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Sub. H. B. No. 276 As Reported by the House Education Committee
As Reported by the House Education Committee
126th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2005-2006 |
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Representatives Stewart, J., Miller, Carano, Hartnett, Evans, C., Perry, Allen, Taylor, Peterson, Setzer, Williams, Garrison, Chandler, Woodard, Barrett
A BILLTo amend section 3314.03 and to enact sections 117.53, 3301.22, 3313.666, and 3313.667 of the Revised Code with respect to school policies prohibiting harassment, intimidation, or bullying. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 3314.03 be amended and sections 117.53, 3301.22, 3313.666, and 3313.667 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 117.53. When conducting an audit under section 117.11 of the Revised Code of a city, local, exempted village, or joint vocational school district, or a community school established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code, the auditor of state shall identify whether the school district or community school has adopted an anti-harassment policy in accordance with section 3313.666 of the Revised Code. This determination shall be recorded in the audit report.
Sec. 3301.22. The department of education shall develop a model policy to prohibit harassment, intimidation, or bullying in order to assist school districts in developing their own policies under section 3313.666 of the Revised Code. The department shall issue the model policy within six months after the effective date of this section.
Sec. 3313.666. (A) As used in this section, "harassment, intimidation, or bullying" means any intentional written, verbal, or physical act that a student has exhibited toward another particular student more than once and the behavior both: (1) Causes mental or physical harm to the other student;
(2) Is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive that it creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment for the other student.
(B) The board of education of each city, local, exempted village, and joint vocational school district shall establish a policy prohibiting harassment, intimidation, or bullying. The policy shall be developed in consultation with parents, school employees, school volunteers, students, and community members. The policy shall include, but need not be limited to, the following:
(1) A statement prohibiting harassment, intimidation, or bullying of any student on school property or at school-sponsored events;
(2) A definition of harassment, intimidation, or bullying that shall include, at a minimum, the definition in division (A) of this section;
(3) A procedure for reporting prohibited incidents;
(4) A requirement that school personnel report prohibited incidents of which they are aware to the school principal or other administrator designated by the principal;
(5) A requirement that parents or guardians of any student involved in a prohibited incident be notified and, to the extent permitted by section 3319.321 of the Revised Code and the "Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974," 88 Stat. 571, 20 U.S.C. 1232q, as amended, have access to any written reports pertaining to the prohibited incident;
(6) A procedure for documenting any prohibited incident that is reported;
(7) A procedure for responding to and investigating any reported incident;
(8) A strategy for protecting a victim from additional harassment, intimidation, or bullying, and from retaliation following a report;
(9) A disciplinary procedure for any student guilty of harassment, intimidation, or bullying.
(C) Each board's policy shall appear in any student handbooks, and in any of the publications that set forth the comprehensive rules, procedures, and standards of conduct for schools and students in the district. Information regarding the policy shall be incorporated into employee training materials.
(D) A school district employee, student, or volunteer shall be individually immune from liability in a civil action for damages arising from reporting an incident in accordance with a policy adopted pursuant to this section if that person reports an incident of harassment, intimidation, or bullying promptly in good faith and in compliance with the procedures as specified in the policy.
(E) Except as provided in division (D) of this section, nothing in this section prohibits a victim from seeking redress under any other provision of the Revised Code or common law that may apply.
Sec. 3313.667. (A) Any school district may form bullying prevention task forces, programs, and other initiatives involving volunteers, parents, law enforcement, and community members. (B) To the extent that state or federal funds are appropriated for these purposes, each school district shall:
(1) Provide training, workshops, or courses on the district's harassment, intimidation, or bullying policy adopted pursuant to section 3313.666 of the Revised Code to school employees and volunteers who have direct contact with students. Time spent by school employees in the training, workshops, or courses shall apply towards any state- or district-mandated continuing education requirements.
(2) Develop a process for educating students about the policy.
Sec. 3314.03.
