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| To amend section 3314.03 and to enact sections | 1 |
| 117.53, 3301.22, 3313.666, and 3313.667 of the | 2 |
| Revised Code with respect to school policies | 3 |
| prohibiting harassment, intimidation, or bullying. | 4 |
| Section 1. That section 3314.03 be amended and sections | 5 |
| 117.53, 3301.22, 3313.666, and 3313.667 of the Revised Code be | 6 |
| enacted to read as follows: | 7 |
| Sec. 117.53. When conducting an audit under section 117.11 of | 8 |
| the Revised Code of a city, local, exempted village, or joint | 9 |
| vocational school district, or a community school established | 10 |
| under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code, the auditor of state | 11 |
| shall identify whether the school district or community school has | 12 |
| adopted an anti-harassment policy in accordance with section | 13 |
| 3313.666 of the Revised Code. This determination shall be recorded | 14 |
| in the audit report. | 15 |
| Sec. 3301.22. The state board of education shall develop a | 16 |
| model policy to prohibit harassment, intimidation, or bullying in | 17 |
| order to assist school districts in developing their own policies | 18 |
| under section 3313.666 of the Revised Code. The board shall issue | 19 |
| the model policy within six months after the effective date of | 20 |
| this section. | 21 |
| Sec. 3313.666. (A) As used in this section, "harassment, | 22 |
| intimidation, or bullying" means any intentional written, verbal, | 23 |
| or physical act that a student has exhibited toward another | 24 |
| particular student more than once and the behavior both: | 25 |
| (1) Causes mental or physical harm to the other student; | 26 |
| (2) Is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive that it | 27 |
| creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational | 28 |
| environment for the other student. | 29 |
| (B) The board of education of each city, local, exempted | 30 |
| village, and joint vocational school district shall establish a | 31 |
| policy prohibiting harassment, intimidation, or bullying. The | 32 |
| policy shall be developed in consultation with parents, school | 33 |
| employees, school volunteers, students, and community members. The | 34 |
| policy shall include the following: | 35 |
| (1) A statement prohibiting harassment, intimidation, or | 36 |
| bullying of any student on school property or at school-sponsored | 37 |
| events; | 38 |
| (2) A definition of harassment, intimidation, or bullying | 39 |
| that shall include the definition in division (A) of this section; | 40 |
| (3) A procedure for reporting prohibited incidents; | 41 |
| (4) A requirement that school personnel report prohibited | 42 |
| incidents of which they are aware to the school principal or other | 43 |
| administrator designated by the principal; | 44 |
| (5) A requirement that parents or guardians of any student | 45 |
| involved in a prohibited incident be notified and, to the extent | 46 |
| permitted by section 3319.321 of the Revised Code and the "Family | 47 |
| Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974," 88 Stat. 571, 20 | 48 |
| U.S.C. 1232q, as amended, have access to any written reports | 49 |
| pertaining to the prohibited incident; | 50 |
| (6) A procedure for documenting any prohibited incident that | 51 |
| is reported; | 52 |
| (7) A procedure for responding to and investigating any | 53 |
| reported incident; | 54 |
| (8) A strategy for protecting a victim from additional | 55 |
| harassment, intimidation, or bullying, and from retaliation | 56 |
| following a report; | 57 |
| (9) A disciplinary procedure for any student guilty of | 58 |
| harassment, intimidation, or bullying, which shall not infringe on | 59 |
| any student's rights under the first amendment to the Constitution | 60 |
| of the United States; | 61 |
| (10) A requirement that the district administration notify | 62 |
| the president of the district board in writing of all reported | 63 |
| incidents. | 64 |
| (C) Each board's policy shall appear in any student | 65 |
| handbooks, and in any of the publications that set forth the | 66 |
| comprehensive rules, procedures, and standards of conduct for | 67 |
| schools and students in the district. Information regarding the | 68 |
| policy shall be incorporated into employee training materials. | 69 |
| (D) A school district employee, student, or volunteer shall | 70 |
| be individually immune from liability in a civil action for | 71 |
| damages arising from reporting an incident in accordance with a | 72 |
| policy adopted pursuant to this section if that person reports an | 73 |
