101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB5129

 

Introduced 2/18/2020, by Rep. Aaron M. Ortiz

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/27-23.7

    Amends the School Code in provisions concerning bullying prevention. Provides that bullying on the basis of actual or perceived immigration status is prohibited. Provides that school personnel, including school personnel employed in an educational program that receives funding from an early childhood education block grant, who engage in bullying may be subject to disciplinary action that may include termination of employment.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5129LRB101 18934 CMG 68393 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
527-23.7 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/27-23.7)
7    Sec. 27-23.7. Bullying prevention.
8    (a) The General Assembly finds that a safe and civil school
9environment is necessary for students to learn and achieve and
10that bullying causes physical, psychological, and emotional
11harm to students and interferes with students' ability to learn
12and participate in school activities. The General Assembly
13further finds that bullying has been linked to other forms of
14antisocial behavior, such as vandalism, shoplifting, skipping
15and dropping out of school, fighting, using drugs and alcohol,
16sexual harassment, and sexual violence. Because of the negative
17outcomes associated with bullying in schools, the General
18Assembly finds that school districts, charter schools, and
19non-public, non-sectarian elementary and secondary schools
20should educate students, parents, and school district, charter
21school, or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary
22school personnel about what behaviors constitute prohibited
23bullying.

 

 

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1    Bullying on the basis of actual or perceived race, color,
2religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, immigration status,
3age, marital status, physical or mental disability, military
4status, sexual orientation, gender-related identity or
5expression, unfavorable discharge from military service,
6association with a person or group with one or more of the
7aforementioned actual or perceived characteristics, or any
8other distinguishing characteristic is prohibited in all
9school districts, charter schools, and non-public,
10non-sectarian elementary and secondary schools. No student
11shall be subjected to bullying:
12        (1) during any school-sponsored education program or
13    activity;
14        (2) while in school, on school property, on school
15    buses or other school vehicles, at designated school bus
16    stops waiting for the school bus, or at school-sponsored or
17    school-sanctioned events or activities;
18        (3) through the transmission of information from a
19    school computer, a school computer network, or other
20    similar electronic school equipment; or
21        (4) through the transmission of information from a
22    computer that is accessed at a nonschool-related location,
23    activity, function, or program or from the use of
24    technology or an electronic device that is not owned,
25    leased, or used by a school district or school if the
26    bullying causes a substantial disruption to the

 

 

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1    educational process or orderly operation of a school. This
2    item (4) applies only in cases in which a school
3    administrator or teacher receives a report that bullying
4    through this means has occurred and does not require a
5    district or school to staff or monitor any
6    nonschool-related activity, function, or program.
7    (a-5) Nothing in this Section is intended to infringe upon
8any right to exercise free expression or the free exercise of
9religion or religiously based views protected under the First
10Amendment to the United States Constitution or under Section 3
11of Article I of the Illinois Constitution.
12    (a-10) School personnel, including school personnel
13employed in an educational program that receives funding from
14an Early Childhood Education Block Grant, who engage in
15bullying may be subject to disciplinary action that may include
16termination of employment.
17    (b) In this Section:
18    "Bullying" includes "cyber-bullying" and means any severe
19or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including
20communications made in writing or electronically, directed
21toward a student or students that has or can be reasonably
22predicted to have the effect of one or more of the following:
23        (1) placing the student or students in reasonable fear
24    of harm to the student's or students' person or property;
25        (2) causing a substantially detrimental effect on the
26    student's or students' physical or mental health;

 

 

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1        (3) substantially interfering with the student's or
2    students' academic performance; or
3        (4) substantially interfering with the student's or
4    students' ability to participate in or benefit from the
5    services, activities, or privileges provided by a school.
6    Bullying, as defined in this subsection (b), may take
7various forms, including without limitation one or more of the
8following: harassment, threats, intimidation, stalking,
9physical violence, sexual harassment, sexual violence, theft,
10public humiliation, destruction of property, or retaliation
11for asserting or alleging an act of bullying. This list is
12meant to be illustrative and non-exhaustive.
13    "Cyber-bullying" means bullying through the use of
14technology or any electronic communication, including without
15limitation any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images,
16sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted in
17whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic system,
18photoelectronic system, or photooptical system, including
19without limitation electronic mail, Internet communications,
20instant messages, or facsimile communications.
21"Cyber-bullying" includes the creation of a webpage or weblog
22in which the creator assumes the identity of another person or
23the knowing impersonation of another person as the author of
24posted content or messages if the creation or impersonation
25creates any of the effects enumerated in the definition of
26bullying in this Section. "Cyber-bullying" also includes the

 

 

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1distribution by electronic means of a communication to more
2than one person or the posting of material on an electronic
3medium that may be accessed by one or more persons if the
4distribution or posting creates any of the effects enumerated
5in the definition of bullying in this Section.
6    "Policy on bullying" means a bullying prevention policy
7that meets the following criteria:
8        (1) Includes the bullying definition provided in this
9    Section.
10        (2) Includes a statement that bullying is contrary to
11    State law and the policy of the school district, charter
12    school, or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or
13    secondary school and is consistent with subsection (a-5) of
14    this Section.
15        (3) Includes procedures for promptly reporting
16    bullying, including, but not limited to, identifying and
17    providing the school e-mail address (if applicable) and
18    school telephone number for the staff person or persons
19    responsible for receiving such reports and a procedure for
20    anonymous reporting; however, this shall not be construed
21    to permit formal disciplinary action solely on the basis of
22    an anonymous report.
23        (4) Consistent with federal and State laws and rules
24    governing student privacy rights, includes procedures for
25    promptly informing parents or guardians of all students
26    involved in the alleged incident of bullying and

