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