Relating to bullying and cyberbullying in public schools.

89(R) HB 1405 - House Committee Report version - Bill Text

89R5489 AMF-D

By: Reynolds, Allen, Rosenthal, Lalani

H.B. No. 1405

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to bullying and cyberbullying in public schools.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 28.0022, Education Code, is amended by

adding Subsections (h) and (i) to read as follows:

(h)

Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting a

teacher, administrator, or other employee of a state agency, school

district, or open-enrollment charter school from:

(1)

implementing a strategy to prevent or mediate

specific instances or school-wide cultures of bullying or

harassment that occur due to a victim's actual or perceived

religion, disability status, race, ethnicity, color, national

origin, sex, or association with a person or group with one or more

of those actual or perceived characteristics, including a strategy

implemented under a policy adopted under Section 37.0832; or

(2)

training teachers, administrators, or other

employees in the implementation of a strategy described by

Subdivision (1), including by providing staff development under

Section 21.451.

(i) In this section:

(1)

"Bullying" has the meaning assigned by Section

37.0832.

(2)

"Harassment" has the meaning assigned by Section

37.001.

SECTION 2. Section 37.0832(a), Education Code, is amended

by amending Subdivisions (1) and (2) and adding Subdivision (3) to

read as follows:

(1) "Bullying":

(A) means a single significant act or a pattern

of acts by one or more students directed at another student that

exploits an imbalance of power and involves engaging in written or

verbal expression, expression through electronic means, or

physical conduct that satisfies the applicability requirements

provided by Subsection (a-1), and that:

(i) has the effect or will have the effect

of physically harming a student, damaging a student's property, or

placing a student in reasonable fear of harm to the student's person

or of damage to the student's property;

(ii) is sufficiently severe, persistent, or

pervasive enough that the action or threat creates an intimidating,

threatening, or abusive educational environment for a student;

(iii) materially and substantially

disrupts the educational process or the orderly operation of a

classroom or school; [
or
]

(iv) infringes on the rights of the victim

at school;
or

(v)

targets a victim on the basis of the

victim's actual or perceived religion, disability status, race,

ethnicity, color, national origin, sex, or association with a

person or group with one or more of those actual or perceived

characteristics;
and

(B) includes cyberbullying.

(2) "Cyberbullying" means bullying that is done

through the use of any electronic communication device, including

through the use of a cellular or other type of telephone, a

computer, a camera, electronic mail, instant messaging, text

messaging, a social media application, an Internet website,
an

application using artificial intelligence,
or any other

Internet-based communication tool.

(3)

"Harassment" has the meaning assigned by Section

37.001.

SECTION 3. Section 37.0832, Education Code, is amended by

adding Subsections (b), (b-1), and (b-2) and amending Subsections

(c), (c-1), (d), and (e).

(b)
[
(c)
] The board of trustees of each school district

shall adopt a policy, including any necessary procedures,

concerning bullying that:

(1) prohibits the bullying of a student;

(2) prevents and mediates bullying incidents between

students that:

(A) interfere with a student's educational

opportunities; or

(B) substantially disrupt the orderly operation

of a classroom, school, or school-sponsored or school-related

activity;

(3) prohibits retaliation against any person,

including a victim, a witness, or another person, who in good faith

provides information concerning an incident of bullying;

(4)

requires a school district employee who, in the

course and scope of employment, witnesses or receives information

regarding an incident that the employee reasonably believes

constitutes bullying by or against a student who at the time of the

incident is enrolled in the district at which the employee is

employed to report the information to a campus behavior coordinator

or other appropriate district official;

(5)
[
(4)
] establishes a procedure for providing notice

of an incident of bullying to:

(A) a parent or guardian of the alleged victim on

or before the third business day after the date the incident is

reported; and

(B) a parent or guardian of the
student
alleged

to have engaged in bullying
[
bully
] within a reasonable amount of

time after the incident;

(6)
[
(5)
] establishes the actions a student should

take to obtain assistance and intervention in response to bullying;

(7)
[
(6)
] sets out the
supportive measures provided by

the district under Subsection (b-1) and available to
[
available

counseling options for
] a student who is
impacted by bullying,

including the alleged
[
a
] victim of
bullying, a student who

allegedly engaged in bullying,
or a witness to bullying [
or who

engages in bullying
];

(8)
[
(7)
] establishes procedures for reporting an

incident of bullying, including procedures for a student to

anonymously report an incident of bullying
;

(9) establishes procedures for
[
,
] investigating a

reported incident of bullying, and determining whether the reported

incident of bullying occurred
, which must include:

(A)

the provision of written notice of the

investigation or a reported incident of bullying to the impacted

students, including a victim of bullying and a student who

allegedly engaged in bullying, and the parents or guardians of

those students;