| incident of harassment, intimidation, or bullying promptly in good | 74 |
| faith and in compliance with the procedures as specified in the | 75 |
| policy. | 76 |
| (E) Except as provided in division (D) of this section, | 77 |
| nothing in this section prohibits a victim from seeking redress | 78 |
| under any other provision of the Revised Code or common law that | 79 |
| may apply. | 80 |
| (F) This section does not create a new cause of action or a | 81 |
| substantive legal right for any person. | 82 |
| Sec. 3313.667. (A) Any school district may form bullying | 83 |
| prevention task forces, programs, and other initiatives involving | 84 |
| volunteers, parents, law enforcement, and community members. | 85 |
| (B) To the extent that state or federal funds are | 86 |
| appropriated for these purposes, each school district shall: | 87 |
| (1) Provide training, workshops, or courses on the district's | 88 |
| harassment, intimidation, or bullying policy adopted pursuant to | 89 |
| section 3313.666 of the Revised Code to school employees and | 90 |
| volunteers who have direct contact with students. Time spent by | 91 |
| school employees in the training, workshops, or courses shall | 92 |
| apply towards any state- or district-mandated continuing education | 93 |
| requirements. | 94 |
| (2) Develop a process for educating students about the | 95 |
| policy. | 96 |
| (C) This section does not create a new cause of action or a | 97 |
| substantive legal right for any person. | 98 |
| Sec. 3314.03. A copy of every contract entered into under | 99 |
| this section shall be filed with the superintendent of public | 100 |
| instruction. | 101 |
| (A) Each contract entered into between a sponsor and the | 102 |
| governing authority of a community school shall specify the | 103 |
| following: | 104 |
| (1) That the school shall be established as either of the | 105 |
| following: | 106 |
| (a) A nonprofit corporation established under Chapter 1702. | 107 |
| of the Revised Code, if established prior to April 8, 2003; | 108 |
| (b) A public benefit corporation established under Chapter | 109 |
| 1702. of the Revised Code, if established after April 8, 2003; | 110 |
| (2) The education program of the school, including the | 111 |
| school's mission, the characteristics of the students the school | 112 |
| is expected to attract, the ages and grades of students, and the | 113 |
| focus of the curriculum; | 114 |
| (3) The academic goals to be achieved and the method of | 115 |
| measurement that will be used to determine progress toward those | 116 |
| goals, which shall include the statewide achievement tests; | 117 |
| (4) Performance standards by which the success of the school | 118 |
| will be evaluated by the sponsor. If the sponsor will evaluate the | 119 |
| school in accordance with division (D) of section 3314.36 of the | 120 |
| Revised Code, the contract shall specify the number of school | 121 |
| years that the school will be evaluated under that division. | 122 |
| (5) The admission standards of section 3314.06 of the Revised | 123 |
| Code and, if applicable, section 3314.061 of the Revised Code; | 124 |
| (6)(a) Dismissal procedures; | 125 |
| (b) A requirement that the governing authority adopt an | 126 |
| attendance policy that includes a procedure for automatically | 127 |
| withdrawing a student from the school if the student without a | 128 |
| legitimate excuse fails to participate in one hundred five | 129 |
| consecutive hours of the learning opportunities offered to the | 130 |
| student. | 131 |
| (7) The ways by which the school will achieve racial and | 132 |
| ethnic balance reflective of the community it serves; | 133 |
| (8) Requirements for financial audits by the auditor of | 134 |
| state. The contract shall require financial records of the school | 135 |
| to be maintained in the same manner as are financial records of | 136 |
| school districts, pursuant to rules of the auditor of state, and | 137 |
| the audits shall be conducted in accordance with section 117.10 of | 138 |
| the Revised Code. | 139 |
| (9) The facilities to be used and their locations; | 140 |
| (10) Qualifications of teachers, including a requirement that | 141 |
| the school's classroom teachers be licensed in accordance with | 142 |
| sections 3319.22 to 3319.31 of the Revised Code, except that a | 143 |
| community school may engage noncertificated persons to teach up to | 144 |
| twelve hours per week pursuant to section 3319.301 of the Revised | 145 |
| Code; | 146 |
| (11) That the school will comply with the following | 147 |
| requirements: | 148 |
| (a) The school will provide learning opportunities to a | 149 |
| minimum of twenty-five students for a minimum of nine hundred | 150 |
