Full Text of HB3425 103rd General Assembly
HB3425enr 103RD 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 State Finance Act is amended by adding | 5 | | Section 5.990 as follows: | 6 | | (30 ILCS 105/5.990 new) | 7 | | Sec. 5.990. The Illinois Bullying and Cyberbullying | 8 | | Prevention Fund. | 9 | | Section 10. The School Code is amended by changing Section | 10 | | 27-23.7 as follows: | 11 | | (105 ILCS 5/27-23.7) | 12 | | Sec. 27-23.7. Bullying prevention. | 13 | | (a) The General Assembly finds that a safe and civil | 14 | | school environment is necessary for students to learn and | 15 | | achieve and that bullying causes physical, psychological, and | 16 | | emotional harm to students and interferes with students' | 17 | | ability to learn and participate in school activities. The | 18 | | General Assembly further finds that bullying has been linked | 19 | | to other forms of antisocial behavior, such as vandalism, | 20 | | shoplifting, skipping and dropping out of school, fighting, | 21 | | using drugs and alcohol, sexual harassment, and sexual |
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| 1 | | violence. Because of the negative outcomes associated with | 2 | | bullying in schools, the General Assembly finds that school | 3 | | districts, charter schools, and non-public, non-sectarian | 4 | | elementary and secondary schools should educate students, | 5 | | parents, and school district, charter school, 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, physical appearance, | 10 | | socioeconomic status, academic status, pregnancy, parenting | 11 | | status, homelessness, age, marital status, physical or mental | 12 | | disability, military status, sexual orientation, | 13 | | gender-related identity or expression, unfavorable discharge | 14 | | from military service, association with a person or group with | 15 | | one or more of the aforementioned actual or perceived | 16 | | characteristics, or any other distinguishing characteristic is | 17 | | prohibited in all school districts, charter schools, and | 18 | | non-public, non-sectarian elementary and secondary schools.
No | 19 | | student shall be subjected to bullying: | 20 | | (1) during any school-sponsored education program or | 21 | | activity; | 22 | | (2) while in school, on school property, on school | 23 | | buses or other school vehicles, at designated school bus | 24 | | stops waiting for the school bus, or at school-sponsored | 25 | | or school-sanctioned events or activities; | 26 | | (3) through the transmission of information from a |
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| 1 | | school computer, a school computer network, or other | 2 | | similar electronic school equipment; or | 3 | | (4) through the transmission of information from a | 4 | | computer that is accessed at a nonschool-related location, | 5 | | activity, function, or program or from the use of | 6 | | technology or an electronic device that is not owned, | 7 | | leased, or used by a school district or school if the | 8 | | bullying causes a substantial disruption to the | 9 | | educational process or orderly operation of a school. This | 10 | | item (4) applies only in cases in which a school | 11 | | administrator or teacher receives a report that bullying | 12 | | through this means has occurred and does not require a | 13 | | district or school to staff or monitor any | 14 | | nonschool-related activity, function, or program. | 15 | | (a-5) Nothing in this Section is intended to infringe upon | 16 | | any right to exercise free expression or the free exercise of | 17 | | religion or religiously based views protected under the First | 18 | | Amendment to the United States Constitution or under Section 3 | 19 | | of Article I of the Illinois Constitution. | 20 | | (b) In this Section:
| 21 | | "Bullying" includes "cyber-bullying" and means any severe | 22 | | or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including | 23 | | communications made in writing or electronically, directed | 24 | | toward a student or students that has or can be reasonably | 25 | | predicted to have the effect of one or more of the following: | 26 | | (1) placing the student or students in reasonable fear |
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| 1 | | of harm to the student's or students' person or property; | 2 | | (2) causing a substantially detrimental effect on the | 3 | | student's or students' physical or mental health; | 4 | | (3) substantially interfering with the student's or | 5 | | students' academic performance; or | 6 | | (4) substantially interfering with the student's or | 7 | | students' ability to participate in or benefit from the | 8 | | services, activities, or privileges provided by a school. | 9 | | Bullying, as defined in this subsection (b), may take | 10 | | various forms, including without limitation one or more of the | 11 | | following: harassment, threats, intimidation, stalking, | 12 | | physical violence, sexual harassment, sexual violence, theft, | 13 | | public humiliation, destruction of property, or retaliation | 14 | | for asserting or alleging an act of bullying. This list is | 15 | | meant to be illustrative and non-exhaustive. | 16 | | "Cyber-bullying" means bullying through the use of | 17 | | technology or any electronic communication, including without | 18 | | limitation any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, | 19 | | sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted in | 20 | | whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic system, | 21 | | photoelectronic system, or photooptical system, including | 22 | | without limitation electronic mail, Internet communications, | 23 | | instant messages, or facsimile communications. | 24 | | "Cyber-bullying" includes the creation of a webpage or weblog | 25 | | in which the creator assumes the identity of another person or | 26 | | the knowing impersonation of another person as the author of |
