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H.F. No. 826 - Safe and Supportive Minnesota Schools Act (Fifth Unofficial Engrossment)
 
Author: Senator D. Scott Dibble
 
Prepared By: Ann Marie Lewis, Senate Counsel (651/296-5301)
 
Date: April 3, 2014



 

Section 1.  School Student Bullying Policy.  Subdivision 1.  Student Bullying Policy; Scope and Application. (a)  States that the section applies to bullying by a student against another student enrolled in a public school.  The bullying may occur on the school premises or by use of electronic technology on school premises, or off school premises to the extent that the use of technology substantially and materially disrupts student learning or the school environment.

 (b)  Encourages nonpublic schools to electronically transmit to the Commissioner its antibullying policy, if any, and any summary data on its bullying incidents.

(c) Excludes home schools and nonpublic schools from the section.

(d) A school-aged person voluntarily participating in a public school activity is subject to the school policy.

Subdivision 2.  Definitions.  (a)  Defines the following terms:

(b) to (d) Defines district, public school, and student.

(e)  “Bullying” means intimidating, threatening, abusive, or harming conduct that is objectively offensive and:

  1. there is an actual or perceived imbalance of power between the student engaging in prohibited conduct and the target of the behavior and the conduct is repeated or forms a pattern; or
  2. materially and substantially interferes with a student’s educational opportunities or performance or ability to participate in school functions or activities or receive school benefits, services, or privileges.

 (f)  “Cyberbullying” means bullying using technology or other electronic communication, including a transfer of a sign, signal, writing, image, sound, or data, including a post on a social network Internet Web site or forum, transmitted through a computer, cell phone, or other electronic device.

(g)  Intimidating, threatening, abusive, or harming conduct may include conduct that causes physical harm or causes reasonable fear of harm, violates a student’s reasonable expectation of privacy, defames a student or constitutes intentional infliction of emotional distress; is directed at any student based on a person’s actual or perceived race, ethnicity, color, creed, religion, national origin, immigration status, sex, marital status, familial status, socioeconomic status, physical appearance, sexual orientation, including gender identity and expression, academic status, disability, or status with regard to public assistance, age, or any additional characteristic defined in chapter 363A.

(h)  “Prohibited conduct” means bullying or cyberbullying or retaliation for asserting, alleging, reporting, or providing information about such conduct or knowingly making a false report about bullying.

(i)  “Remedial response” means a measure to stop or correct prohibited conduct, prevent prohibited conduct from recurring, and protect, support, and intervene on behalf of the student who is the target of prohibited conduct. 

Subdivision 3. Local District and School Policy. (a)  Requires school districts and schools to have a policy to prevent and prohibit student bullying that conforms with the Pupil Fair Dismissal Act under sections 121A.41 to 121A.56.

(b)  A district and school are required to establish best practices that include preventive and remedial measure and discipline for deterring policy violations.  They may request assistance from the school safety technical assistance center.  The local policy must:

  1. define the roles and responsibilities of students, school personnel, and volunteers under the policy;
  2. list the characteristics contained in subdivision 1a, paragraph (g);
  3. emphasize remedial responses;
  4. be conspicuously posted in the administrative offices of the school in summary form;
  5. be given to each school employee and independent contractor who regularly interacts with students;
  6. be included in the student handbook; and
  7. be available to all parents and other school community members in an electronic format.

(c)  A district or school must discuss the policy with students, personnel, and volunteers and provide training to prevent, identify, and respond to prohibited conduct.  A district or school must establish a training cycle for personnel.  New school personnel must receive training within their first year of employment with the district or school. 

(d)  A district and school must submit an electronic copy of its policy to the Commissioner.

Subdivision 4.  Local Policy.  (a)  The minimum requirements for a local policy are the following:

  1. designate a staff member as the primary contact person to receive reports of prohibited conduct, ensure the policy and its procedures are fairly and fully implemented, and serve as the primary contact on policy and procedural matters;
  2. require school employees who witness prohibited conduct or possess reliable information that would lead a reasonable person to suspect that a student is a target of prohibited conduct to make reasonable efforts to address and resolved the prohibited conduct;
  3. provide a procedure to begin to investigate reports of prohibited conduct within in three school days of the report, and make the primary contact person responsible for the investigation;
  4. indicate how the school will respond to an incident of prohibited conduct; including intervening to protect the target of the prohibited conduct; at the school administrator’s discretion, a presumption that a district or school official with notify the parent of the reported target of the prohibited conduct and the parent of the actor engaged in the prohibited conduct; providing other remedial responses to the prohibited conduct; and ensuring that remedial responses are tailored to the particular incident and nature of the conduct and the student’s developmental age and behavior history;
  5. prohibit reprisals or retaliation against any person who asserts, alleges, or reports prohibited conduct or provides information about such conduct and establish appropriate consequences;
  6. allow anonymous reporting, but do not rely only on an anonymous report to determine discipline;
  7. provide information about available community resources to the target, actor, and other affected individuals, as appropriate;
  8. where appropriate, for a child with a disability to prevent or respond to prohibited conduct, allow the child’s individualized education program or section 504 plan to address the skills and proficiencies the child needs to respond to or not engage in prohibited conduct; 
  9. use new employee training materials, the school publication on school rules, procedures, and standards of conduct, and the student handbook to publicize the policy;
  10. require ongoing professional development to build the skills of all school personnel who regularly interact with students to identify, prevent and appropriately address prohibited conduct; and
  11. allow the alleged actor to present a defense; and
  12. inform affected students and their parents of their rights under data practices law.

     (b)  Professional development under the policy may including information about:

  1. developmentally appropriate strategies to prevent and to intervene to stop prohibited conduct;
  2. the comply dynamics affecting an actor, target, and witnesses to prohibited conduct;
  3. research on prohibited conduct;
  4. the incidence and nature of cyberbullying; and
  5. internet safety and cyberbullying.

Subdivision 5.  Safe and Supportive Schools Programming. (a)  Districts and schools are encouraged to provide developmentally appropriate programmatic instruction to help students identify, prevent, and reduce prohibited conduct; value diversity in school and society; develop students’ knowledge  and skills for solving problems, managing conflict, engaging in civil discourse, and recognizing, responding to, and reporting prohibited conduct, and make effective prevention and intervention programs available to students.  Districts and schools are required to establish strategies for creating a positive school climate and use evidence-based social-emotional learning to prevent and reduce discrimination and other improper conduct.

(b)  Districts and schools are encouraged to do the following:

  1. engage all students in creating a safe and supportive school environment;
  2. partner with parents and other community members to develop and implement prevention and intervention programs;
  3. engage all students and adults in integrating education, intervention, and other remedial responses into the school environment;
  4. train student bystanders to intervene in and report incidents of prohibited conduct to the school’s primary contact person;
  5. teacher students to advocate for themselves and others;
  6. prevent inappropriate referrals to special education of students who may engage in prohibited conduct; and
  7. foster student collaborations that foster a safe and supportive school climate.

Subdivision 6.  State Model Policy. (a)  Directs the Commissioner, in consultation with the Commissioner of Human Rights, to develop a state model policy.  A district or school that does not adopt a local policy, must implement the state model policy.  The state model policy:

  1. define prohibited conduct;
  2. apply the prohibited conduct policy components in this section;
  3. for a child with a disability; whenever and evaluation by an individualized education program team or a section 504 team indicates that the child’s disability affects the child’s social skills development or the child is vulnerable to prohibited conduct because of the child’s disability, the child’s individualized education program or section 504 plan may address the skills and proficiencies the child needs to not engage in and respond to such conduct; and
  4. encourage violence prevention and character development education programs.

(b)  The Commissioner must develop departmental procedures for:

  1. periodically reviewing district and school programs and policies for compliance;
  2. investigating, reporting, and responding to noncompliance with this section; and
  3. allowing students, parents, and educators to file a complaint about noncompliance with the Commissioner.

 (c)  The Commissioner must post on the department’s Web site information indicating that when districts and schools allow noncurriculum-related student groups access to school facilities, the district or school must give all student groups equal access to the facilities regardless of the content of the group members’ speech.

Subdivision 7.  Relation to Existing Law.  This section does not do the following:

  1. establish a private right of action;
  2. limit rights currently available to an individual under other civil or criminal law; or
  3. interfere with a person’s rights of religious expression and free speech and expression under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Effective Date.   Makes the section effective for the 2014-2015 school year and later.

Section 2.  Notice of the Rights and Responsibilities of Students and Parents Under the Safe and Supportive Minnesota Schools Act.  A district’s or school’s student discipline policy must include notice about the rights and responsibilities of students and their parents under the Safe and Supportive Minnesota Schools Act.

Effective Date.   Makes the section effective for the 2014-2015 school year and later.

Section 3.  Federal, State, and Local Requirements.  Charter schools are required to comply with the school student bullying policy.

Effective Date.   Makes the section effective for the 2014-2015 school year and later.

