Revision: March 12, 2010, midnight
HB 1523 – AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
11Mar2010… 0764h
2010 SESSION
04/05
HOUSE BILL 1523
AN ACT revising the pupil safety and violence prevention act.
SPONSORS: Rep. Schlachman, Rock 13; Rep. Judith Day, Rock 13; Rep. Spaulding, Hills 18; Rep. Stiles, Rock 15; Rep. P. Price, Hills 26; Sen. Hassan, Dist 23; Sen. Kelly, Dist 10
This bill revises the statute on pupil safety and violence prevention to include harassment, intimidation, bullying, and cyberbullying.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
11Mar2010… 0764h
10-2094
04/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT revising the pupil safety and violence prevention act.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Pupil Safety and Violence Prevention; Purpose. RSA 193-F:2 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
193-F:2 Purpose and Intent.
I. All pupils have the right to attend public schools, including chartered public schools, that are safe, secure, and peaceful environments. One of the legislature’s highest priorities must be to protect our children from physical, emotional, and psychological violence by dealing with bullying, harassment, intimidation, and cyberbullying in our public schools.
II. Bullying, harassment, or intimidation in schools has historically included actions shown to be motivated a pupil’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry or ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age, physical, mental, emotional, or learning disability, gender, gender identity and expression, obesity, or other distinguishing personal characteristics, or based on association with any person identified in any of the above categories.
III. It is the intent of the legislature to protect our children from physical, emotional, and psychological violence by dealing with bullying, harassment, intimidation, and cyberbullying of any kind in our public schools, for all of the historical reasons set forth in this section, and to prevent the creation of a hostile educational environment.
IV. The sole purpose of this chapter is to protect all children from bullying, harassment, intimidation, and cyberbullying, and no other legislative purpose is intended, nor should any other intent be construed from the enactment of this chapter.
2 Pupil Safety and Violence Prevention; Definitions. RSA 193-F:3 through RSA 193-F:5 are repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
193-F:3 Definitions. In this chapter:
I.(a) “Bullying, harassment, or intimidation,” means a single incident or pattern of significant severity involving a written, verbal, or physical act, or any electronic communication which is intended to:
(1) Physically harm a pupil or damage the pupil’s property; or
(2) Cause substantial emotional distress to a pupil; or
(3) Substantially interfere with a pupil’s educational opportunities; or
(4) Be severe, persistent, or pervasive so as to create an intimidating or threatening educational environment; or
(5) Substantially disrupt the orderly operation of the school.
(b) “Bullying, harassment, or intimidation” shall also include actions shown to be motivated by an imbalance of power, based on a pupil’s actual or perceived characteristics, behaviors, or beliefs, or motivated by the pupil’s association with another person and based on the other person’s characteristics, behaviors, or beliefs.
II. “Cyberbullying” means conduct defined in paragraph I of this section undertaken through the use of electronic devices.
III. “Electronic devices” include, but are not limited to, telephones, cellular phones, computers, pagers, electronic mail, instant messaging, text messaging, and websites.
IV. “School property” means all real property and all physical plant and equipment used for school purposes, including public or private school buses or vans.
193-F:4 Pupil Safety and Violence Prevention.
I. Bullying, harassment, intimidation, or cyberbullying shall occur when an action defined in RSA 193-F:3:
(a) Occurs on, or is delivered to, school property or a school-sponsored activity or event on or off school property; or
(b) Occurs off of school property or outside of a school-sponsored activity or event, if the conduct substantially disrupts the orderly operations of the school or school-sponsored activity or event.
II. The school board of each school district shall adopt a written policy prohibiting bullying, harassment, intimidation, and cyberbullying. Such policy shall include the definitions set forth in RSA 193-F:3.
III. A school district shall involve, to the greatest extent practicable, pupils, parents, administrators, school staff, school volunteers, community representatives, and local law enforcement agencies in the process of developing the policy. To the extent possible, the school district policy should be integrated with the school’s curriculum, discipline policies, behavior programs, and other violence prevention efforts.
IV. The policy shall contain, at a minimum, the following components:
(a) A statement prohibiting bullying, harassment, intimidation, or cyberbullying of a pupil.
(b) A statement prohibiting retaliation or false accusations against a victim, witness, or anyone else who in good faith provides information about an act of bullying, harassment, intimidation or cyberbullying, and a process for developing, as needed, a plan to protect pupils from retaliation.
(c) A requirement that all pupils are protected regardless of their status under the law.
(d) A statement that there shall be disciplinary consequences or interventions, or both, for a pupil who commits an act of bullying, harassment, intimidation, or cyberbullying, or falsely accuses another of the same as a means of retaliation or reprisal, or as a means of bullying, harassment, intimidation, or cyberbullying.