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| 1 | | posted content or messages if the creation or impersonation | 2 | | creates any of the effects enumerated in the definition of | 3 | | bullying in this Section. "Cyber-bullying" also includes the | 4 | | distribution by electronic means of a communication to more | 5 | | than one person or the posting of material on an electronic | 6 | | medium that may be accessed by one or more persons if the | 7 | | distribution or posting creates any of the effects enumerated | 8 | | in the definition of bullying in this Section. | 9 | | "Policy on bullying" means a bullying prevention policy | 10 | | that meets the following criteria: | 11 | | (1) Includes the bullying definition provided in this | 12 | | Section. | 13 | | (2) Includes a statement that bullying is contrary to | 14 | | State law and the policy of the school district, charter | 15 | | school, or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or | 16 | | secondary school and is consistent with subsection (a-5) | 17 | | of this Section. | 18 | | (3) Includes procedures for promptly reporting | 19 | | bullying, including, but not limited to, identifying and | 20 | | providing the school e-mail address (if applicable) and | 21 | | school telephone number for the staff person or persons | 22 | | responsible for receiving such reports and a procedure for | 23 | | anonymous reporting; however, this shall not be construed | 24 | | to permit formal disciplinary action solely on the basis | 25 | | of an anonymous report. | 26 | | (4) Consistent with federal and State laws and rules |
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| 1 | | governing student privacy rights, includes procedures for | 2 | | promptly informing parents or guardians of all students | 3 | | involved in the alleged incident of bullying within 24 | 4 | | hours after the school's administration is made aware of | 5 | | the students' involvement in the incident and discussing, | 6 | | as appropriate, the availability of social work services, | 7 | | counseling, school psychological services, other | 8 | | interventions, and restorative measures. The school shall | 9 | | make diligent efforts to notify a parent or legal | 10 | | guardian, utilizing all contact information the school has | 11 | | available or that can be reasonably obtained by the school | 12 | | within the 24-hour period. | 13 | | (5) Contains procedures for promptly investigating and | 14 | | addressing reports of bullying, including the following: | 15 | | (A) Making all reasonable efforts to complete the | 16 | | investigation within 10 school days after the date the | 17 | | report of the incident of bullying was received and | 18 | | taking into consideration additional relevant | 19 | | information received during the course of the | 20 | | investigation about the reported incident of bullying. | 21 | | (B) Involving appropriate school support personnel | 22 | | and other staff persons with knowledge, experience, | 23 | | and training on bullying prevention, as deemed | 24 | | appropriate, in the investigation process. | 25 | | (C) Notifying the principal or school | 26 | | administrator or his or her designee of the report of |
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| 1 | | the incident of bullying as soon as possible after the | 2 | | report is received. | 3 | | (D) Consistent with federal and State laws and | 4 | | rules governing student privacy rights, providing | 5 | | parents and guardians of the students who are parties | 6 | | to the investigation information about the | 7 | | investigation and an opportunity to meet with the | 8 | | principal or school administrator or his or her | 9 | | designee to discuss the investigation, the findings of | 10 | | the investigation, and the actions taken to address | 11 | | the reported incident of bullying. | 12 | | (6) Includes the interventions that can be taken to | 13 | | address bullying, which may include, but are not limited | 14 | | to, school social work services, restorative measures, | 15 | | social-emotional skill building, counseling, school | 16 | | psychological services, and community-based services. | 17 | | (7) Includes a statement prohibiting reprisal or | 18 | | retaliation against any person who reports an act of | 19 | | bullying and the consequences and appropriate remedial | 20 | | actions for a person who engages in reprisal or | 21 | | retaliation. | 22 | | (8) Includes consequences and appropriate remedial | 23 | | actions for a person found to have falsely accused another | 24 | | of bullying as a means of retaliation or as a means of | 25 | | bullying. | 26 | | (9) Is based on the engagement of a range of school |
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| 1 | | stakeholders, including students and parents or guardians. | 2 | | (10) Is posted on the school district's, charter
| 3 | | school's, or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or
| 4 | | secondary school's existing , publicly accessible Internet | 5 | | website, is
included in the student handbook, and, where | 6 | | applicable,
posted where other policies, rules, and | 7 | | standards of
conduct are currently posted in the school | 8 | | and provided periodically throughout the school year to | 9 | | students and faculty, and is
distributed annually to | 10 | | parents, guardians, students, and
school personnel, | 11 | | including new employees when hired. | 12 | | (11) As part of the process of reviewing and | 13 | | re-evaluating the policy under subsection (d) of this | 14 | | Section, contains a policy evaluation process to assess | 15 | | the outcomes and effectiveness of the policy that | 16 | | includes, but is not limited to, factors such as the | 17 | | frequency of victimization; student, staff, and family | 18 | | observations of safety at a school; identification of | 19 | | areas of a school where bullying occurs; the types of | 20 | | bullying utilized; and bystander intervention or | 21 | | participation. The school district, charter school, or | 22 | | non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary school | 23 | | may use relevant data and information it already collects | 24 | | for other purposes in the policy evaluation. The | 25 | | information developed as a result of the policy evaluation | 26 | | must be made available on the Internet website of the |