Section 4.  Program Goals.  Programs to partner with parents in establishing a positive school climate must be included in the guidelines and plans for parental involvement.

Effective Date.   Makes this section effective immediately.

Section 5. Parent and Family Involvement Policy.  A district’s parent and family involvement policy may include community resources to strengthen schools, families, and student learning, including establishing a safe and supportive school climate by developing and implementing prevention and intervention programs on prohibited conduct.  The advisory committee under this section must make a recommendation to the school board how programs serving children and adolescents can collaborate on:

  1. understanding child and adolescent development;
  2. encouraging healthy communication between parents and children;
  3. managing students’ behavior through positive reinforcement;
  4. establishing expectations for student behavior;
  5. providing media and Internet guidance, limits, and supervision; and
  6. promoting resilience and reducing risks for children.

Effective Date.   Makes the section effective immediately.

Section 6.  School Safety Technical Assistance Council.  Subdivision 1.  Establishment and Membership; Terms. (a)  A 23-member council is established to improve school climate and school safety. 

(b)  The membership shall consist of:

  1. the Commissioners from the Departments of Education, Health, Human Rights, Human Services, Public Safety, and Corrections, and the Office of Higher Education;
  2. one representative each from the Minnesota Association of School Administrators, Minnesota School Boards Association, Elementary School Principals Association, Association of Secondary School Principals, and Education Minnesota;
  3. two representatives each of student support personnel, parents, and students;
  4. two representatives of local law enforcement;
  5. two representatives of the judicial branch; and
  6. one charter school representative.

Subdivision 2.  Duties.  The council must require leadership in the following areas:

  1. establishment of norms and standards for prevention, intervention, and support around issues or prohibited conduct;
  2. advancement of evidenced-based policy and best practices to improve school climate and promote school safety;
  3. development and dissemination of resources and training for schools and communities about issues of prohibited conduct and other school safety-related issues; and
  4. develop policies and procedures for the services provided by the School Safety Technical Assistance Center.

Subdivision 3.  Meetings; Chair.  The Commissioner of Education must convene the first meeting and serve as chair.  The council must meet at least one time a year and does not need a quorum to conduct its business.

Subdivision 4.  Compensation.  Members are not eligible for compensation or reimbursement for expenses.

Subdivision 5.  Support.  The Department of Education and Department of Public Safety must provide technical assistance to the council upon request.

Subdivision 6.  Reporting.    The council must report annually to the Commissioner of Education.

Subdivision 7.  Expiration.  The council expires on June 30, 2019.

Section 7.  School Safety Technical Assistance Center.  (a)  The Commissioner must establish a school safety technical assistance center to help districts and schools provide a safe and supportive learning environment.  The center must work collaboratively with state agencies identified by the center and schools, communities, and interested individuals and organizations to determine how to best use available resources.  Center services shall include the following:

  1. evidence-based policy review, development and dissemination;
  2. single, point-of-contact services designed for schools, parents, and students seeking information or other help;
  3. qualitative and quantitative data gathering, interpretation, and dissemination of summary data for existing reporting systems and student surveys and the identification and pursuit of emerging trends and issues;
  4. assistance to districts and schools in using Minnesota student survey results to inform intervention and prevention programs;
  5. education and skill building;
  6. multisector and multiagency planning and advisory activities incorporating best practices and research, and
  7. administrative and financial support for school and district planning, schools recovering from incidents of violence, and school and district violence preventions education.

(c)  The center shall:

  1. compile evidence-based elements and resources to develop and maintain safe and supportive schools;
  2. establish a central repository for collecting and analyzing information about prohibited conduct, including:  training materials on techniques to prevent prohibited conduct; model programming; remedial responses; and other resources for improving the school climate;
  3. assist districts and schools to develop techniques for communicating with and engaging parents in efforts to protect and deter students from prohibited conduct; and
  4. solicit input from social media experts on implementing this section.   

(d)  The Commissioner shall provide administrative services to the center.  The center staff shall include a center director, a data analyst coordinator, and trainers who provide training to state and local organizations under a fee-for-service agreement.

(e)  School safety technical assistance center staff may consult with school safety center staff at the Department of Public Safety.

(f) The center is voluntary and advisory.  The center does not have enforcement, rulemaking, oversight, or regulatory authority.

(g) The center expires June 30, 2019.

Effective Date.   Makes the section effective July 1, 2014.

Section 8.  Repealer.  Repeals section 121A.0695 (Prohibiting intimidation and bullying) effective July 1, 2014.

AMB/syl

 
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