HB736: HB736 Education; policies prohibiting bullying and cyberbullying; add and revise definitions

25 LC 28 5002 House Bill 736 By: Representative Jones of the 60th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Code Section 20-2-751.4 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to1 policies prohibiting bullying and cyberbullying required, enforcement of policies including2 assignment to alternative school, notice, antibullying training programs and materials,3 limitation of liability, and noncompliance, so as to add and re vise definitions; to revise4 provisions of school policies regarding the prevention of bullying; to require the provision5 of certain information regarding antibullying programs; to provide for reports; to provide for6 related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.7 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:8 SECTION 1.9 Code Section 20-2-751.4 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotat ed, relating to policies10 prohibiting bullying and cyberbullying required, enforcement of policies including11 assignment to alternative school, notice, antibullying training programs and materials,12 limitation of liability, and noncompliance, is amended as follows:13 "20-2-751.4.14 (a) As used in this Code section, the term:15 H. B. 736 - 1 - 25 LC 28 5002 (1)(A) 'Bullying' means an act that is any severe, pervasive, or persistent act or conduct16 that targets a student, whether electronically, verbally, or physically and may be based17 on a student's actual or perceived race, religion, color, natio nal origin, ancestry, sex,18 sexual orientation, gender identity, spousal affiliation, physical or cognitive disability,19 or any other distinguishing characteristic; or on an association with a person, or group20 with any person, with one or more of such actual or perceived d istinguishing21 characteristics and includes:22 (i) Any willful attempt or threat to inflict injury on another person, when23 accompanied by an apparent present ability to do so;24 (ii) Any intentional display of force such as would give the victim reason to fear or25 expect immediate bodily harm; or26 (iii) Any intentional written, verbal, or physical act which a reasonable person would27 perceive as being intended to threaten, harass, or intimidate, that:28 (I) Causes another person substantial physical harm within the meaning of Code29 Section 16-5-23.1 or visible bodily harm as such term is define d in Code Section30 16-5-23.1;31 (II) Has the effect of substantially interfering with a student's education, physical32 or mental health, or otherwise substantially infringing upon the rights of a student;33 (III) Is so severe, persistent, or pervasive that it creates a n intimidating or34 threatening educational environment; or35 (IV) Substantially interferes with a student's academic performance or attendance;36 (V) Substantially interferes with a student's ability to participate in or benefit from37 the services, activities, or privileges provided by an agency, educational institution,38 or grantee; or39 (IV)(VI) Has the effect of substantially disrupting the orderly operat ion of the40 school.41 H. B. 736 - 2 - 25 LC 28 5002 (B) Except as provided in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph, such term applies to acts42 which occur on school property, on school vehicles, at designated school bus stops, or43 at school related functions or activities, including, but not l imited to, extracurricular44 activities, or by use of data or software that is accessed through a computer, computer45 system, computer network, or other electronic technology of a local school system.46 (C) Such term includes acts of cyberbullying that originate on school property or47 involve the use of school equipment, including, but not limited to, acts that occur within48 a school sponsored online activity.49 (2) 'Cyberbullying' means bullying that involves the use of electronic communication,50 including, but not limited to, communication devices and servic es, including, but not51 limited to, cellular telephones, cameras, computers, social med ia platforms, text52 messages, chat platforms, and internet sites.53 (3) 'Electronic communication' means, but is not limited to, any transfer of signs, signals,54 writings, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature t ransmitted in whole or in55 part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or pho to-optical system. Such56 term shall include photographs and video and audio recordings.57 (4) 'Extracurricular activities' has the same meaning as defined set forth in Code Section58 20-2-319.6.59 (5) 'Gender identity' means a student's self-perception, or perception of such student by60 another, of the student's identity as a male or female based upon the student's appearance,61 behavior, or physical characteristics that are in accord with o r opposed to the student's62 physical anatomy, chromosomal sex, or sex at birth.63 (5)(6) 'Parent' means a person who has legal authority to act on behalf of a minor child64 as a natural or adoptive parent or a legal guardian.65 (7) 'Physical or cognitive disability' means