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 to
policies prohibiting bullying and cyberbullying required, enforcement of policies including
assignment to alternative school, notice, antibullying training programs and materials,
limitation of liability, and noncompliance, so as to add and revise definitions; to revise
provisions of school policies regarding the prevention of bullying; to require the provision
of certain information regarding antibullying programs; to provide for reports; to provide for
related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Code Section 20-2-751.4 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to policies
prohibiting bullying and cyberbullying required, enforcement of policies including
assignment to alternative school, notice, antibullying training programs and materials,
limitation of liability, and noncompliance, is amended as follows:
"20-2-751.4.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1)(A) 'Bullying' means <del>an act that is</del> <ins>any severe, pervasive, or persistent act or conduct
that targets a student, whether electronically, verbally, or physically and may be based
on a student's actual or perceived race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, sex,
sexual orientation, gender identity, spousal affiliation, physical or cognitive disability,
or any other distinguishing characteristic; or on an association with a person, or group
with any person, with one or more of such actual or perceived distinguishing
characteristics and includes:
</ins> (i) Any willful attempt or threat to inflict injury on another person, when
accompanied by an apparent present ability to do so;
(ii) Any intentional display of force such as would give the victim reason to fear or
expect immediate bodily harm; or
(iii) Any intentional written, verbal, or physical act which a reasonable person would
perceive as being intended to threaten, harass, or intimidate, that:
(I) Causes another person substantial physical harm within the meaning of Code
Section 16-5-23.1 or visible bodily harm as such term is defined in Code Section
16-5-23.1;
(II) Has the effect of substantially interfering with a student's education, <ins>physical
or mental health,</ins> or otherwise substantially infringing upon the rights of a student;
(III) Is so severe, persistent, or pervasive that it creates an intimidating or
threatening educational environment; <del>or
</del> <ins>(IV) Substantially interferes with a student's academic performance or attendance;
(V) Substantially interferes with a student's ability to participate in or benefit from
the services, activities, or privileges provided by an agency, educational institution,
or grantee; or
</ins> <del>(IV)(VI)</del> Has the effect of substantially disrupting the orderly operation of the
school.
(B) Except as provided in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph, such term applies to acts
which occur on school property, on school vehicles, at designated school bus stops, or
at school related functions or activities, including, but not limited to, extracurricular
activities, or by use of data or software that is accessed through a computer, computer
system, computer network, or other electronic technology of a local school system.
(C) Such term includes acts of cyberbullying that originate on school property or
involve the use of school equipment, including, but not limited to, acts that occur within
a school sponsored online activity.
(2) 'Cyberbullying' means bullying that involves the use of electronic communication,
including, but not limited to, communication devices and services, including, but not
limited to, cellular telephones, cameras, computers, social media platforms, text
messages, chat platforms, and internet sites.
(3) 'Electronic communication' means, but is not limited to, any transfer of signs, signals,
writings, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in
part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system. Such
term shall include photographs and video and audio recordings.
(4) 'Extracurricular activities' has the same meaning as <del>defined</del> <ins>set forth</ins> in Code Section
20-2-319.6.
<ins>(5) 'Gender identity' means a student's self-perception, or perception of such student by
another, of the student's identity as a male or female based upon the student's appearance,
behavior, or physical characteristics that are in accord with or opposed to the student's
physical anatomy, chromosomal sex, or sex at birth.
</ins> <del>(5)(6)</del> 'Parent' means a person who has legal authority to act on behalf of a minor child
as a natural or adoptive parent or a legal guardian.
<ins>(7) 'Physical or cognitive disability' means a physical or cognitive impairment that
substantially limits one or more of a student's major life activities.
</ins>
<ins>(8) 'Progressive discipline' means disciplinary action other than suspension or expulsion
from school that is designed to correct and address the basic causes of a student's specific
misbehavior while retaining the student in class or in school, or restorative school
practices to repair the harm done to relationships and to other students due to the student's
misbehavior, and may include:
(A) Meeting with the student and the student's parents;
(B) Reflective activities, such as requiring the student to write an essay about his or her
student's misbehavior;
(C) Counseling;
(D) Anger management;
(E) Health counseling or intervention;
(F) Mental health counseling;
(G) Participation in skill-building and resolution activities, such as social-emotional
cognitive skills building, resolution circles, and restorative conferencing;
(H) Community service; and
(I) In-school detention or suspension, which may take place during lunchtime, after
school, or during weekends.
</ins> <del>(6)(9)</del> 'School equipment' means any computer or computer networking equipment,
technology or technology related device or service, or communication system or service
that is operated, owned, leased, and made available to students by a local board of
education, local school system, or public school and that is used for transmitting,
receiving, accessing, viewing, hearing, downloading, recording, or storing electronic
communication.
<ins>(10) 'Sexual orientation' means heterosexuality, homosexuality or bisexuality, whether
actual or perceived.
(7)(11)</ins> 'Transmit' means to send or broadcast an electronic communication.