| twenty hours per school year; | 151 |
| (b) The governing authority will purchase liability | 152 |
| insurance, or otherwise provide for the potential liability of the | 153 |
| school; | 154 |
| (c) The school will be nonsectarian in its programs, | 155 |
| admission policies, employment practices, and all other | 156 |
| operations, and will not be operated by a sectarian school or | 157 |
| religious institution; | 158 |
| (d) The school will comply with sections 9.90, 9.91, 109.65, | 159 |
| 121.22, 149.43, 2151.358, 2151.421, 2313.18, 3301.0710, 3301.0711, | 160 |
| 3301.0712, 3301.0715, 3313.50, 3313.608, 3313.6012, 3313.643, | 161 |
| 3313.648, 3313.66, 3313.661, 3313.662, 3313.666, 3313.667, | 162 |
| 3313.67, 3313.671, 3313.672, 3313.673, 3313.69, 3313.71, 3313.716, | 163 |
| 3313.80, 3313.96, 3319.073, 3319.321, 3319.39, 3321.01, 3321.13, | 164 |
| 3321.14, 3321.17, 3321.18, 3321.19, 3321.191, 3327.10, 4111.17, | 165 |
| 4113.52, and 5705.391 and Chapters 117., 1347., 2744., 3365., | 166 |
| 3742., 4112., 4123., 4141., and 4167. of the Revised Code as if it | 167 |
| were a school district and will comply with section 3301.0714 of | 168 |
| the Revised Code in the manner specified in section 3314.17 of the | 169 |
| Revised Code; | 170 |
| (e) The school shall comply with Chapter 102. of the Revised | 171 |
| Code except that nothing in that chapter shall prohibit a member | 172 |
| of the school's governing board from also being an employee of the | 173 |
| school and nothing in that chapter or section 2921.42 of the | 174 |
| Revised Code shall prohibit a member of the school's governing | 175 |
| board from having an interest in a contract into which the | 176 |
| governing board enters that is not a contract with a for-profit | 177 |
| firm for the operation or management of a school under the | 178 |
| auspices of the governing authority; | 179 |
| (f) The school will comply with sections 3313.61, 3313.611, | 180 |
| and 3313.614 of the Revised Code, except that the requirement in | 181 |
| sections 3313.61 and 3313.611 of the Revised Code that a person | 182 |
| must successfully complete the curriculum in any high school prior | 183 |
| to receiving a high school diploma may be met by completing the | 184 |
| curriculum adopted by the governing authority of the community | 185 |
| school rather than the curriculum specified in Title XXXIII of the | 186 |
| Revised Code or any rules of the state board of education; | 187 |
| (g) The school governing authority will submit within four | 188 |
| months after the end of each school year a report of its | 189 |
| activities and progress in meeting the goals and standards of | 190 |
| divisions (A)(3) and (4) of this section and its financial status | 191 |
| to the sponsor, the parents of all students enrolled in the | 192 |
| school, and the legislative office of education oversight. The | 193 |
| school will collect and provide any data that the legislative | 194 |
| office of education oversight requests in furtherance of any study | 195 |
| or research that the general assembly requires the office to | 196 |
| conduct, including the studies required under Section 50.39 of Am. | 197 |
| Sub. H.B. 215 of the 122nd general assembly and Section 50.52.2 of | 198 |
| Am. Sub. H.B. 215 of the 122nd general assembly, as amended. | 199 |
| (12) Arrangements for providing health and other benefits to | 200 |
| employees; | 201 |
| (13) The length of the contract, which shall begin at the | 202 |
| beginning of an academic year. No contract shall exceed five years | 203 |
| unless such contract has been renewed pursuant to division (E) of | 204 |
| this section. | 205 |
| (14) The governing authority of the school, which shall be | 206 |
| responsible for carrying out the provisions of the contract; | 207 |
| (15) A financial plan detailing an estimated school budget | 208 |
| for each year of the period of the contract and specifying the | 209 |
| total estimated per pupil expenditure amount for each such year. | 210 |
| The plan shall specify for each year the base formula amount that | 211 |
| will be used for purposes of funding calculations under section | 212 |
| 3314.08 of the Revised Code. This base formula amount for any year | 213 |
| shall not exceed the formula amount defined under section 3317.02 | 214 |
| of the Revised Code. The plan may also specify for any year a | 215 |
| percentage figure to be used for reducing the per pupil amount of | 216 |
| the subsidy calculated pursuant to section 3317.029 of the Revised | 217 |
| Code the school is to receive that year under section 3314.08 of | 218 |
| the Revised Code. | 219 |
