Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 096-0952
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Public Act 096-0952


 

Public Act 0952 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
Public Act 096-0952
 
SB3266 Enrolled LRB096 20034 NHT 35537 b

    AN ACT concerning education.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
27-23.7 and by adding Sections 27-23.9 and 27-23.10 as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/27-23.7)
    Sec. 27-23.7. Bullying prevention education; gang
resistance education and training.
    (a) The General Assembly finds that a safe and civil school
environment is necessary for students to learn and achieve and
that bullying causes physical, psychological, and emotional
harm to students and interferes with students' ability to learn
and participate in school activities. The General Assembly
further finds that bullying has a negative effect on the social
environment of schools, creates a climate of fear among
students, inhibits their ability to learn, and leads to other
antisocial behavior. Bullying behavior has been linked to other
forms of antisocial behavior, such as vandalism, shoplifting,
skipping and dropping out of school, fighting, using drugs and
alcohol, sexual harassment, and sexual violence. Because of the
negative outcomes associated with bullying in schools, the
General Assembly finds that school districts and non-public,
non-sectarian elementary and secondary schools should educate
students, parents, and school district or non-public,
non-sectarian elementary or secondary school personnel about
what behaviors constitute prohibited bullying.
    Bullying on the basis of actual or perceived race, color,
religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status,
physical or mental disability, military status, sexual
orientation, gender-related identity or expression,
unfavorable discharge from military service, association with
a person or group with one or more of the aforementioned actual
or perceived characteristics, or any other distinguishing
characteristic is prohibited in all school districts and
non-public, non-sectarian elementary and secondary schools. No
student shall be subjected to bullying:
        (1) during any school-sponsored education program or
    activity;
        (2) while in school, on school property, on school
    buses or other school vehicles, at designated school bus
    stops waiting for the school bus, or at school-sponsored or
    school-sanctioned events or activities; or
        (3) through the transmission of information from a
    school computer, a school computer network, or other
    similar electronic school equipment.
    The General Assembly further finds that the instance of
youth delinquent gangs continues to rise on a statewide basis.
Given the higher rates of criminal offending among gang
members, as well as the availability of increasingly lethal
weapons, the level of criminal activity by gang members has
taken on new importance for law enforcement agencies, schools,
the community, and prevention efforts.
    (b) In this Section:
    "Bullying" means any severe or pervasive physical or verbal
act or conduct, including communications made in writing or
electronically, directed toward a student or students that has
or can be reasonably predicted to have the effect of one or
more of the following:
        (1) placing the student or students in reasonable fear
    of harm to the student's or students' person or property;
        (2) causing a substantially detrimental effect on the
    student's or students' physical or mental health;
        (3) substantially interfering with the student's or
    students' academic performance; or
        (4) substantially interfering with the student's or
    students' ability to participate in or benefit from the
    services, activities, or privileges provided by a school.
    Bullying, as defined in this subsection (b), may take
various forms, including without limitation one or more of the
following: harassment, threats, intimidation, stalking,
physical violence, sexual harassment, sexual violence, theft,
public humiliation, destruction of property, or retaliation
for asserting or alleging an act of bullying. This list is
meant to be illustrative and non-exhaustive.
    "School personnel" means persons employed by, on contract
with, or who volunteer in a school district or non-public,
non-sectarian elementary or secondary school, including
without limitation school and school district administrators,
teachers, school guidance counselors, school social workers,
school counselors, school psychologists, school nurses,
cafeteria workers, custodians, bus drivers, school resource
officers, and security guards.
    "Bullying prevention" means and includes instruction in
all of the following:
        (1) Intimidation.
        (2) Student victimization.
        (3) Sexual harassment.
        (4) Sexual violence.
        (5) Strategies for student-centered problem solving
    regarding bullying.
    "Gang resistance education and training" means and
includes instruction in, without limitation, each of the
following subject matters when accompanied by a stated
objective of reducing gang activity and educating children in
grades K through 12 about the consequences of gang involvement:
        (1) Conflict resolution.
        (2) Cultural sensitivity.
        (3) Personal goal setting.
        (4) Resisting peer pressure.
    (c) (Blank). Each school district may make suitable
provisions for instruction in bullying prevention and gang
resistance education and training in all grades and include
such instruction in the courses of study regularly taught
therein. A school board may collaborate with a community-based
agency providing specialized curricula in bullying prevention
whose ultimate outcome is to prevent sexual violence. For the
purposes of gang resistance education and training, a school
board must collaborate with State and local law enforcement
agencies. The State Board of Education may assist in the
development of instructional materials and teacher training in
relation to bullying prevention and gang resistance education
and training.
    (d) Each Beginning 180 days after August 23, 2007 (the
effective date of Public Act 95-349), each school district and
non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary school shall
create and maintain a policy on bullying, which policy must be
filed with the State Board of Education. Each school district
and non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary school
must communicate its policy on bullying to its students and
their parent or guardian on an annual basis. The policy must be
updated every 2 years and filed with the State Board of
Education after being updated. The State Board of Education
shall monitor the implementation of policies created under this
subsection (d).
    (e) This Section shall not be interpreted to prevent a
victim from seeking redress under any other available civil or
criminal law. Nothing in this Section is intended to infringe
upon any right to exercise free expression or the free exercise
of religion or religiously based views protected under the
First Amendment to the United States Constitution or under
Section 3 or 4 of Article 1 of the Illinois Constitution.
(Source: P.A. 94-937, eff. 6-26-06; 95-198, eff. 1-1-08;
95-349, eff. 8-23-07; 95-876, eff. 8-21-08.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/27-23.9 new)
    (Section scheduled to be repealed on March 2, 2011)
    Sec. 27-23.9. School Bullying Prevention Task Force.
    (a) In this Section, "Task Force" means the School Bullying
Prevention Task Force.
    (b) The Task Force is created and charged with exploring
the causes and consequences of bullying in schools in this
State, identifying promising practices that reduce incidences
of bullying, highlighting training and technical assistance
opportunities for schools to effectively address bullying,
evaluating the effectiveness of schools' current anti-bullying
policies and other bullying prevention programs, and other
related issues.
    (c) Within 60 days after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, the State
Superintendent of Education shall appoint 15 members to the
Task Force. The membership of the Task Force shall include
representatives of State agencies whose work includes bullying
prevention or intervention; statewide organizations that focus
on violence or bullying prevention or intervention; teachers
and management personnel from at least 3 school districts;
academics who conduct research on bullying, its consequences to
students in grades K through 12, or effective strategies for
preventing or addressing bullying; a current high school or
college student who has experienced bullying; and others at the
State Superintendent's discretion. Members of the Task Force
shall serve without compensation.
    (d) The State Board of Education shall provide technical
assistance for the work of the Task Force.
    (e) No later than March 1, 2011, the Task Force shall
submit a report to the Governor and the General Assembly on any
recommendations for preventing and addressing bullying in
schools in this State and a proposed timeline for meeting the
Task Force's charges identified in this Section.
    (f) This Section is repealed on March 2, 2011.
 
