs, that:
	(i)  has the effect or will have the effect
	of physically harming a student, damaging a student's property, or
	placing a student in reasonable fear of harm to the student's person
	or of damage to the student's property;
	(ii)  is sufficiently severe, persistent,
	or pervasive enough that the action or threat creates an
	intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment for
	a student;
	(iii)  interferes with a student's
	educational opportunities; or
	(iv)  substantially disrupts the orderly
	operation of a school; and
	(B)  includes cyberbullying.
	(2)  "Cyberbullying" means bullying that is done using
	electronic communication, including electronic media.
	(b)  This section applies to bullying that:
	(1)  occurs on or is delivered to school property or to
	the site of a school-sponsored or school-related activity on or off
	school property; or
	(2)  occurs off school property or outside of a
	school-sponsored or school-related activity, if the conduct
	interferes with a student's educational opportunities or
	substantially disrupts the orderly operation of a school or
	school-sponsored or school-related activity.
	(c)  The board of trustees of each school district shall
	adopt a policy concerning bullying that:
	(1)  prohibits bullying of a student;
	(2)  prohibits retaliation against any person,
	including a victim, witness, or another person, who in good faith
	provides information concerning an incident of bullying;
	(3)  provides for the appropriate intervention for a
	student who engages in bullying or falsely accuses another of
	bullying;
	(4)  requires each school principal or the principal's
	designee to develop a campus strategy for protecting each campus
	student from being bullied or related retaliation that includes
	imposing appropriate discipline to reduce the risk of incidents of
	bullying and offering appropriate assistance to a victim of
	bullying or a student engaging in bullying;
	(5)  establishes a procedure for reporting an incident
	of bullying within a district and on each district campus that
	specifies the action a student should take in case of bullying; and
	(6)  addresses any other issue concerning bullying that
	the board of trustees determines to be appropriate.
	(d)  The procedure under Subsection (c)(5):
	(1)  must enable a student to report an incident of
	bullying to any school district employee;
	(2)  must require the posting of a list on each campus
	that identifies each person who has special training or designation
	to receive a report of an incident of bullying;
	(3)  may establish an anonymous reporting system; and
	(4)  may include any other provision concerning
	reporting an incident of bullying that the board of trustees
	determines to be appropriate.
	(e)  Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, not
	later than the second school day after the date a school principal
	acquires knowledge of an incident of bullying, the school district
	superintendent or the superintendent's designee shall, by
	telephone or electronic communication, provide notice of the
	incident to the parent or guardian of the victim of the alleged
	bullying and the parent or guardian of the student who allegedly
	engaged in the bullying. In accordance with a policy adopted by the
	district board of trustees, the superintendent or the
	superintendent's designee may notify other persons, as
	appropriate. If the superintendent or the superintendent's
	designee is not successful in reaching a parent or guardian by
	telephone or electronic communication, the superintendent or the
	superintendent's designee shall contact the parent or guardian in
	writing as soon as practicable. The principal shall inform a victim
	of bullying of the victim's right to request that the victim's
	parent or guardian not be notified of the incident. On a request
	from a victim, the principal shall request the superintendent or
	the superintendent's designee to grant a waiver from the
	notification requirement under this subsection. Granting or denial
	of the waiver is at the sole discretion of the superintendent or the
	superintendent's designee, must be based on the facts of the case,
	and must be documented in writing. Granting a waiver under this
	subsection does not relieve a district employee of any other duty
	imposed by the policy adopted under Subsection (c).
	(f)  Each school district shall provide annual written
	notice of the policy adopted under Subsection (c) and the
	notification requirements under Subsection (e) to each district
	student, the parent or guardian of each district student, and each
	district employee or volunteer. The notice must be posted on the
	district's Internet website and at each district campus in the
	cafeteria, on each major bulletin board, in a prominent place in the
	area of campus administrative offices, and at any other appropriate
	location determined by the school principal. The policy also must
	be included in each student and employee handbook.
	(g)  Each school district shall provide the following
	training concerning bullying:
	(1)  annual training in preventing, identifying,
	responding to, and reporting incidents of bullying for district
	administrators and for other district employees and volunteers who
	have significant contact with students;
	(2)  instruction to district students regarding the
	elements of bullying; and
	(3)  an educational program for district students and
	the parents and guardians of district students in preventing,
	identifying, responding to, and reporting incidents of bullying.
	SECTION 7.  Section 39.306(a), Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(a)  Each board of trustees shall publish an annual report
	describing the educational performance of the district and of each
	campus in the district that includes uniform student performance
	and descriptive information as determined under rules adopted by
	the commissioner. The annual report must also include:
	(1)  campus performance objectives established under
	Section 11.253 and the progress of each campus toward those
	objectives, which shall be available to the public;
	(2)  information indicating the district's
	accreditation status and identifying each district campus awarded a
	distinction designation under Subchapter G or considered an
	unacceptable campus under Subchapter E;
	(3)  the district's current special education
	compliance status with the agency;
	(4)  a statement of the number, rate, and type of
	violent or criminal incidents that occurred on each district
	campus, to the extent permitted under the Family Educational Rights
	and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g);
	(5)  information concerning bullying, including
	cyberbullying, harassment, sexual harassment, and school violence
	prevention and violence intervention policies and procedures that
	the district is using to protect students;
	(6)  the findings that result from evaluations
	conducted under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act
	[of 1994] (20 U.S.C. Section 7101 et seq.); [and]
	(7)  information received under Section 51.403(e) for
	each high school campus in the district, presented in a form
	determined by the commissioner; and
	(8)  a statement of the number, rate, and type of
	incidents of bullying, including cyberbullying, harassment, sexual
	harassment, and discrimination against any student on the basis of
	the actual or perceived race, ethnicity, color, religion, gender,
	sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, national
	origin, or disability of the alleged perpetrator or victim that
	occurred on each district campus, to the extent permitted under the
	Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C.
	Section 1232g).
	SECTION 8.  This Act applies beginning with the 2011-2012
	school year.
	SECTION 9.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
	Act takes effect September 1, 2011.