(B)

the provision of supportive measures under

Subsection (b-1) to the impacted students throughout the

investigation;

(C)

an opportunity for the impacted students to

identify witnesses and provide information and evidence relating to

the reported incident of bullying;

(D)

the issuance of an investigative report that

includes a summary of evidence considered, the investigator's

determination as to whether the reported incident occurred and, if

so, the student or students responsible for the incident, and the

rationale for those determinations;

(E)

an opportunity for each impacted student and

that student's parent or guardian to review and comment on the

investigative report required under Paragraph (D) before the report

is finalized; and

(F)

an opportunity for each impacted student to

appeal a determination of the investigator
;

(10)

requires investigations conducted under the

procedures established under Subdivision (9) to be completed not

later than the 10th business day after the district receives a

report of bullying submitted under the procedures established under

Subdivision (8), unless the time period is extended for good cause

and a written notice of the extension and rationale is provided to

impacted students and those students' parents or guardians;

(11)
[
(8)
] prohibits the imposition of a disciplinary

measure on a student who, after an investigation, is found to be a

victim of bullying, on the basis of that student's use of reasonable

self-defense in response to the bullying;

(12)
[
(9)
] requires that discipline for bullying of a

student with disabilities comply with applicable requirements

under federal law, including the Individuals with Disabilities

Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400 et seq.); and

(13)
[
(10)
] complies with the minimum standards

adopted by the agency under Subsection
(c)
[
(c-1)
].

(b-1)

The board of trustees of each school district shall

provide to a student impacted by bullying supportive measures that

are not disciplinary or punitive and are individualized to the

student.

Measures provided under this subsection shall be designed

to:

(1)

protect the safety of all students, teachers, and

other school staff in the district; and

(2)

ensure a student impacted by bullying has

continued access to the school's educational program, including the

student's normal instructional lessons and extracurricular

activities, and may include:

(A) counseling;

(B)

the extension of a deadline for turning in

coursework or other instruction-related adjustments;

(C) modifications to a class schedule;

(D)

requiring an employee of the district to

escort a student while the student is on a district campus;

(E) a transfer under Section 25.0342;

(F)

mutual restrictions on contact between

students impacted by an incident of bullying; and

(G) other similar measures.

(b-2)

A school district must provide supportive measures

under Subsection (b-1):

(1) without fee or charge; and

(2)

regardless of whether the student elects to

participate in an investigation conducted under the procedures

established under Subsection (b)(9).

(c)
[
(c-1)
] The agency shall adopt minimum standards for a

school district's policy under Subsection
(b)
[
(c)
]. The standards

must:

(1) include an emphasis on bullying prevention by

focusing on school climate
,
[
and
] building healthy relationships

between students and staff
, and engaging in dialogue to create a

culture of understanding and respect
;

(2) require each district campus to establish a

committee to address bullying by focusing on prevention efforts and

health and wellness initiatives;

(3) require students at each grade level to meet

periodically for instruction on building relationships and

preventing bullying, including cyberbullying;

(4) include an emphasis on increasing student

reporting of bullying incidents to school employees by:

(A) increasing awareness about district

reporting procedures; and

(B) providing for anonymous reporting of

bullying incidents;

(5) require districts to:

(A) collect information annually through student

surveys on bullying, including cyberbullying; and

(B) use those survey results to develop action

plans to address student concerns regarding bullying, including

cyberbullying; and

(6) require districts to develop a rubric or checklist

to assess an incident of bullying and to determine the district's

response to the incident.

(d) The policy and any necessary procedures adopted under

Subsection
(b)
[
(c)
] must be included:

(1) annually, in the student and employee school

district handbooks; and

(2) in the district improvement plan under Section

11.252.

(e) The procedure for reporting bullying established under

Subsection
(b)
[
(c)
] must be posted on the district's Internet

website to the extent practicable.

SECTION 4. Section 48.009(b-4), Education Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(b-4) The commissioner by rule shall require each school

district and open-enrollment charter school to annually report

through the Public Education Information Management System the

number of reported incidents of bullying that have occurred at each

campus. The commissioner's rules shall require a district or

school to specify the number of incidents of bullying that
:

(1)
included cyberbullying
; or

(2)

targeted a victim based on the victim's actual or

perceived religion, disability status, race, ethnicity, color,

national origin, sex, or association with a person or group with one

or more of those actual or perceived characteristics
.

SECTION 5. Not later than 45 days after the effective date

of this Act, the Texas Education Agency shall adopt or revise

minimum standards as necessary to comply with Section 37.0832(c),

Education Code, as amended by this Act.

SECTION 6. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026

school year.

SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2025.