    (105 ILCS 5/27-23.10 new)
    Sec. 27-23.10. Gang resistance education and training.
    (a) The General Assembly finds that the instance of youth
delinquent gangs continues to rise on a statewide basis. Given
the higher rates of criminal offending among gang members, as
well as the availability of increasingly lethal weapons, the
level of criminal activity by gang members has taken on new
importance for law enforcement agencies, schools, the
community, and prevention efforts.
    (b) As used in this Section:
    "Gang resistance education and training" means and
includes instruction in, without limitation, each of the
following subject matters when accompanied by a stated
objective of reducing gang activity and educating children in
grades K through 12 about the consequences of gang involvement:
        (1) conflict resolution;
        (2) cultural sensitivity;
        (3) personal goal setting; and
        (4) resisting peer pressure.
    (c) Each school district and non-public, non-sectarian
elementary or secondary school in this State may make suitable
provisions for instruction in gang resistance education and
training in all grades and include that instruction in the
courses of study regularly taught in those grades. For the
purposes of gang resistance education and training, a school
board or the governing body of a non-public, non-sectarian
elementary or secondary school must collaborate with State and
local law enforcement agencies. The State Board of Education
may assist in the development of instructional materials and
teacher training in relation to gang resistance education and
training.
 
    Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
Section 8.34 as follows:
 
    (30 ILCS 805/8.34 new)
    Sec. 8.34. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8
of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the
implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of
the 96th General Assembly.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 06/28/2010