 

 

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1    discussing, as appropriate, the availability of social
2    work services, counseling, school psychological services,
3    other interventions, and restorative measures.
4        (5) Contains procedures for promptly investigating and
5    addressing reports of bullying, including the following:
6            (A) Making all reasonable efforts to complete the
7        investigation within 10 school days after the date the
8        report of the incident of bullying was received and
9        taking into consideration additional relevant
10        information received during the course of the
11        investigation about the reported incident of bullying.
12            (B) Involving appropriate school support personnel
13        and other staff persons with knowledge, experience,
14        and training on bullying prevention, as deemed
15        appropriate, in the investigation process.
16            (C) Notifying the principal or school
17        administrator or his or her designee of the report of
18        the incident of bullying as soon as possible after the
19        report is received.
20            (D) Consistent with federal and State laws and
21        rules governing student privacy rights, providing
22        parents and guardians of the students who are parties
23        to the investigation information about the
24        investigation and an opportunity to meet with the
25        principal or school administrator or his or her
26        designee to discuss the investigation, the findings of

 

 

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1        the investigation, and the actions taken to address the
2        reported incident of bullying.
3        (6) Includes the interventions that can be taken to
4    address bullying, which may include, but are not limited
5    to, school social work services, restorative measures,
6    social-emotional skill building, counseling, school
7    psychological services, and community-based services.
8        (7) Includes a statement prohibiting reprisal or
9    retaliation against any person who reports an act of
10    bullying and the consequences and appropriate remedial
11    actions for a person who engages in reprisal or
12    retaliation.
13        (8) Includes consequences and appropriate remedial
14    actions for a person found to have falsely accused another
15    of bullying as a means of retaliation or as a means of
16    bullying.
17        (9) Is based on the engagement of a range of school
18    stakeholders, including students and parents or guardians.
19        (10) Is posted on the school district's, charter
20    school's, or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or
21    secondary school's existing Internet website, is included
22    in the student handbook, and, where applicable, posted
23    where other policies, rules, and standards of conduct are
24    currently posted in the school and provided periodically
25    throughout the school year to students and faculty, and is
26    distributed annually to parents, guardians, students, and

 

 

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1    school personnel, including new employees when hired.
2        (11) As part of the process of reviewing and
3    re-evaluating the policy under subsection (d) of this
4    Section, contains a policy evaluation process to assess the
5    outcomes and effectiveness of the policy that includes, but
6    is not limited to, factors such as the frequency of
7    victimization; student, staff, and family observations of
8    safety at a school; identification of areas of a school
9    where bullying occurs; the types of bullying utilized; and
10    bystander intervention or participation. The school
11    district, charter school, or non-public, non-sectarian
12    elementary or secondary school may use relevant data and
13    information it already collects for other purposes in the
14    policy evaluation. The information developed as a result of
15    the policy evaluation must be made available on the
16    Internet website of the school district, charter school, or
17    non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary school.
18    If an Internet website is not available, the information
19    must be provided to school administrators, school board
20    members, school personnel, parents, guardians, and
21    students.
22        (12) Is consistent with the policies of the school
23    board, charter school, or non-public, non-sectarian
24    elementary or secondary school.
25    "Restorative measures" means a continuum of school-based
26alternatives to exclusionary discipline, such as suspensions

 

 

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1and expulsions, that: (i) are adapted to the particular needs
2of the school and community, (ii) contribute to maintaining
3school safety, (iii) protect the integrity of a positive and
4productive learning climate, (iv) teach students the personal
5and interpersonal skills they will need to be successful in
6school and society, (v) serve to build and restore
7relationships among students, families, schools, and
8communities, and (vi) reduce the likelihood of future
9disruption by balancing accountability with an understanding
10of students' behavioral health needs in order to keep students
11in school.
12    "School personnel" means persons employed by, on contract
13with, or who volunteer in a school district, charter school, or
14non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary school,
15including without limitation school and school district
16administrators, teachers, school guidance counselors, school
17social workers, school counselors, school psychologists,
18school nurses, cafeteria workers, custodians, bus drivers,
19school resource officers, and security guards.
20    (c) (Blank).
21    (d) Each school district, charter school, and non-public,
22non-sectarian elementary or secondary school shall create,
23maintain, and implement a policy on bullying, which policy must
24be filed with the State Board of Education. The policy or
25implementing procedure shall include a process to investigate
26whether a reported act of bullying is within the permissible

 

 

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1scope of the district's or school's jurisdiction and shall
2require that the district or school provide the victim with
3information regarding services that are available within the
4district and community, such as counseling, support services,
5and other programs. School personnel available for help with a
6bully or to make a report about bullying shall be made known to
7parents or legal guardians, students, and school personnel.
8Every 2 years, each school district, charter school, and
9non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary school shall
10conduct a review and re-evaluation of its policy and make any
11necessary and appropriate revisions. The policy must be filed
12with the State Board of Education after being updated. The
13State Board of Education shall monitor and provide technical
14support for the implementation of policies created under this
15subsection (d).
16    (e) This Section shall not be interpreted to prevent a
17victim from seeking redress under any other available civil or
18criminal law.
19(Source: P.A. 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 100-137, eff. 8-18-17.)