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SENATE FLOOR VERSION
February 25, 2025
SENATE BILL NO. 792 By: Jett
An Act relating to the School Safety and Bullying
Prevention Act; amending 70 O.S. 2021, Section 24-
100.4, as amended by Section 6, Chapter 15, O.S.L.
2023 (70 O.S. Supp. 2024, Section 24-100.4), which
relates to discipline and bullying policies; updating
statutory language; requiring policy to recognize
certain right of students to take certain actions to
defend himself or herself; requiring policy to
contain certain confirming statements; requiring
policy to include statement regarding a zero
tolerance disciplinary policy; defining term;
requiring policy to include statement relating to
students who engage in self-defense; providing an
effective date; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 24-100.4, as
amended by Section 6, Chapter 15, O.S.L. 2023 (70 O.S. Supp. 2024,
Section 24-100.4), is amended to read as follows:
Section 24-100.4. A. Each school district board of education
shall adopt a policy for the discipline of all children attending
public school in that district, and for the investigation of
reported incidents of bullying. The policy shall provide options
for the discipline of the students and shall define standards of
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conduct to which students are expected to conform. The policy
shall:
1. Specifically address bullying by students at school and by
electronic communication, if the communication is specifically
directed at students or school personnel and concerns bullying at
school;
2. Contain a procedure for reporting an act of bullying to a
school official or law enforcement agency, including a provision
that permits a person to report an act anonymously. No formal
disciplinary action shall be taken solely on the basis of an
anonymous report;
3. Contain a requirement that any school employee that has
reliable information that would lead a reasonable person to suspect
that a person is a target of bullying shall immediately report it to
the principal or a designee of the principal;
4. Contain a statement of how the policy is to be publicized
including a requirement that:
a. an annual written notice of the policy be provided to
parents, guardians, staff, volunteers, and students,
with age-appropriate language for students,
b. notice of the policy be posted at various locations
within each school site, including, but not limited
to, cafeterias, school bulletin boards, and
administration offices,
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c. the policy be posted on the Internet website for the
school district and each school site that has an
Internet website, and
d. the policy be included in all student and employee
handbooks;
5. Require that appropriate school district personnel involved
in investigating reports of bullying make a determination regarding
whether the conduct is actually occurring;
6. Contain a procedure for providing timely notification to the
parents or guardians of a victim of documented and verified bullying
and to the parents or guardians of the perpetrator of the documented
and verified bullying;
7. Identify by job title the school official responsible for
enforcing the policy;
8. Contain procedures for reporting to law enforcement all
documented and verified acts of bullying which may constitute
criminal activity or reasonably have the potential to endanger
school safety;
9. Recognize the fundamental right of every student to take
reasonable actions as may be necessary to defend himself or herself
from an attack by another student who has evidenced bullying or
threatening behavior, as defined by Section 24-100.3 of this title.
The policy shall contain statements confirming the following:
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a. a student who is physically attacked shall be entitled
to use physical force that is reasonable and necessary
for self-protection,
b. a student who witnesses another person being
physically attacked is entitled to use reasonable and
necessary physical restraint, defined as the placing
of hands on another in a manner that is reasonable or
necessary, to protect the person from physical harm,
and
c. a school district shall investigate a student’s use of
physical force and may not reprimand or discipline a
student who is found through the investigation to have
more likely than not used physical force for self-
protection or in protection of another;
10. Require training for administrators and school employees as
developed and provided by the State Department of Education in
preventing, identifying, responding to, and reporting incidents of
bullying. The training shall be completed the first year an
administrator or school employee is employed by a school district,
and then once every fifth academic year thereafter;
10. 11. Provide for an educational program as designed and
developed by the State Department of Education and in consultation
with the Office of Juvenile Affairs for students and parents in
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preventing, identifying, responding to, and reporting incidents of
bullying;
11. 12. Establish a procedure for referral of a person who
commits an act of bullying to a delinquency prevention and diversion
program administered by the Office of Juvenile Affairs;
12. 13. Address prevention by providing:
a. consequences and remedial action for a person who
commits an act of bullying,
b. consequences and remedial action for a student found
to have falsely accused another as a means of
retaliation, reprisal, or as a means of bullying, and
c. a strategy for providing counseling or referral to
appropriate services, including guidance, academic