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| 1 | | school district, charter school, or non-public, | 2 | | non-sectarian elementary or secondary school. If an | 3 | | Internet website is not available, the information must be | 4 | | provided to school administrators, school board members, | 5 | | school personnel, parents, guardians, and students. | 6 | | (12) Is consistent with the policies of the school | 7 | | board, charter school, or non-public, non-sectarian | 8 | | elementary or secondary school. | 9 | | (13) Requires all individual instances of bullying, as | 10 | | well as all threats, suggestions, or instances of | 11 | | self-harm determined to be the result of bullying, to be | 12 | | reported to the parents or legal guardians of those | 13 | | involved under the guidelines provided in paragraph (4) of | 14 | | this definition. | 15 | | "Restorative measures" means a continuum of school-based | 16 | | alternatives to exclusionary discipline, such as suspensions | 17 | | and expulsions, that: (i) are adapted to the particular needs | 18 | | of the school and community, (ii) contribute to maintaining | 19 | | school safety, (iii) protect the integrity of a positive and | 20 | | productive learning climate, (iv) teach students the personal | 21 | | and interpersonal skills they will need to be successful in | 22 | | school and society, (v) serve to build and restore | 23 | | relationships among students, families, schools, and | 24 | | communities, (vi) reduce the likelihood of future disruption | 25 | | by balancing accountability with an understanding of students' | 26 | | behavioral health needs in order to keep students in school, |
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| 1 | | and (vii) increase student accountability if the incident of | 2 | | bullying is based on religion, race, ethnicity, or any other | 3 | | category that is identified in the Illinois Human Rights Act. | 4 | | "School personnel" means persons employed by, on contract | 5 | | with, or who volunteer in a school district, charter school, | 6 | | or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary school, | 7 | | including without limitation school and school district | 8 | | administrators, teachers, school social workers, school | 9 | | counselors, school psychologists, school nurses, cafeteria | 10 | | workers, custodians, bus drivers, school resource officers, | 11 | | and security guards. | 12 | | (c) (Blank).
| 13 | | (d) Each school district, charter school, and non-public, | 14 | | non-sectarian elementary or secondary school shall create, | 15 | | maintain, and implement a policy on bullying, which policy | 16 | | must be filed with the State Board of Education. The policy on | 17 | | bullying shall be based on the State Board of Education's | 18 | | template for a model bullying prevention policy under | 19 | | subsection (h) and shall include the criteria set forth in the | 20 | | definition of "policy on bullying". The policy or implementing | 21 | | procedure shall include a process to investigate whether a | 22 | | reported act of bullying is within the permissible scope of | 23 | | the district's or school's jurisdiction and shall require that | 24 | | the district or school provide the victim with information | 25 | | regarding services that are available within the district and | 26 | | community, such as counseling, support services, and other |
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| 1 | | programs. School personnel available for help with a bully or | 2 | | to make a report about bullying shall be made known to parents | 3 | | or legal guardians, students, and school personnel. Every 2 | 4 | | years, each school district, charter school, and non-public, | 5 | | non-sectarian elementary or secondary school shall conduct a | 6 | | review and re-evaluation of its policy and make any necessary | 7 | | and appropriate revisions. No later than September 30 of the | 8 | | subject year, the policy must be filed with the State Board of | 9 | | Education after being updated. The State Board of Education | 10 | | shall monitor and provide technical support for the | 11 | | implementation of policies created under this subsection (d). | 12 | | In monitoring the implementation of the policies, the State | 13 | | Board of Education shall review each filed policy on bullying | 14 | | to ensure all policies meet the requirements set forth in this | 15 | | Section, including ensuring that each policy meets the 12 | 16 | | criterion identified within the definition of "policy on | 17 | | bullying" set forth in this Section. | 18 | | If a school district, charter school, or non-public, | 19 | | non-sectarian elementary or secondary school fails to file a | 20 | | policy on bullying by September 30 of the subject year, the | 21 | | State Board of Education shall provide a written request for | 22 | | filing to the school district, charter school, or non-public, | 23 | | non-sectarian elementary or secondary school. If a school | 24 | | district, charter school, or non-public, non-sectarian | 25 | | elementary or secondary school fails to file a policy on | 26 | | bullying within 14 days of receipt of the aforementioned |
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| 1 | | written request, the State Board of Education shall publish | 2 | | notice of the non-compliance on the State Board of Education's | 3 | | website. | 4 | | Each school district, charter school, and non-public, | 5 | | non-sectarian elementary or secondary school may provide | 6 | | evidence-based professional development and youth programming | 7 | | on bullying prevention that is consistent with the provisions | 8 | | of this Section. | 9 | | (e) This Section shall not be interpreted to prevent a | 10 | | victim from seeking redress under any other available civil or | 11 | | criminal law.
