Full Text of HB4207 98th General Assembly
HB4207ham003 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Rep. Laura Fine Filed: 4/8/2014
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| 1 | | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4207
| 2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4207, AS AMENDED, by | 3 | | replacing everything after the enacting clause with the | 4 | | following:
| 5 | | "Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section | 6 | | 27-23.7 as follows: | 7 | | (105 ILCS 5/27-23.7) | 8 | | Sec. 27-23.7. Bullying prevention. | 9 | | (a) The General Assembly finds that a safe and civil school | 10 | | environment is necessary for students to learn and achieve and | 11 | | that bullying causes physical, psychological, and emotional | 12 | | harm to students and interferes with students' ability to learn | 13 | | and participate in school activities. The General Assembly | 14 | | further finds that bullying has been linked to other forms of | 15 | | antisocial behavior, such as vandalism, shoplifting, skipping | 16 | | and dropping out of school, fighting, using drugs and alcohol, |
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| 1 | | sexual harassment, and sexual violence. Because of the negative | 2 | | outcomes associated with bullying in schools, the General | 3 | | Assembly finds that school districts and non-public, | 4 | | non-sectarian elementary and secondary schools should educate | 5 | | students, parents, and school district or non-public, | 6 | | non-sectarian elementary or secondary school personnel about | 7 | | what behaviors constitute prohibited bullying. | 8 | | Bullying on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, | 9 | | religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, | 10 | | physical or mental disability, military status, sexual | 11 | | orientation, gender-related identity or expression, | 12 | | unfavorable discharge from military service, association with | 13 | | a person or group with one or more of the aforementioned actual | 14 | | or perceived characteristics, or any other distinguishing | 15 | | characteristic is prohibited in all school districts and | 16 | | non-public, non-sectarian elementary and secondary schools.
No | 17 | | student shall be subjected to bullying: | 18 | | (1) during any school-sponsored education program or | 19 | | activity; | 20 | | (2) while in school, on school property, on school | 21 | | buses or other school vehicles, at designated school bus | 22 | | stops waiting for the school bus, or at school-sponsored or | 23 | | school-sanctioned events or activities; or | 24 | | (3) through the transmission of information from a | 25 | | school computer, a school computer network, or other | 26 | | similar electronic school equipment ; or . |
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| 1 | | (4) through the transmission of information from a | 2 | | computer that is accessed at a nonschool-related location, | 3 | | activity, function, or program or from the use of | 4 | | technology or an electronic device that is not owned, | 5 | | leased, or used by a school district or school if the | 6 | | bullying causes a substantial disruption to the | 7 | | educational process or orderly operation of a school. This | 8 | | item (4) applies only in cases in which a school | 9 | | administrator or teacher receives a report that bullying | 10 | | through this means has occurred and does not require a | 11 | | district or school to staff or monitor any | 12 | | nonschool-related activity, function, or program. | 13 | | (b) In this Section:
| 14 | | "Bullying" includes "cyber-bullying" and means any severe | 15 | | or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including | 16 | | communications made in writing or electronically, directed | 17 | | toward a student or students that has or can be reasonably | 18 | | predicted to have the effect of one or more of the following: | 19 | | (1) placing the student or students in reasonable fear | 20 | | of harm to the student's or students' person or property; | 21 | | (2) causing a substantially detrimental effect on the | 22 | | student's or students' physical or mental health; | 23 | | (3) substantially interfering with the student's or | 24 | | students' academic performance; or | 25 | | (4) substantially interfering with the student's or | 26 | | students' ability to participate in or benefit from the |
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| 1 | | services, activities, or privileges provided by a school. | 2 | | Bullying, as defined in this subsection (b), may take | 3 | | various forms, including without limitation one or more of the | 4 | | following: harassment, threats, intimidation, stalking, | 5 | | physical violence, sexual harassment, sexual violence, theft, | 6 | | public humiliation, destruction of property, or retaliation | 7 | | for asserting or alleging an act of bullying. This list is | 8 | | meant to be illustrative and non-exhaustive. | 9 | | "Cyber-bullying" means bullying through the use of | 10 | | technology or any electronic communication, including without | 11 | | limitation any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, | 12 | | sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted in | 13 | | whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic system, | 14 | | photoelectronic system, or photooptical system, including | 15 | | without limitation electronic mail, Internet communications, | 16 | | instant messages, or facsimile communications. | 17 | | "Cyber-bullying" includes the creation of a webpage or weblog | 18 | | in which the creator assumes the identity of another person or | 19 | | the knowing impersonation of another person as the author of | 20 | | posted content or messages if the creation or impersonation | 21 | | creates any of the effects enumerated in the definition of | 22 | | bullying in this Section. "Cyber-bullying" also includes the | 23 | | distribution by electronic means of a communication to more | 24 | | than one person or the posting of material on an electronic | 25 | | medium that may be accessed by one or more persons if the | 26 | | distribution or posting creates any of the effects enumerated |
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| 1 | | in the definition of bullying in this Section. | 2 | | "School personnel" means persons employed by, on contract | 3 | | with, or who volunteer in a school district or non-public, | 4 | | non-sectarian elementary or secondary school, including | 5 | | without limitation school and school district administrators, | 6 | | teachers, school guidance counselors, school social workers, | 7 | | school counselors, school psychologists, school nurses, | 8 | | cafeteria workers, custodians, bus drivers, school resource | 9 | | officers, and security guards. | 10 | | (c) (Blank).
| 11 | | (d) Each school district and non-public, non-sectarian | 12 | | elementary or secondary school shall create and maintain a | 13 | | policy on bullying, which policy must be filed with the State | 14 | | Board of Education. The policy or implementing procedure shall | 15 | | include a process to investigate whether a reported act of | 16 | | bullying is within the permissible scope of the district's or | 17 | | school's jurisdiction and shall require that the district or | 18 | | school provide the victim with information regarding services | 19 | | that are available within the district and community, such as | 20 | | counseling, support services, and other programs. Each school | 21 | | district and non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary | 22 | | school must communicate its policy on bullying to its students | 23 | | and their parent or guardian on an annual basis. The policy | 24 | | must be updated every 2 years and filed with the State Board of | 25 | | Education after being updated. The State Board of Education | 26 | | shall monitor the implementation of policies created under this |
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| 1 | | subsection (d). | 2 | | (e) This Section shall not be interpreted to prevent a | 3 | | victim from seeking redress under any other available civil or | 4 | | criminal law.
Nothing in this Section is intended to infringe | 5 | | upon any right to exercise free expression or the free exercise | 6 | | of religion or religiously based views protected under the | 7 | | First Amendment to the United States Constitution or under | 8 | | Section 3 or 4 of Article 1 of the Illinois Constitution. | 9 | | (Source: P.A. 95-198, eff. 1-1-08; 95-349, eff. 8-23-07; | 10 | | 95-876, eff. 8-21-08; 96-952, eff. 6-28-10.)
| 11 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January | 12 | | 1, 2015.".
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