| (16) Requirements and procedures regarding the disposition of | 220 |
| employees of the school in the event the contract is terminated or | 221 |
| not renewed pursuant to section 3314.07 of the Revised Code; | 222 |
| (17) Whether the school is to be created by converting all or | 223 |
| part of an existing public school or is to be a new start-up | 224 |
| school, and if it is a converted public school, specification of | 225 |
| any duties or responsibilities of an employer that the board of | 226 |
| education that operated the school before conversion is delegating | 227 |
| to the governing board of the community school with respect to all | 228 |
| or any specified group of employees provided the delegation is not | 229 |
| prohibited by a collective bargaining agreement applicable to such | 230 |
| employees; | 231 |
| (18) Provisions establishing procedures for resolving | 232 |
| disputes or differences of opinion between the sponsor and the | 233 |
| governing authority of the community school; | 234 |
| (19) A provision requiring the governing authority to adopt a | 235 |
| policy regarding the admission of students who reside outside the | 236 |
| district in which the school is located. That policy shall comply | 237 |
| with the admissions procedures specified in sections 3314.06 and | 238 |
| 3314.061 of the Revised Code and, at the sole discretion of the | 239 |
| authority, shall do one of the following: | 240 |
| (a) Prohibit the enrollment of students who reside outside | 241 |
| the district in which the school is located; | 242 |
| (b) Permit the enrollment of students who reside in districts | 243 |
| adjacent to the district in which the school is located; | 244 |
| (c) Permit the enrollment of students who reside in any other | 245 |
| district in the state. | 246 |
| (20) A provision recognizing the authority of the department | 247 |
| of education to take over the sponsorship of the school in | 248 |
| accordance with the provisions of division (C) of section 3314.015 | 249 |
| of the Revised Code; | 250 |
| (21) A provision recognizing the sponsor's authority to | 251 |
| assume the operation of a school under the conditions specified in | 252 |
| division (B) of section 3314.073 of the Revised Code; | 253 |
| (22) A provision recognizing both of the following: | 254 |
| (a) The authority of public health and safety officials to | 255 |
| inspect the facilities of the school and to order the facilities | 256 |
| closed if those officials find that the facilities are not in | 257 |
| compliance with health and safety laws and regulations; | 258 |
| (b) The authority of the department of education as the | 259 |
| community school oversight body to suspend the operation of the | 260 |
| school under section 3314.072 of the Revised Code if the | 261 |
| department has evidence of conditions or violations of law at the | 262 |
| school that pose an imminent danger to the health and safety of | 263 |
| the school's students and employees and the sponsor refuses to | 264 |
| take such action; | 265 |
| (23) A description of the learning opportunities that will be | 266 |
| offered to students including both classroom-based and | 267 |
| non-classroom-based learning opportunities that is in compliance | 268 |
| with criteria for student participation established by the | 269 |
| department under division (L)(2) of section 3314.08 of the Revised | 270 |
| Code; | 271 |
| (24) The school will comply with section 3302.04 of the | 272 |
| Revised Code, including division (E) of that section to the extent | 273 |
| possible, except that any action required to be taken by a school | 274 |
| district pursuant to that section shall be taken by the sponsor of | 275 |
| the school. However, the sponsor shall not be required to take any | 276 |
| action described in division (F) of that section. | 277 |
| (25) Beginning in the 2006-2007 school year, the school will | 278 |
| open for operation not later than the thirtieth day of September | 279 |
| each school year, unless the mission of the school as specified | 280 |
| under division (A)(2) of this section is solely to serve dropouts. | 281 |
| In its initial year of operation, if the school fails to open by | 282 |
| the thirtieth day of September, or within one year after the | 283 |
| adoption of the contract pursuant to division (D) of section | 284 |
| 3314.02 of the Revised Code if the mission of the school is solely | 285 |
| to serve dropouts, the contract shall be void. | 286 |
| (B) The community school shall also submit to the sponsor a | 287 |
| comprehensive plan for the school. The plan shall specify the | 288 |
| following: | 289 |
| (1) The process by which the governing authority of the | 290 |