A copy of every contract entered into
under this section shall be filed with the superintendent of
public instruction. (A) Each contract entered into
between a sponsor and the governing
authority of a
community school shall specify the following: (1) That the school shall
be established as
either of the
following: (a) A nonprofit
corporation established
under Chapter 1702.
of the Revised Code,
if established prior to April 8, 2003; (b) A public benefit corporation established under Chapter
1702. of the Revised Code, if established after April 8, 2003;
(2) The education program of the school, including the
school's mission,
the characteristics of the students the school
is expected to attract, the ages and grades of students, and the
focus of the
curriculum; (3) The academic goals to be achieved and the method of
measurement that
will be used to determine progress toward those
goals, which shall include the statewide
achievement
tests; (4) Performance standards by which the success of the
school
will be evaluated by the sponsor. If the sponsor will evaluate the school in accordance with division (D) of section 3314.36 of the Revised Code, the contract shall specify the number of school years that the school will be evaluated under that division. (5) The admission standards of section 3314.06 of the
Revised Code and, if applicable, section 3314.061 of the Revised Code; (6)(a) Dismissal procedures;
(b) A requirement that the governing authority adopt an
attendance policy that includes a procedure for automatically
withdrawing a student from the school if the student without a
legitimate excuse fails to participate in one hundred five
consecutive hours of the learning opportunities offered to the
student. (7) The ways by which the school will achieve racial and
ethnic balance
reflective of the community it serves; (8) Requirements
for
financial audits by the
auditor of state. The contract shall require
financial records of
the school to be maintained in
the same manner as are financial
records of school districts, pursuant to
rules of the auditor of
state, and the audits shall be conducted in
accordance with
section 117.10 of the Revised Code. (9) The facilities to be used and
their locations; (10) Qualifications of teachers,
including a requirement
that the school's
classroom teachers be licensed in accordance
with sections 3319.22 to
3319.31 of the Revised Code, except that
a community school may engage
noncertificated persons to teach up
to twelve
hours per week pursuant to section 3319.301 of the
Revised Code; (11) That the school will comply with the following
requirements: (a) The school will provide learning opportunities to a
minimum
of twenty-five students for a minimum of nine
hundred
twenty hours per school year; (b) The governing authority will
purchase liability
insurance, or otherwise provide for the
potential liability of the
school; (c) The school will be
nonsectarian in its programs,
admission policies,
employment practices, and all other
operations, and will not be
operated by a sectarian school or
religious institution; (d) The school will comply with
sections 9.90, 9.91, 109.65,
121.22,
149.43, 2151.358, 2151.421, 2313.18,
3301.0710, 3301.0711,
3301.0712,
3301.0715,
3313.50,
3313.608, 3313.6012,
3313.643,
3313.648, 3313.66, 3313.661,
3313.662, 3313.666, 3313.667,
3313.67,
3313.671,
3313.672,
3313.673, 3313.69, 3313.71, 3313.716,
3313.80,
3313.96,
3319.073, 3319.321, 3319.39, 3321.01,
3321.13, 3321.14,
3321.17,
3321.18, 3321.19, 3321.191, 3327.10, 4111.17,
4113.52, and
5705.391
and
Chapters 117., 1347.,
2744., 3365.,
3742., 4112., 4123.,
4141., and
4167. of
the Revised Code
as if it were a
school
district
and will comply with section
3301.0714 of the
Revised
Code in the manner specified in section
3314.17 of the
Revised
Code; (e) The school shall comply with Chapter 102. of the Revised
Code except that
nothing in that chapter shall prohibit a
member
of the school's governing board from also being an employee
of the
school and nothing in that chapter or section 2921.42 of
the
Revised Code shall prohibit a member of the
school's governing
board from having an interest in a
contract into which the
governing board enters
that is not a contract with a for-profit
firm for the operation or
management of a school under the
auspices of the governing
authority; (f) The school will comply with sections 3313.61,
3313.611,
and 3313.614 of the Revised Code, except that the
requirement in
sections
3313.61 and 3313.611 of the Revised
Code that a person
must successfully
complete the curriculum
in
any high school prior
to receiving a
high school diploma may be
met by completing the
curriculum adopted by the
governing
authority of the community
school
rather than the curriculum
specified in Title XXXIII of the
Revised Code or any rules of the
state board of education; (g) The school governing authority will submit
within four months after the end of each school year a
report
of
its activities and progress in meeting the goals and
standards of
divisions
(A)(3) and (4) of this section and its
financial status
to the
sponsor, the parents of all students
enrolled in the
school, and the legislative office of education
oversight. The
school will
collect and provide
any data that the
legislative
office of education oversight requests in
furtherance
of any study
or research that the general assembly requires the
office to
conduct, including the studies required under Section
50.39
of Am.
