05 LC 33 0686
House
Bill 424
By:
Representatives Hugley of the
133rd
and Watson of the
91st
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to elementary and secondary education, so as to enact the "Bianca Walton
Anti-Bullying Act"; to make certain changes relating to local school board
policies regarding bullying in student codes of conduct; to provide that each
local board of education shall establish a definition for "bullying"; to provide
that policies relating to bullying behavior apply to students in kindergarten
through grade 12; to require training on bullying behavior for certain school
system personnel; to provide that local school systems provide information to
the Department of Education on the number and disposition of bullying incidents
reported; to provide for a model bullying policy by the Department of Education;
to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
This
Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'Bianca Walton Anti-Bullying
Act.'
SECTION
2.
Chapter
2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to elementary
and secondary education, is amended by striking Code Section 20-2-751.4,
relating to policies prohibiting bullying, assignment to alternative school, and
notice, in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the
following:
"20-2-751.4.
(a)
As used in
this Code section, the term 'bullying' means:
(1)
Any willful attempt or threat to inflict injury on another person, when
accompanied by an apparent present ability to do so; or
(2)
Any intentional display of force such as would give the victim reason to fear or
expect immediate bodily harm.
Each local
board of education shall establish a definition for bullying.
(b)
Each local board of education shall adopt policies, applicable to students in
grades
six
kindergarten
through
grade
12, that prohibit bullying of a student by another student and shall require
such prohibition to be included in the student code of conduct for
middle and
high
all
schools in that school system.
Such policies
shall be developed in consultation with parent-teacher organizations, local
school councils, and other community based organizations and shall be
established using research based criteria.
Local board policies
shall:
(1)
Require
require
that, upon a finding that a student has committed the offense of bullying
behavior
for the
third time in a school year, such student
shall be
assigned to
an alternative school
disciplined
with appropriate intervention strategies based on age, number of infractions,
severity of infractions, and any other appropriate
factors.;
(2)
Include procedures for handling anonymous reporting of incidents of bullying
behavior, including the protection of the identity of the alleged victim of an
incident of bullying behavior;
(3)
Include procedures for the reporting of an alleged incident of bullying behavior
by a parent of a student; and
(4)
Include disciplinary procedures and consequences to the student for the
student́s
or
parent́s
submission of a false report of an incident of bullying
behavior.
Each
local board of education shall ensure that students and parents of students are
notified of the prohibition against bullying, and the penalties for violating
the prohibition, by posting such information at each
middle and
high school and by including such
information in student and parent handbooks.
(c)
Each local
board of education shall ensure that the local superintendent and all
principals, assistant principals, school counselors, resource officers, and
other appropriate staff complete a research based training program relating to
bullying behavior.
(d)
Each local board of education shall include the number of incidents of bullying
behavior reported in its school system and the disposition of such incidents in
the annual report required to be submitted to the Department of Education
pursuant to Code Section 20-2-740.
(e)
To assist local boards of education, the Department of Education shall develop a
model anti-bullying policy which may be utilized by a local board of
education.
(f)
Any school system which is not in compliance with the requirements of this Code
section shall be ineligible to receive state funding pursuant to Code Sections
20-2-161 and
20-2-260."
SECTION
3.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.