(e) A statement indicating how the policy shall be made known to school employees, regular school volunteers, pupils, parents, legal guardians, relative caretakers, or employees of a company under contract to a school, school district, or chartered public school. Recommended methods of communication include, but are not limited to, handbooks, websites, newsletters, and workshops.
(f) A procedure for reporting cases of bullying, harassment, intimidation, or cyberbullying that identifies all persons to whom a pupil or another person may report bullying, harassment, intimidation, or cyberbullying.
(g) A procedure outlining the internal reporting requirements within the school or school district.
(h) A procedure for notification, within 48 hours of the report, to the parent or guardian of a victim of bullying, harassment, intimidation, or cyberbullying and the parents or guardians of the perpetrator of the bullying, harassment, intimidation, or cyberbullying. The content of the notification shall comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. 1232g.
(i) A provision that the superintendent or designee may, within the 48 hour period, grant the school principal or designee a waiver from the notification requirement if the superintendent or designee deems such waiver to be in the best interest of the victim or perpetrator. Any such waiver granted shall be in writing. Granting of a waiver shall not negate the school’s responsibility to adhere to the remainder of its approved written policy.
(j) A written procedure for investigation of reports, to be initiated within 5 school days of the reported incident, identifying either the principal or the principal’s designee as the person responsible for the investigation and the manner in which the results of the investigation shall be documented. The superintendent or designee may grant in writing an extension of the time period for the investigation and documentation of reports for up to an additional 7 school days, if necessary. The superintendent or superintendent’s designee shall notify in writing all parties involved of the granting of an extension.
(k) A requirement that the principal or designee develop a response to remediate any substantiated incident of bullying, harassment, intimidation, or cyberbullying, including imposing discipline if appropriate, to reduce the risk of future incidents and, where deemed appropriate, to offer assistance to the victim or perpetrator. When indicated, the principal or designee shall recommend a strategy for protecting all pupils from retaliation of any kind.
(l) A requirement that the principal or designee report all substantiated incidents of bullying, harassment, intimidation, or cyberbullying to the superintendent or designee.
(m) A written procedure for communication with parents or guardians of victims and perpetrators regarding the school’s remedies and assistance, within the boundaries of applicable state and federal law. This communication shall occur within 10 school days of completion of the investigation.
(n) Identification, by job title, of school officials responsible for ensuring that the policy is implemented.
V. The department of education may develop a model policy in accordance with the requirements set forth in this chapter which may be used by schools and school districts as a basis for adopting a local policy.
193-F:5 Training and Assessment.
I. Each school district shall provide only evidence-based educational programs in support of its efforts to reduce and prevent bullying, harassment, intimidation, or cyberbullying including:
(a) Training within 6 months of the effective date of this chapter, and annually thereafter, for school employees, regular school volunteers, parents, legal guardians, relative caretakers, or employees of a company under contract to a school, school district, or chartered public school who have significant contact with pupils in preventing, identifying, responding to, and reporting incidents of bullying, harassment, intimidation, or cyberbullying; and
(b) An educational program for pupils and parents in preventing, identifying, responding to, and reporting incidents of bullying, harassment, intimidation, or cyberbullying.
II. Nothing in this chapter shall require the inclusion of any curriculum, textbook, presentation, or other material designed to prevent bullying, harassment, intimidation, or cyberbullying in any program or activity conducted by an educational institution. The omission of such subject matter from any curriculum, textbook, presentation, or other material in any program or activity conducted by an educational institution shall not constitute a violation of this chapter.
3 New Sections; Pupil Safety and Violence Prevention; Accountability and Reporting; Immunity. Amend RSA 193-F by inserting after section 5 the following new sections:
193-F:6 Accountability and Reporting.
I. Each school district and chartered public school shall annually report substantiated incidents of bullying, harassment, intimidation, or cyberbullying to the department of education. Pursuant to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. 1232g, such reports shall not contain any personally identifiable information pertaining to any pupil. The department shall develop a form to facilitate the reporting by school districts and chartered public schools. The department shall maintain records of such reports.
II. The department of education shall prepare an annual report, which shall include a summary of substantiated incidences of bullying, harassment, intimidation, or cyberbullying. The report shall detail the current levels and nature of bullying, harassment, intimidation, or cyberbullying in the schools including recommendations for appropriate actions to address identified problems with public safety and violence. The report shall be submitted no later than November 1 of each year to the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, and the chairpersons of the house and senate education committees.
193-F:7 Immunity. A school administrative unit employee, school employee, public academy employee, regular school volunteer, pupil, parent, legal guardian, relative caretaker, or employee of a company under contract to a school, school district, school administrative unit, public academy, or chartered public school, shall be immune from civil liability for good faith conduct arising from, or pertaining to, the investigation, findings, reporting, recommended response, or implementation of a recommended response under this chapter.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.