Sub. H.B. 215 of the
122nd general assembly and
Section 50.52.2 of
Am. Sub. H.B. 215 of the
122nd general
assembly, as amended. (12) Arrangements for providing health and other benefits
to
employees; (13) The length of the contract, which shall begin at the
beginning of an
academic year. No contract shall
exceed
five years
unless such contract has been renewed pursuant to
division (E) of this section. (14) The governing authority of the school, which shall be
responsible for carrying out the provisions of the contract; (15) A financial plan detailing an estimated school budget
for each year
of the period of the contract and specifying the
total estimated per pupil
expenditure amount for each such year.
The plan shall specify for
each year the base formula amount
that
will be used for purposes of funding calculations under section
3314.08
of the Revised Code. This base formula amount for any
year shall not exceed
the formula amount defined under section
3317.02
of the Revised Code. The plan may also
specify for any
year a percentage figure to be used for reducing the per pupil
amount of the subsidy calculated pursuant to
section 3317.029 of the Revised Code the school is to
receive that
year under section 3314.08 of the Revised Code. (16) Requirements and procedures regarding the disposition
of
employees of the school in the event the contract is terminated
or not renewed pursuant to section 3314.07 of the Revised Code; (17) Whether the school is to be created by
converting all
or part of an existing public school or is to be a new start-up
school, and if it is a converted public school, specification of
any duties or
responsibilities of an employer that the board of
education that operated the
school before conversion is delegating
to the governing board of the community
school with respect to all
or any specified group of employees provided the
delegation is not
prohibited by a collective bargaining agreement applicable
to such
employees; (18) Provisions establishing procedures for resolving
disputes or
differences of opinion between the sponsor and the
governing authority of the
community school; (19) A provision requiring the governing authority to adopt
a policy
regarding
the admission of students who reside outside
the district in which the school
is located. That policy shall
comply with the admissions procedures specified
in sections 3314.06 and 3314.061
of the Revised Code and, at the sole
discretion of the authority,
shall do one of the following: (a) Prohibit the enrollment of students who reside outside
the
district in which the school is located; (b) Permit the enrollment of students who reside in
districts
adjacent to the district in which the school is located; (c) Permit the enrollment of students who reside in any
other
district in the state.
(20) A provision recognizing the authority of the department
of education to take over the sponsorship of the school in
accordance with the provisions of division (C) of section 3314.015
of the Revised Code; (21) A provision recognizing the sponsor's authority to
assume the operation of a school under the conditions specified in
division (B) of section 3314.073 of the Revised Code;
(22) A provision recognizing both of the following: (a) The authority of public health and safety officials to
inspect the facilities of the school and to order the facilities
closed if those officials find that the facilities are not in
compliance with health and safety laws and regulations; (b) The authority of the
department of education as the
community school oversight body to
suspend the operation of the
school under section 3314.072 of the
Revised Code if the
department has evidence of conditions or
violations of law at the
school that pose an imminent danger to
the health and safety of
the school's students and employees and
the sponsor refuses to
take such action;
(23) A description of the learning opportunities that will
be offered to students including both classroom-based and
non-classroom-based learning opportunities that is in compliance
with criteria for student participation established by the
department under division (L)(2) of section 3314.08 of the Revised
Code; (24) The school will comply with section 3302.04 of the Revised Code, including division (E) of that section to the extent possible, except that any action required to be taken by a school district pursuant to that section shall be taken by the sponsor of the school. However, the sponsor shall not be required to take any action described in division (F) of that section.
