Full Text of HB2950 100th General Assembly
HB2950eng 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning education.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section | 5 | | 27-23.7 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 | 9 | | environment is necessary for students to learn and achieve and | 10 | | that bullying causes physical, psychological, and emotional | 11 | | harm to students and interferes with students' ability to learn | 12 | | and participate in school activities. The General Assembly | 13 | | further finds that bullying has been linked to other forms of | 14 | | antisocial behavior, such as vandalism, shoplifting, skipping | 15 | | and dropping out of school, fighting, using drugs and alcohol, | 16 | | sexual harassment, and sexual violence. Because of the negative | 17 | | outcomes associated with bullying in schools, the General | 18 | | Assembly finds that school districts, charter schools, and | 19 | | non-public, non-sectarian elementary and secondary schools | 20 | | should educate students, parents, and school district, charter | 21 | | school, or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary | 22 | | school personnel about what behaviors constitute prohibited | 23 | | bullying. |
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| 1 | | Bullying on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, | 2 | | religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, | 3 | | physical or mental disability, military status, sexual | 4 | | orientation, gender-related identity or expression, | 5 | | unfavorable discharge from military service, association with | 6 | | a person or group with one or more of the aforementioned actual | 7 | | or perceived characteristics, or any other distinguishing | 8 | | characteristic is prohibited in all school districts, charter | 9 | | schools, and non-public, non-sectarian elementary and | 10 | | secondary schools.
No student shall be subjected to bullying: | 11 | | (1) during any school-sponsored education program or | 12 | | activity; | 13 | | (2) while in school, on school property, on school | 14 | | buses or other school vehicles, at designated school bus | 15 | | stops waiting for the school bus, or at school-sponsored or | 16 | | school-sanctioned events or activities; | 17 | | (3) through the transmission of information from a | 18 | | school computer, a school computer network, or other | 19 | | similar electronic school equipment; or | 20 | | (4) through the transmission of information from a | 21 | | computer that is accessed at a nonschool-related location, | 22 | | activity, function, or program or from the use of | 23 | | technology or an electronic device that is not owned, | 24 | | leased, or used by a school district or school if the | 25 | | bullying causes a substantial disruption to the | 26 | | educational process or orderly operation of a school. This |
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| 1 | | item (4) applies only in cases in which a school | 2 | | administrator or teacher receives a report that bullying | 3 | | through this means has occurred and does not require a | 4 | | district or school to staff or monitor any | 5 | | nonschool-related activity, function, or program. | 6 | | (a-5) Nothing in this Section is intended to infringe upon | 7 | | any right to exercise free expression or the free exercise of | 8 | | religion or religiously based views protected under the First | 9 | | Amendment to the United States Constitution or under Section 3 | 10 | | of Article I of the Illinois Constitution. | 11 | | (b) In this Section:
| 12 | | "Bullying" includes "cyber-bullying" and means any severe | 13 | | or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including | 14 | | communications made in writing or electronically, directed | 15 | | toward a student or students that has or can be reasonably | 16 | | predicted to have the effect of one or more of the following: | 17 | | (1) placing the student or students in reasonable fear | 18 | | of harm to the student's or students' person or property; | 19 | | (2) causing a substantially detrimental effect on the | 20 | | student's or students' physical or mental health; | 21 | | (3) substantially interfering with the student's or | 22 | | students' academic performance; or | 23 | | (4) substantially interfering with the student's or | 24 | | students' ability to participate in or benefit from the | 25 | | services, activities, or privileges provided by a school. | 26 | | Bullying, as defined in this subsection (b), may take |