(b) No later than July 1, 2026:
(1) Each local board of education shall adopt a policy that prohibits <ins>to prevent and
prohibit</ins> bullying, including, without limitation, cyberbullying, by a student and shall
require such prohibition to be included in the student code of conduct for schools in that
school system;
(2) Each local board policy shall require that, upon a finding by the disciplinary hearing
officer, panel, or tribunal of school officials provided for in this subpart that a student in
grades six through 12 has committed the offense of bullying for the third time in a school
year, such student shall be assigned to an alternative school;
(3) Each local board of education shall establish and publish in its local board policy a
method to notify the parent, guardian, or other person who has control or charge of a
student upon a finding by a school administrator that such student has committed an
offense of bullying or is a target or suspected victim of bullying. Such notice shall, as
appropriate under the circumstances, include referrals to resources for counseling and
other appropriate services for students who have been found to have committed an
offense of bullying or are targets or suspected victims of bullying;
(4) Each local board of education shall ensure that students and parents and guardians
of students are notified of the prohibition against bullying, and the penalties for violating
the prohibition, by posting such information at each school and by including such
information in student and parent handbooks; and
(5) Each local board of education shall establish a process to regularly evaluate and
update the use of technology solutions to aid in the prevention of cyberbullying on school
equipment, including, but not limited to, monitoring software intended to provide
electronic notification when the occurrence of cyberbullying is detected on such
equipment.
(c) No later than January 1, 2026, the Department of Education shall develop a model
policy regarding bullying, that may be revised from time to time, and shall post such policy
on its website in order to assist local school systems. Such model policy shall include:
(1) A statement prohibiting bullying;
(2) A requirement that any teacher or other school employee who has reliable
information that would lead a reasonable person to suspect that someone is a target of
bullying shall immediately report it to the school principal;
(3) A requirement that each school have a procedure for the school administration to
promptly investigate in a timely manner and determine whether bullying has occurred <ins>and
to ensure that such investigation is completed promptly after the receipt of any report
made;
</ins> (4) An age-appropriate range of consequences for bullying which shall include, at
minimum and without limitation, disciplinary action or counseling as appropriate under
the circumstances. <ins>The range of consequences shall also include progressive discipline
approaches that can result from an identified incident of bullying that are designed to
appropriately correct the bullying behavior, prevent another occurrence of bullying or
retaliation, protect the target of the bullying, and be flexible so that, in application, the
consequences can be unique to the individual incident and varied in method and severity
based on the nature of the incident, the developmental age of the student who is bullying,
and any history of problem behavior from the student who is bullying. For cyberbullying
incidents, the least restrictive means necessary should be used to address the interference
with the student's ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or
privileges provided by the school;
</ins> (5) A requirement that each school provide referrals, as appropriate under the
circumstances, to age-appropriate interventions and services, including, but not limited
to, counseling services, for students who have been found to have committed an offense
of bullying or are targets or suspected victims of bullying;
(6) A procedure for a teacher or other school employee, student, parent, guardian, or
other person who has control or charge of a student, either anonymously or in such
person's name, at such person's option, to report or otherwise provide information on
bullying activity, <ins>provided that no formal disciplinary measures shall be taken solely on
the basis of an anonymous report;
</ins> (7) A statement prohibiting retaliation following a report of bullying; <del>and
</del> (8) Provisions consistent with the requirements of subsection (b) of this Code section;
<ins>(9) An appeal process for a student accused of bullying or a student who is the target of
bullying who is not satisfied with the outcome of the initial investigation; and
(10) A procedure for the development of a student safety support plan for students who
are targets of bullying that addresses safety measures the school will take to protect
targeted students against further acts of bullying.
</ins> (d) No later than January 1, 2026, the Department of Education shall develop and post on
its website:
(1) A list of entities and their contact information which produce antibullying training
programs and materials <ins>using developmentally and culturally appropriate language and
which are</ins> deemed appropriate by the department for use in local school systems. Such
list shall include at least one entity that provides awareness and training programs relating
to cyberbullying. <ins>Such list shall also include antibullying training programs and
materials in appropriate languages for schools in which a substantial portion of the
student population speaks a language other than English at home;</ins> and
(2) A list of online and in-person providers of counseling and other appropriate services
for students who have been found by school officials to have committed an offense of
bullying or are targets or suspected victims of bullying. Such list shall include in-person
providers available to families in areas throughout the state <ins>and who communicate at
home in languages other than English.
</ins> (e) Any person who reports an incident of bullying in good faith shall be immune from
civil liability for any damages caused by such reporting.
(f) Nothing in this Code section or in the model policy promulgated by the Department of
Education shall be construed to require a local board of education to provide transportation
to a student transferred to another school as a result of a bullying incident.
(g) Any school system which is not in compliance with the requirements of subsection (b)
of this Code section shall be ineligible to receive state funding pursuant to Code Sections
20-2-161 and 20-2-260.
<ins>(h) Each local school system shall document reports and investigations of bullying and
shall maintain such reports for no fewer than four years. Each local school board shall
establish procedures for local school systems to report aggregate incidents of bullying
under any applicable federal or state law, along with school personnel responses to such
incidents, and shall annually report such information to the Department of Education.
(i) Following adoption of a bullying prevention policy as provided in this Code section,
each local school system shall establish an annual bullying prevention program for its
students, provide annual training on bullying prevention to its employees and volunteers
who have significant contact with students, and incorporate information on the bullying
prevention policy into new employee training.
(j) Each local school system shall develop a plan for the manner in which the bullying
prevention policy is to be disseminated, including ensuring that such policy and its
developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate variants are available on the
public website of each such system, identifying a point of contact for bullying related
concerns, and, at least annually, informing parents and students about the policy through
student handbooks and other resources."
</ins> SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.