(25) Beginning in the 2006-2007 school year, the school will open for operation not later than the thirtieth day of September each school year, unless the mission of the school as specified under division (A)(2) of this section is solely to serve dropouts. In its initial year of operation, if the school fails to open by the thirtieth day of September, or within one year after the adoption of the contract pursuant to division (D) of section 3314.02 of the Revised Code if the mission of the school is solely to serve dropouts, the contract shall be void. (B) The community school shall also submit to the sponsor a
comprehensive plan for the
school. The plan shall specify the
following: (1) The process by which the governing authority of the
school will be
selected in the future; (2) The management and administration of the school; (3) If the community school is a currently existing
public
school, alternative arrangements
for current public school
students who choose
not to attend the school and teachers who
choose not to teach in
the school after conversion; (4) The instructional program and educational philosophy of
the
school; (5) Internal financial controls. (C) A contract entered into under section 3314.02 of the
Revised
Code between a sponsor and the governing
authority of a
community school may provide for the community school governing
authority to make payments to the sponsor, which is hereby
authorized to
receive such payments as set forth in the contract
between the governing
authority and the sponsor.
The total amount
of such payments for oversight and monitoring of the school shall
not exceed three per cent of the total
amount of payments for
operating expenses that the school receives
from the state. (D) The contract shall specify the duties of the sponsor
which shall be in accordance with the written agreement entered
into with the department of education under division (B) of
section 3314.015 of the Revised Code and shall include the
following:
(1) Monitor the community school's compliance with all laws
applicable to the school and with the terms of the contract;
(2) Monitor and evaluate the academic and fiscal
performance and the organization and operation of the community
school on at least an annual basis;
(3) Report on an annual basis the results of the evaluation
conducted under division (D)(2) of this section to the department
of education and to the parents of students enrolled in the
community school;
(4) Provide technical assistance to the community school
in complying with laws applicable to the school and terms of the
contract;
(5) Take steps to intervene in the school's operation to
correct problems in the school's overall
performance, declare the
school to be on probationary status
pursuant to section 3314.073
of the Revised Code, suspend the
operation of the school pursuant
to section 3314.072 of the
Revised Code, or terminate the contract
of the school pursuant to
section 3314.07 of the Revised Code as
determined necessary by the
sponsor;
(6) Have in place a plan of action to be undertaken in the
event the community school experiences financial difficulties or
closes prior to the end of a school year.
(E) Upon the expiration of a
contract entered into under
this section, the sponsor of a
community school may, with the
approval of the governing authority
of the school, renew that
contract for
a period of time determined by the sponsor, but not
ending earlier
than the end of any school year, if the sponsor
finds that the
school's compliance with applicable laws and terms
of the contract
and the school's progress in meeting the academic
goals prescribed
in the contract have been satisfactory. Any
contract that is renewed
under this division remains subject to
the provisions of sections
3314.07, 3314.072, and 3314.073 of the
Revised Code. (F) If a community school fails to open for operation within one year after the contract entered into under this section is adopted pursuant to division (D) of section 3314.02 of the Revised Code or permanently closes prior to the expiration of the contract, the contract shall be void and the school shall not enter into a contract with any other sponsor. A school shall not be considered permanently closed because the operations of the school have been suspended pursuant to section 3314.072 of the Revised Code. Any contract that becomes void under this division shall not count toward any statewide limit on the number of such contracts prescribed by section 3314.013 of the Revised Code.
Section 2. That existing section 3314.03 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.
Section 3. Section 117.53 of the Revised Code, as enacted by this act, shall take effect one year after the effective date of this act.
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