130th Ohio General Assembly
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S. B. No. 127  As Introduced
As Introduced

129th General Assembly
Regular Session
2011-2012
S. B. No. 127


Senator Schiavoni 

Cosponsors: Senators Cafaro, Turner, Tavares, Skindell, Sawyer 



A BILL
To amend sections 3313.666, 3313.667, and 3319.073 of the Revised Code to enact the "Jessica Logan Act" to require that public school bullying policies prohibit bullying by electronic means and address certain acts that occur off school property and to require staff training on the bullying policy.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1.  That sections 3313.666, 3313.667, and 3319.073 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 3313.666.  (A) As used in this section, "harassment:
(1) "Electronic act" means an act committed through the use of a cellular telephone, computer, pager, personal communication device, or other electronic communication device.
(2) "Harassment, intimidation, or bullying" means either of the following:
(1)(a) Any intentional written, verbal, electronic, or physical act that a student has exhibited toward another particular student more than once and the behavior both:
(a)(i) Causes mental or physical harm to the other student;
(b)(ii) Is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive that it creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment for the other student.
(2)(b) Violence within a dating relationship.
(B) The board of education of each city, local, exempted village, and joint vocational school district shall establish and annually review 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 the following:
(1) A statement prohibiting harassment, intimidation, or bullying of any student on school property or a school bus, at school-sponsored events, or, if the harassment, intimidation, or bullying materially or substantially disrupts the educational environment and discipline of the school, off school property and expressly providing for the possibility of suspension of a student found guilty of harassment, intimidation, or bullying by an electronic act;
(2) A definition of harassment, intimidation, or bullying that shall include includes 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 1232g, 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 or other person from new or additional harassment, intimidation, or bullying, and from retaliation following a report, including a means by which a person may report an incident anonymously;
(9) A disciplinary procedure for any student guilty of harassment, intimidation, or bullying, which shall not infringe on any student's rights under the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States;
(10) A statement prohibiting students from deliberately making false reports of harassment, intimidation, or bullying and a disciplinary procedure for any student guilty of deliberately making a false report of that nature;
(11) A requirement that the district administration semiannually provide the president of the district board a written summary of all reported incidents and post the summary on its web site, if the district has a web site, 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 1232g, as amended.
(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. The policy and an explanation of the seriousness of bullying by electronic means shall be made available to students in the district and to their parents and guardians. 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.
(F) This section does not create a new cause of action or a substantive legal right for any person.
(G) Not later than six months after the effective date of this amendment September 29, 2010, each board shall update the policy adopted under this section to include violence within a dating relationship. Not later than six months after the effective date of this amendment, each board shall update the policy to include harassment, intimidation, or bullying by electronic means.
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 and are not subject to section 3319.073 of the Revised Code. 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.
(C) This section does not create a new cause of action or a substantive legal right for any person.
Sec. 3319.073.  (A) The board of education of each city and exempted village school district and the governing board of each educational service center shall adopt or adapt the curriculum developed by the department of education for, or shall develop in consultation with public or private agencies or persons involved in child abuse prevention or intervention programs, a program of in-service training in the prevention of child abuse, violence, and substance abuse and the promotion of positive youth development. Each person employed by any school district or service center to work in a school as a nurse, teacher, counselor, school psychologist, or administrator shall complete at least four hours of the in-service training within two years of commencing employment with the district or center, and every five years thereafter. A person who is employed by any school district or service center to work in an elementary school as a nurse, teacher, counselor, school psychologist, or administrator on March 30, 2007, shall complete at least four hours of the in-service training not later than March 30, 2009, and every five years thereafter. A person who is employed by any school district or service center to work in a middle or high school as a nurse, teacher, counselor, school psychologist, or administrator on October 16, 2009, shall complete at least four hours of the in-service training not later than October 16, 2011, and every five years thereafter.
(B) Each board shall incorporate training in school safety and violence prevention into the in-service training required by division (A) of this section. For this purpose, the board shall adopt or adapt the curriculum developed by the department or shall develop its own curriculum in consultation with public or private agencies or persons involved in school safety and violence prevention programs.
(C) Each board shall incorporate training on the board's harassment, intimidation, or bullying policy adopted under section 3313.666 of the Revised Code into the in-service training required by division (A) of this section. Each board also shall incorporate training in the prevention of dating violence into the in-service training required by that division (A) of this section for middle and high school employees. The board shall develop its own curriculum curricula for this purpose these purposes.
Section 2.  That existing sections 3313.666, 3313.667, and 3319.073 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Section 3.  Not later than six months after the effective date of this section, the State Board of Education shall update its model policy to prohibit harassment, intimidation, or bullying adopted under section 3301.22 of the Revised Code to include harassment, intimidation, or bullying by electronic means.
Section 4. This act shall be known as the "Jessica Logan Act."
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