,,ii #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #djc ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,february #bh1 #bjac ,mr4 ,casey 7for himself and ,mr4 ,kirk7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife to address and take action to prevent bullying and harassment of students4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,safe ,schools ,improvement ,act of #bjac4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,bullying and harassment foster a climate of fear and disrespect that can seriously impair the physical and psychological health of its victims and create conditions that negatively affect learning1 thereby undermining the ability of students to achieve their full potential4 7#b7 ,bullying and harassment contribute to high dropout rates1 increased absenteeism1 and academic underachievement4 7#c7 ,bullying and harassment include a range of behaviors that negatively impact a student's ability to learn and participate in educational opportunities and activities that schools offer4 ,such behaviors can include hitting or punching1 name-calling1 intimidation through gestures or social exclusion1 and sending insulting or offensive messages through electronic communications1 such as internet sites1 e-mail1 instant messaging1 mobile phones and messaging1 telephone1 or any other means4 7#d7 ,schools with enumerated anti-bullying and harassment policies have an increased level of reporting and teacher intervention in incidents of bullying and harassment1 thereby reducing the overall frequency and number of such incidents4 7#e7 ,students have been particularly singled out for bullying and harassment on the basis of their actual or perceived race1 color1 national origin1 sex1 disability status1 sexual orientation1 gender identity1 or religion1 among other categories4 7#f7 ,some young people experience a form of bullying called relational aggression or psychological bullying1 which harms individuals by damaging1 threatening1 or manipulating their relationships with their peers1 or by injuring their feelings of social acceptance4 7#g7 ,interventions to address bullying and harassment conduct to create a positive and safe school climate1 combined with evidence-based discipline policies and practices1 such as ,positive ,behavior ,interventions and ,supports 7,,pbis7 and restorative practices1 can minimize suspensions1 expulsions1 and other exclusionary discipline policies to ensure that students are not pushed-out or diverted to the juvenile justice system4 7#h7 ,according to one poll1 #he percent of ,americans strongly support or somewhat support a ,federal law to require schools to enforce specific rules to prevent bullying4 7#i7 ,students1 parents1 educators1 and policymakers have come together to call for leadership and action to address the national crisis of bullying and harassment4 #c4 ,safe ,schools improvement 7a7 ,in general ,title ,,iv of the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #gaja et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 ,d ,safe ,schools improvement #ddja4 ,purpose ,the purpose of this part is to address the problem of bullying and harassment conduct of students in public elementary schools and secondary schools4 #ddjb4 ,anti-bullying policies 7a7 ,bullying ,in this part1 the term bullying includes cyber-bullying through electronic communications4 7b7 ,policies ,a ,state that receives a grant under this title shall require all local educational agencies in the ,state to carry out the following3 7#a7 ,establish policies that prevent and prohibit conduct1 including bullying and harassment1 that is sufficiently severe1 persistent1 or pervasive-- 7,a7 to limit a student's ability to participate in1 or benefit from1 a program or activity of a public school or local educational agency2 or 7,b7 to create a hostile or abusive educational environment1 adversely affecting a student's education1 at a program or activity of a public school or local educational agency1 including acts of verbal1 nonverbal1 or physical aggression or intimidation4 7#b7 ,the policies required under paragraph 7#a7 shall include a prohibition of bullying or harassment conduct based on-- 7,a7 a student's actual or perceived race1 color1 national origin1 sex1 disability1 sexual orientation1 gender identity1 or religion2 7,b7 the actual or perceived race1 color1 national origin1 sex1 disability1 sexual orientation1 gender identity1 or religion of a person with whom a student associates or has associated2 or 7,c7 any other distinguishing characteristics that may be defined by the ,state or local educational agency4 7#c7 ,provide-- 7,a7 annual notice to students1 parents1 and educational professionals describing the full range of prohibited conduct contained in such local educational agency's discipline policies2 and 7,b7 grievance procedures for students or parents to register complaints regarding the prohibited conduct contained in such local educational agency's discipline policies1 including-- 7i7 the name of the local educational agency officials who are designated as responsible for receiving such complaints2 and 7ii7 timelines that the local educational agency will establish in the resolution of such complaints4 7#d7 ,collect annual incidence and frequency of incidents data about the conduct prohibited by the policies described in paragraph 7#a7 at the school level that are accurate and complete and publicly report such data at the school level and local educational agency level4 ,the local educational agency shall ensure that victims or persons responsible for such conduct are not identifiable4 #ddjc4 ,state reports ,the chief executive officer of a ,state that receives a grant under this title1 in cooperation with the ,state educational agency1 shall submit a biennial report to the ,secretary-- 7#a7 on the information reported by local educational agencies in the ,state pursuant to section #ddjb7;b77#e72 and 7#b7 describing the ,state's plans for supporting local educational agency efforts to address the conduct prohibited by the policies described in section #ddjb7;b77#a74 #ddjd4 ,evaluation 7a7 ,biennial evaluation ,the ,secretary shall conduct an independent biennial evaluation of programs and policies to combat bullying and harassment in elementary schools and secondary schools1 including implementation of the requirements described in section #ddjb1 including whether such requirements have appreciably reduced the level of the prohibited conduct and have conducted effective parent involvement and training programs4 7b7 ,data collection ,the ,commissioner for ,education ,statistics shall collect data from ,states1 that are subject to independent review1 to determine the incidence and frequency of conduct prohibited by the policies described in section #ddjb4 7c7 ,biennial report ,not later than ,january #a1 #bjae1 and every #b years thereafter1 the ,secretary shall submit to the ,president and ,congress a report on the findings of the evaluation conducted under subsection 7a7 together with the data collected under subsection 7b7 and data submitted by the ,states under section #ddjc4 #ddje4 ,effect on other laws 7a7 ,federal and state nondiscrimination laws ,nothing in this part shall be construed to invalidate or limit rights1 remedies1 procedures1 or legal standards available to victims of discrimination under any other ,federal law or law of a ,state or political subdivision of a ,state1 including title ,,vi of the ,civil ,rights ,act of #aifd 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bjjj;d et seq471 title ,,ix of the ,education ,amendments of #aigb 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #afha et seq471 section #ejd or #eje of the ,rehabilitation ,act of #aigc 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #gid1 #gid;a71 or the ,americans with ,disabilities ,act of #aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #abaja et seq474 ,the obligations imposed by this part are in addition to those imposed by title ,,vi of the ,civil ,rights ,act of #aifd 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bjjj;d et seq471 title ,,ix of the ,education ,amendments of #aigb 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #afha et seq471 section #ejd of the ,rehabilitation ,act of #aigc 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #gid71 and the ,americans with ,disabilities ,act of #aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #abaja et seq474 7b7 ,free speech and expression laws ,nothing in this part shall be construed to alter legal standards regarding1 or affect the rights 7including remedies and procedures7 available to individuals under1 other ,federal laws that establish protections for freedom of speech or expression4 #ddjf4 ,rule of construction ,nothing in this part shall be construed to prohibit a ,state or local entity from enacting any law with respect to the prevention of bullying or harassment of students that is not inconsistent with this part4 4 7b7 ,table of contents ,the table of contents in section #b of the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #dcjd the following3 ,part ,d--,safe ,schools improvement ,sec4 #ddja4 ,purpose4 ,sec4 #ddjb4 ,anti-bullying policies4 ,sec4 #ddjc4 ,state reports4 ,sec4 #ddjd4 ,evaluation4 ,sec4 #ddje4 ,effect on other laws4 ,sec4 #ddjf4 ,rule of construction4 4