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| 1 | | various forms, including without limitation one or more of the | 2 | | following: harassment, threats, intimidation, stalking, | 3 | | physical violence, sexual harassment, sexual violence, theft, | 4 | | public humiliation, destruction of property, or retaliation | 5 | | for asserting or alleging an act of bullying. This list is | 6 | | meant to be illustrative and non-exhaustive. | 7 | | "Cyber-bullying" means bullying through the use of | 8 | | technology or any electronic communication, including without | 9 | | limitation any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, | 10 | | sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted in | 11 | | whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic system, | 12 | | photoelectronic system, or photooptical system, including | 13 | | without limitation electronic mail, Internet communications, | 14 | | instant messages, or facsimile communications. | 15 | | "Cyber-bullying" includes the creation of a webpage or weblog | 16 | | in which the creator assumes the identity of another person or | 17 | | the knowing impersonation of another person as the author of | 18 | | posted content or messages if the creation or impersonation | 19 | | creates any of the effects enumerated in the definition of | 20 | | bullying in this Section. "Cyber-bullying" also includes the | 21 | | distribution by electronic means of a communication to more | 22 | | than one person or the posting of material on an electronic | 23 | | medium that may be accessed by one or more persons if the | 24 | | distribution or posting creates any of the effects enumerated | 25 | | in the definition of bullying in this Section. | 26 | | "Policy on bullying" means a bullying prevention policy |
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| 1 | | that meets the following criteria: | 2 | | (1) Includes the bullying definition provided in this | 3 | | Section. | 4 | | (2) Includes a statement that bullying is contrary to | 5 | | State law and the policy of the school district, charter | 6 | | school, or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or | 7 | | secondary school and is consistent with subsection (a-5) of | 8 | | this Section. | 9 | | (3) Includes procedures for promptly reporting | 10 | | bullying, including, but not limited to, identifying and | 11 | | providing the school e-mail address (if applicable) and | 12 | | school telephone number for the staff person or persons | 13 | | responsible for receiving such reports and a procedure for | 14 | | anonymous reporting; however, this shall not be construed | 15 | | to permit formal disciplinary action solely on the basis of | 16 | | an anonymous report. | 17 | | (4) Consistent with federal and State laws and rules | 18 | | governing student privacy rights, includes procedures for | 19 | | promptly informing parents or guardians of all students | 20 | | involved in the alleged incident of bullying and | 21 | | discussing, as appropriate, the availability of social | 22 | | work services, counseling, school psychological services, | 23 | | other interventions, and restorative measures. | 24 | | (5) Contains procedures for promptly investigating and | 25 | | addressing reports of bullying, including the following: | 26 | | (A) Making all reasonable efforts to complete the |
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| 1 | | investigation within 10 school days after the date the | 2 | | report of the incident of bullying was received and | 3 | | taking into consideration additional relevant | 4 | | information received during the course of the | 5 | | investigation about the reported incident of bullying. | 6 | | (B) Involving appropriate school support personnel | 7 | | and other staff persons with knowledge, experience, | 8 | | and training on bullying prevention, as deemed | 9 | | appropriate, in the investigation process. | 10 | | (C) Notifying the principal or school | 11 | | administrator or his or her designee of the report of | 12 | | the incident of bullying as soon as possible after the | 13 | | report is received. | 14 | | (D) Consistent with federal and State laws and | 15 | | rules governing student privacy rights, providing | 16 | | parents and guardians of the students who are parties | 17 | | to the investigation information about the | 18 | | investigation and an opportunity to meet with the | 19 | | principal or school administrator or his or her | 20 | | designee to discuss the investigation, the findings of | 21 | | the investigation, and the actions taken to address the | 22 | | reported incident of bullying. | 23 | | (6) Includes the interventions that can be taken to | 24 | | address bullying, which may include, but are not limited | 25 | | to, school social work services, restorative measures, | 26 | | social-emotional skill building, counseling, school |
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| 1 | | psychological services, and community-based services. | 2 | | (7) Includes a statement prohibiting reprisal or | 3 | | retaliation against any person who reports an act of | 4 | | bullying and the consequences and appropriate remedial | 5 | | actions for a person who engages in reprisal or | 6 | | retaliation. | 7 | | (8) Includes consequences and appropriate remedial | 8 | | actions for a person found to have falsely accused another | 9 | | of bullying as a means of retaliation or as a means of | 10 | | bullying. | 11 | | (9) Is based on the engagement of a range of school | 12 | | stakeholders, including students and parents or guardians. | 13 | | (10) Is posted on the school district's, charter
| 14 | | school's, or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or
| 15 | | secondary school's existing Internet website , and is