a physical or cog nitive impairment that66 substantially limits one or more of a student's major life activities.67 H. B. 736 - 3 - 25 LC 28 5002 (8) 'Progressive discipline' means disciplinary action other than suspension or expulsion68 from school that is designed to correct and address the basic causes of a student's specific69 misbehavior while retaining the student in class or in school, or restorative school70 practices to repair the harm done to relationships and to other students due to the student's71 misbehavior, and may include:72 (A) Meeting with the student and the student's parents;73 (B) Reflective activities, such as requiring the student to write an essay about his or her74 student's misbehavior;75 (C) Counseling;76 (D) Anger management;77 (E) Health counseling or intervention;78 (F) Mental health counseling;79 (G) Participation in skill-building and resolution activities, such as social-emotional80 cognitive skills building, resolution circles, and restorative conferencing;81 (H) Community service; and82 (I) In-school detention or suspension, which may take place du ring lunchtime, after83 school, or during weekends.84 (6)(9) 'School equipment' means any computer or computer networking equipment,85 technology or technology related device or service, or communication system or service86 that is operated, owned, leased, and made available to students by a local board of87 education, local school system, o r public school and that is us ed for transmitting,88 receiving, accessing, viewing, hearing, downloading, recording, or storing electronic89 communication.90 (10) 'Sexual orientation' means heterosexuality, homosexuality or bisexuality, whether91 actual or perceived.92 (7)(11) 'Transmit' means to send or broadcast an electronic communication.93 (b) No later than July 1, 2026:94 H. B. 736 - 4 - 25 LC 28 5002 (1) Each local board of education shall adopt a policy that pr ohibits to prevent and95 prohibit bullying, including, without limitation, cyberbullying, by a s tudent and shall96 require such prohibition to be included in the student code of conduct for schools in that97 school system;98 (2) Each local board policy shall require that, upon a finding by the disciplinary hearing99 officer, panel, or tribunal of school officials provided for in this subpart that a student in100 grades six through 12 has committed the offense of bullying for the third time in a school101 year, such student shall be assigned to an alternative school;102 (3) Each local board of education shall establish and publish in its local board policy a103 method to notify the parent, guardian, or other person who has control or charge of a104 student upon a finding by a school a dministrator that such stud ent has committed an105 offense of bullying or is a targ et or suspected victim of bullying. Such notice shall, as106 appropriate under the circumstances, include referrals to resou rces for counseling and107 other appropriate services for students who have been found to have committed an108 offense of bullying or are targets or suspected victims of bullying;109 (4) Each local board of education shall ensure that students a nd parents and guardians110 of students are notified of the prohibition against bullying, and the penalties for violating111 the prohibition, by posting such information at each school and by including such112 information in student and parent handbooks; and113 (5) Each local board of education shall establish a process to regularly evaluate and114 update the use of technology solutions to aid in the prevention of cyberbullying on school115 equipment, including, but not limited to, monitoring software i ntended to provide116 electronic notification when the occurrence of cyberbullying is detected on such117 equipment.118 (c) No later than January 1, 2026, the Department of Education shall develop a model119 policy regarding bullying, that may be revised from time to time, and shall post such policy120 on its website in order to assist local school systems. Such model policy shall include:121 H. B. 736 - 5 - 25 LC 28 5002 (1) A statement prohibiting bullying;122 (2) A requirement that any teacher or other school employee wh o has reliable123 information that would lead a reasonable person to suspect that someone is a target of124 bullying shall immediately report it to the school principal;125 (3) A requirement that each school have a procedure for the sc hool administration to126 promptly investigate in a timely manner and determine whether bullying has occurred and127 to ensure that such investigation is completed promptly after t he receipt of any report128 made;129 (4) An age-appropriate range of consequences for bullying whic h shall include, at130 minimum and without limitation, disciplinary action or counseling as appropriate under131 the circumstances. The range of consequences shall also include progressive discipline132 approaches that can result from an identified incident of bully ing that are designed to133 appropriately correct the bullying behavior, prevent another oc currence of bullying or134 retaliation, protect the target of the bullying, and be