intervention, and other protection for students, both
targets and perpetrators, and family members affected
by bullying, as necessary;
13. 14. Establish a procedure for:
a. the investigation, determination, and documentation of
all incidents of bullying reported to school
officials,
b. identifying the principal or a designee of the
principal as the person responsible for investigating
incidents of bullying,
c. reporting the number of incidents of bullying, and
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d. determining the severity of the incidents and their
potential to result in future violence;
14. 15. Establish a procedure whereby, upon completing an
investigation of bullying, a school may recommend that available
community mental health care, substance abuse, or other counseling
options be provided to the student, if appropriate; and
15. 16. Establish a procedure whereby a school may request the
disclosure of any information concerning students who have received
mental health, substance abuse, or other care pursuant to paragraph
14 15 of this subsection that indicates an explicit threat to the
safety of students or school personnel, provided the disclosure of
the information does not violate the requirements and provisions of
the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Section 2503
of Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, Section 1376 of Title 59 of
the Oklahoma Statutes, or any other state or federal laws regarding
the disclosure of confidential information.
B. The policy adopted by a school district board of education
for the investigation of reported incidents of bullying or
threatening behavior pursuant to this section shall include:
1. A statement, relating to victims of bullying, that the
school district prohibits, does not have, and will not adopt, in
name or in practice, a zero-tolerance disciplinary policy. For the
purposes of this section, “zero-tolerance disciplinary policy” means
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a policy or practice of discipline that results in an automatic
disciplinary consequence such as suspension or expulsion for any
student who commits one or more acts of school violence or violent
behavior even if school district administrators have some discretion
to modify the consequence on a case-by-case basis; and
2. A statement relating to students who engage in self-defense,
pursuant to paragraph 9 of subsection A of this section, that the
school district administration, when determining the disciplinary
action for the student who has committed an act of school violence
or exhibited violent behavior, will take into account if such act
was committed in self-defense as an immediate response to an act of
school violence or violent behavior committed by another student.
C. In developing the policy, the school district board of
education shall make an effort to involve the teachers, parents,
administrators, school staff, school volunteers, community
representatives, local law enforcement agencies, and students. The
students, teachers, and parents or guardian of every child residing
within a school district shall be notified by the school district
board of education of its adoption of the policy and shall receive a
copy upon request. The school district policy shall be implemented
in a manner that is ongoing throughout the school year and is
integrated with other violence prevention efforts.
C. D. The teacher of a child attending a public school shall
have the same right as a parent or guardian to control and
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discipline such child according to district policies during the time
the child is in attendance or in transit to or from the school or
any other school function authorized by the school district or
classroom presided over by the teacher.
D. E. Except concerning students on individualized education
plans (IEP) pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA), P.L. No. 101-476, the State Board of Education shall not
have authority to prescribe student disciplinary policies for school
districts or to proscribe corporal punishment in the public schools.
The State Board of Education shall not have authority to require
school districts to file student disciplinary action reports more
often than once each year and shall not use disciplinary action
reports in determining a school district’s or school site’s
eligibility for program assistance including competitive grants.
E. F. The board of education of each school district in this
state shall have the option of adopting a dress code for students
enrolled in the school district. The board of education of a school
district shall also have the option of adopting a dress code which
includes school uniforms.
F. G. The board of education of each school district in this
state shall have the option of adopting a procedure that requires
students to perform campus-site service for violating the district’s
policy.
G. H. The State Board of Education shall:
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1. Promulgate rules for periodically monitoring school
districts for compliance with this section and providing sanctions
for noncompliance with this section;
2. Establish and maintain a central repository for the
collection of information regarding documented and verified
incidents of bullying; and
3. Publish a report annually on the State Department of
Education website regarding the number of documented and verified
incidents of bullying in the public schools in the state.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective July 1, 2025.
SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health, or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
February 25, 2025 - DO PASS