| 16 | | included in the student handbook, and, where applicable,
| 17 | | posted where other policies, rules, and standards of
| 18 | | conduct are currently posted in the school and provided | 19 | | periodically throughout the school year to students and | 20 | | faculty , and is
distributed annually to parents, | 21 | | guardians, students, and
school personnel, including new | 22 | | employees when hired. | 23 | | (11) As part of the process of reviewing and | 24 | | re-evaluating the policy under subsection (d) of this | 25 | | Section, contains a policy evaluation process to assess the | 26 | | outcomes and effectiveness of the policy that includes, but |
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| 1 | | is not limited to, factors such as the frequency of | 2 | | victimization; student, staff, and family observations of | 3 | | safety at a school; identification of areas of a school | 4 | | where bullying occurs; the types of bullying utilized; and | 5 | | bystander intervention or participation. The school | 6 | | district, charter school, or non-public, non-sectarian | 7 | | elementary or secondary school may use relevant data and | 8 | | information it already collects for other purposes in the | 9 | | policy evaluation. The information developed as a result of | 10 | | the policy evaluation must be made available on the | 11 | | Internet website of the school district, charter school, or | 12 | | non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary school. | 13 | | If an Internet website is not available, the information | 14 | | must be provided to school administrators, school board | 15 | | members, school personnel, parents, guardians, and | 16 | | students. | 17 | | (12) Is consistent with the policies of the school | 18 | | board, charter school, or non-public, non-sectarian | 19 | | elementary or secondary school. | 20 | | "Restorative measures" means a continuum of school-based | 21 | | alternatives to exclusionary discipline, such as suspensions | 22 | | and expulsions, that: (i) are adapted to the particular needs | 23 | | of the school and community, (ii) contribute to maintaining | 24 | | school safety, (iii) protect the integrity of a positive and | 25 | | productive learning climate, (iv) teach students the personal | 26 | | and interpersonal skills they will need to be successful in |
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| 1 | | school and society, (v) serve to build and restore | 2 | | relationships among students, families, schools, and | 3 | | communities, and (vi) reduce the likelihood of future | 4 | | disruption by balancing accountability with an understanding | 5 | | of students' behavioral health needs in order to keep students | 6 | | in school. | 7 | | "School personnel" means persons employed by, on contract | 8 | | with, or who volunteer in a school district, charter school, or | 9 | | non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary school, | 10 | | including without limitation school and school district | 11 | | administrators, teachers, school guidance counselors, school | 12 | | social workers, school counselors, school psychologists, | 13 | | school nurses, cafeteria workers, custodians, bus drivers, | 14 | | school resource officers, and security guards. | 15 | | (c) (Blank).
| 16 | | (d) Each school district, charter school, and non-public, | 17 | | non-sectarian elementary or secondary school shall create, | 18 | | maintain, and implement a policy on bullying, which policy must | 19 | | be filed with the State Board of Education. The policy or | 20 | | implementing procedure shall include a process to investigate | 21 | | whether a reported act of bullying is within the permissible | 22 | | scope of the district's or school's jurisdiction and shall | 23 | | require that the district or school provide the victim with | 24 | | information regarding services that are available within the | 25 | | district and community, such as counseling, support services, | 26 | | and other programs. School personnel available for help with a |
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| 1 | | bully or to make a report about bullying shall be made known to | 2 | | parents or legal guardians, students, and school personnel. | 3 | | Every 2 years, each school district, charter school, and | 4 | | non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary school shall | 5 | | conduct a review and re-evaluation of its policy and make any | 6 | | necessary and appropriate revisions. The policy must be filed | 7 | | with the State Board of Education after being updated. The | 8 | | State Board of Education shall monitor and provide technical | 9 | | support for the implementation of policies created under this | 10 | | subsection (d). | 11 | | (e) This Section shall not be interpreted to prevent a | 12 | | victim from seeking redress under any other available civil or | 13 | | criminal law.
| 14 | | (Source: P.A. 98-669, eff. 6-26-14; 98-801, eff. 1-1-15; 99-78, | 15 | | eff. 7-20-15.)
| 16 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 17 | | becoming law.
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