| school will be selected in the future; | 291 |
| (2) The management and administration of the school; | 292 |
| (3) If the community school is a currently existing public | 293 |
| school, alternative arrangements for current public school | 294 |
| students who choose not to attend the school and teachers who | 295 |
| choose not to teach in the school after conversion; | 296 |
| (4) The instructional program and educational philosophy of | 297 |
| the school; | 298 |
| (5) Internal financial controls. | 299 |
| (C) A contract entered into under section 3314.02 of the | 300 |
| Revised Code between a sponsor and the governing authority of a | 301 |
| community school may provide for the community school governing | 302 |
| authority to make payments to the sponsor, which is hereby | 303 |
| authorized to receive such payments as set forth in the contract | 304 |
| between the governing authority and the sponsor. The total amount | 305 |
| of such payments for oversight and monitoring of the school shall | 306 |
| not exceed three per cent of the total amount of payments for | 307 |
| operating expenses that the school receives from the state. | 308 |
| (D) The contract shall specify the duties of the sponsor | 309 |
| which shall be in accordance with the written agreement entered | 310 |
| into with the department of education under division (B) of | 311 |
| section 3314.015 of the Revised Code and shall include the | 312 |
| following: | 313 |
| (1) Monitor the community school's compliance with all laws | 314 |
| applicable to the school and with the terms of the contract; | 315 |
| (2) Monitor and evaluate the academic and fiscal performance | 316 |
| and the organization and operation of the community school on at | 317 |
| least an annual basis; | 318 |
| (3) Report on an annual basis the results of the evaluation | 319 |
| conducted under division (D)(2) of this section to the department | 320 |
| of education and to the parents of students enrolled in the | 321 |
| community school; | 322 |
| (4) Provide technical assistance to the community school in | 323 |
| complying with laws applicable to the school and terms of the | 324 |
| contract; | 325 |
| (5) Take steps to intervene in the school's operation to | 326 |
| correct problems in the school's overall performance, declare the | 327 |
| school to be on probationary status pursuant to section 3314.073 | 328 |
| of the Revised Code, suspend the operation of the school pursuant | 329 |
| to section 3314.072 of the Revised Code, or terminate the contract | 330 |
| of the school pursuant to section 3314.07 of the Revised Code as | 331 |
| determined necessary by the sponsor; | 332 |
| (6) Have in place a plan of action to be undertaken in the | 333 |
| event the community school experiences financial difficulties or | 334 |
| closes prior to the end of a school year. | 335 |
| (E) Upon the expiration of a contract entered into under this | 336 |
| section, the sponsor of a community school may, with the approval | 337 |
| of the governing authority of the school, renew that contract for | 338 |
| a period of time determined by the sponsor, but not ending earlier | 339 |
| than the end of any school year, if the sponsor finds that the | 340 |
| school's compliance with applicable laws and terms of the contract | 341 |
| and the school's progress in meeting the academic goals prescribed | 342 |
| in the contract have been satisfactory. Any contract that is | 343 |
| renewed under this division remains subject to the provisions of | 344 |
| sections 3314.07, 3314.072, and 3314.073 of the Revised Code. | 345 |
| (F) If a community school fails to open for operation within | 346 |
| one year after the contract entered into under this section is | 347 |
| adopted pursuant to division (D) of section 3314.02 of the Revised | 348 |
| Code or permanently closes prior to the expiration of the | 349 |
| contract, the contract shall be void and the school shall not | 350 |
| enter into a contract with any other sponsor. A school shall not | 351 |
| be considered permanently closed because the operations of the | 352 |
| school have been suspended pursuant to section 3314.072 of the | 353 |
| Revised Code. Any contract that becomes void under this division | 354 |
| shall not count toward any statewide limit on the number of such | 355 |
| contracts prescribed by section 3314.013 of the Revised Code. | 356 |
| Section 2. That existing section 3314.03 of the Revised Code | 357 |
| is hereby repealed. | 358 |
| Section 3. Section 117.53 of the Revised Code, as enacted by | 359 |
| this act, shall take effect one year after the effective date of | 360 |
| this act. | 361 |