flexibl e so that, in application, the135 consequences can be unique to the individual incident and varied in method and severity136 based on the nature of the incident, the developmental age of the student who is bullying,137 and any history of problem behavior from the student who is bullying. For cyberbullying138 incidents, the least restrictive means necessary should be used to address the interference139 with the student's ability to participate in or benefit from th e services, activities, or140 privileges provided by the school;141 (5) A requirement that each school provide referrals, as appro priate under the142 circumstances, to age-appropriate interventions and services, including, but not limited143 to, counseling services, for students who have been found to have committed an offense144 of bullying or are targets or suspected victims of bullying;145 (6) A procedure for a teacher or other school employee, studen t, parent, guardian, or146 other person who has control or charge of a student, either ano nymously or in such147 person's name, at such person's option, to report or otherwise provide information on148 H. B. 736 - 6 - 25 LC 28 5002 bullying activity, provided that no formal disciplinary measures shall be taken solely on149 the basis of an anonymous report;150 (7) A statement prohibiting retaliation following a report of bullying; and151 (8) Provisions consistent with the requirements of subsection (b) of this Code section;152 (9) An appeal process for a student accused of bullying or a student who is the target of153 bullying who is not satisfied with the outcome of the initial investigation; and154 (10) A procedure for the development of a student safety support plan for students who155 are targets of bullying that addresses safety measures the scho ol will take to protect156 targeted students against further acts of bullying.157 (d) No later than January 1, 2026, the Department of Education shall develop and post on158 its website:159 (1) A list of entities and their contact information which produce antibullying training160 programs and materials using developmentally and culturally appropriate language and161 which are deemed appropriate by the department for use in local school systems. Such162 list shall include at least one entity that provides awareness and training programs relating163 to cyberbullying. Such list shall also include antibullying tr aining programs and164 materials in appropriate languages for schools in which a subst antial portion of the165 student population speaks a language other than English at home; and166 (2) A list of online and in-person providers of counseling and other appropriate services167 for students who have been found by school officials to have co mmitted an offense of168 bullying or are targets or suspected victims of bullying. Such list shall include in-person169 providers available to families in areas throughout the state a nd who communicate at170 home in languages other than English.171 (e) Any person who reports an incident of bullying in good fai th shall be immune from172 civil liability for any damages caused by such reporting.173 H. B. 736 - 7 - 25 LC 28 5002 (f) Nothing in this Code section or in the model policy promulgated by the Department of174 Education shall be construed to require a local board of education to provide transportation175 to a student transferred to another school as a result of a bullying incident.176 (g) Any school system which is not in compliance with the requirements of subsection (b)177 of this Code section shall be ineligible to receive state funding pursuant to Code Sections178 20-2-161 and 20-2-260.179 (h) Each local school system shall document reports and invest igations of bullying and180 shall maintain such reports for no fewer than four years. Eac h local school board shall181 establish procedures for local school systems to report aggrega te incidents of bullying182 under any applicable federal or state law, along with school personnel responses to such183 incidents, and shall annually report such information to the Department of Education.184 (i) Following adoption of a bullying prevention policy as provided in this Code section,185 each local school system shall establish an annual bullying pre vention program for its186 students, provide annual training on bullying prevention to its employees and volunteers187 who have significant contact with students, and incorporate inf ormation on the bullying188 prevention policy into new employee training.189 (j) Each local school system shall develop a plan for the mann er in which the bullying190 prevention policy is to be di sseminated, inc luding ensuring tha t such policy and its191 developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate var iants are available on the192 public website of each such system, identifying a point of cont act for bullying related193 concerns, and, at least annually, informing parents and students about the policy through194 student handbooks and other resources."195 SECTION 2.196 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.197 H. 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