| 12 | | (f) School districts, charter schools, and non-public, | 13 | | non-sectarian elementary and secondary schools shall collect, | 14 | | maintain, and submit to the State Board of Education | 15 | | non-identifiable data regarding verified allegations of | 16 | | bullying within the school district, charter school, or | 17 | | non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary school. | 18 | | School districts, charter schools, and non-public, | 19 | | non-sectarian elementary and secondary schools must submit | 20 | | such data in an annual report due to the State Board of | 21 | | Education no later than August 15 of each year starting with | 22 | | the 2024-2025 school year through the 2030-2031 school year. | 23 | | The State Board of Education shall adopt rules for the | 24 | | submission of data that includes, but is not limited to: (i) a | 25 | | record of each verified allegation of bullying and action | 26 | | taken; and (ii) whether the instance of bullying was based on |
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| 1 | | actual or perceived characteristics identified in subsection | 2 | | (a) and, if so, lists the relevant characteristics. The rules | 3 | | for the submission of data shall be consistent with federal | 4 | | and State laws and rules governing student privacy rights, | 5 | | including, but not limited to, the federal Family Educational | 6 | | Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 and the Illinois School Student | 7 | | Records Act, which shall include, without limitation, a record | 8 | | of each complaint and action taken. The State Board of | 9 | | Education shall adopt rules regarding the notification of | 10 | | school districts, charter schools, and non-public, | 11 | | non-sectarian elementary and secondary schools that fail to | 12 | | comply with the requirements of this subsection. | 13 | | (g) Upon the request of a parent or legal guardian of a | 14 | | child enrolled in a school district, charter school, or | 15 | | non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary school | 16 | | within this State, the State Board of Education must provide | 17 | | non-identifiable data on the number of bullying allegations | 18 | | and incidents in a given year in the school district, charter | 19 | | school, or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary | 20 | | school to the requesting parent or legal guardian. The State | 21 | | Board of Education shall adopt rules regarding (i) the | 22 | | handling of such data, (ii) maintaining the privacy of the | 23 | | students and families involved, and (iii) best practices for | 24 | | sharing numerical data with parents and legal guardians. | 25 | | (h) By January 1, 2024, the State Board of Education shall | 26 | | post on its Internet website a template for a model bullying |
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| 1 | | prevention policy. | 2 | | (i) The Illinois Bullying and Cyberbullying Prevention | 3 | | Fund is created as a special fund in the State treasury. Any | 4 | | moneys appropriated to the Fund may be used, subject to | 5 | | appropriation, by the State Board of Education for the | 6 | | purposes of subsection (j). | 7 | | (j) Subject to appropriation, the State Superintendent of | 8 | | Education may provide a grant to a school district, charter | 9 | | school, or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary | 10 | | school to support its anti-bullying programming. Grants may be | 11 | | awarded from the Illinois Bullying and Cyberbullying | 12 | | Prevention Fund. School districts, charter schools, and | 13 | | non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary schools that | 14 | | are not in compliance with subsection (f) are not eligible to | 15 | | receive a grant from the Illinois Bullying and Cyberbullying | 16 | | Prevention Fund. | 17 | | (Source: P.A. 102-197, eff. 7-30-21; 102-241, eff. 8-3-21; | 18 | | 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 102-894, eff. 5-20-22.)
| 19 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 20 | | becoming law. |
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