| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to student safety; providing legislative |
| 3 | findings; prohibiting harassment, discrimination, and |
| 4 | violence during education programs and activities |
| 5 | conducted by certain educational institutions; defining |
| 6 | the term "harassment"; providing that certain rights or |
| 7 | responsibilities are not limited; requiring each school |
| 8 | district to adopt a policy prohibiting harassment, |
| 9 | discrimination, and violence on school property, at a |
| 10 | school program or activity, or on a school bus; providing |
| 11 | minimum requirements for the contents of the policy; |
| 12 | requiring the State Board of Education to develop model |
| 13 | policies; requiring notice of a school district's policy; |
| 14 | requiring schools to develop and implement methods for |
| 15 | instructing teachers, administrators, and counselors in |
| 16 | identifying, preventing, and responding to harassment, |
| 17 | discrimination, and violence; authorizing redress under |
| 18 | civil or criminal law; providing immunity; providing |
| 19 | severability; providing an effective date. |
| 20 |
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| 21 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 22 |
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| 23 | Section 1. Student Safety and Campus Violence Prevention |
| 24 | Act.-- |
| 25 | (1) This section may be cited as the "Student Safety and |
| 26 | Campus Violence Prevention Act." |
| 27 | (2) The Legislature finds that: |
| 28 | (a) Ensuring the safety of all students in this state is a |
| 29 | compelling state interest. |
| 30 | (b) Harassment, discrimination, and violence are not |
| 31 | conducive to a learning environment and are sometimes a threat |
| 32 | and a reality for students. When these conditions occur, all |
| 33 | students in this state are adversely affected. |
| 34 | (c) Maintaining safety and discipline in schools is |
| 35 | essential for the welfare of all students and for accomplishing |
| 36 | the educational mission of schools. Harassment, discrimination, |
| 37 | and violence interfere with efforts to ensure that school |
| 38 | environments are conducive to the safety and learning of all |
| 39 | students. Therefore, the Legislature recognizes its |
| 40 | responsibilities to: |
| 41 | 1. Enable all students to learn in a safe school |
| 42 | environment. |
| 43 | 2. Ensure that every student is provided with a safe |
| 44 | educational environment in which to learn. |
| 45 | (3) Harassment, discrimination, or violence against any |
| 46 | student or school employee, including the possession of a lethal |
| 47 | weapon, by any student or school employee during any education |
| 48 | program or activity conducted by a public K-12 educational |
| 49 | institution that receives or benefits from state or federal |
| 50 | financial assistance, or on any school bus traveling to or from |
| 51 | such a school or a school-related or school-sponsored program or |
| 52 | activity, is prohibited. Such prohibited conduct includes: |
| 53 | (a) Harassment and discrimination, including, but not |
| 54 | limited to, that which is reasonably perceived as being |
| 55 | motivated by the actual or perceived identity or expression of |
| 56 | the characteristics of disability, race, religion, ethnicity, |
| 57 | color, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, or national origin, |
| 58 | based on stereotypes of persons identified by these |
| 59 | characteristics or based on association with others identified |
| 60 | by these characteristics. |
| 61 | (b) Retaliation against a student by another student or |
| 62 | school employee for asserting or alleging a violation of this |
| 63 | section. |
| 64 | (4) As used in this section, the term "harassment" means |
| 65 | any gesture or written, verbal, or physical act that is |
| 66 | reasonably perceived as being motivated by the actual or |
| 67 | perceived identity or expression of the characteristics of |
| 68 | disability, race, religion, ethnicity, color, ancestry, sex, |
| 69 | sexual orientation, or national origin, or based on association |
| 70 | with an individual who falls into one of the protected |
| 71 | categories, and that: |
| 72 | (a) Places a student in reasonable fear of harm to his or |
| 73 | her person or damage to his or her property; |
| 74 | (b) Has the effect of substantially interfering with a |
| 75 | student's educational performance, opportunities, or benefits; |
| 76 | or |
| 77 | (c) Has the effect of substantially disrupting the orderly |
| 78 | operation of the school. |
| 79 | (5) This section does not: |
| 80 | (a) Preclude a student from taking any other appropriate |
| 81 | action provided by law; |
| 82 | (b) Limit rights or responsibilities provided under any |
| 83 | other provision of law; or |
| 84 | (c) Limit the rights afforded to all persons by the United |
| 85 | States Constitution or the State Constitution. |
| 86 | (6) By August 1, 2006, each school district shall adopt a |
| 87 | policy prohibiting harassment, discrimination, and violence on |
| 88 | school property, at a school-related or school-sponsored program |
| 89 | or activity, or on a school bus. The school district shall |
| 90 | involve parents, school employees, volunteers, students, |
| 91 | administrators, and community representatives in the process of |
| 92 | adopting the policy. |
| 93 | (7) A school district shall control the content of the |
| 94 | policy, except that the policy must contain, at a minimum, the |
| 95 | following components: |
| 96 | (a) A statement prohibiting harassment, discrimination, |
| 97 | and violence. |
| 98 | (b) A definition of harassment no less inclusive than that |
| 99 | set forth in this section. |
| 100 | (c) A description of the type of behavior expected from |
| 101 | each student and school employee. |
| 102 | (d) The consequences and appropriate remedial action for a |
| 103 | person who commits an act of harassment, discrimination, or |
| 104 | violence. |
| 105 | (e) A procedure for reporting an act of harassment, |
| 106 | discrimination, or violence, including intimidation and |
| 107 | bullying, with a provision that permits a person to anonymously |
| 108 | report such an act. However, this paragraph does not permit |
| 109 | formal disciplinary action to be based solely on an anonymous |
| 110 | report. |
| 111 | (f) A procedure for the prompt investigation of complaints |
| 112 | and reports of serious violations, identifying either the |
| 113 | principal or the principal's designee as the person responsible |
| 114 | for the investigation. |
| 115 | (g) The range of ways in which a school will respond after |
| 116 | an incident of harassment, discrimination, or violence is |
| 117 | confirmed. |
| 118 | (h) A statement that prohibits reprisals or retaliation |
| 119 | against any person who reports an act of harassment, |
| 120 | discrimination, or violence and the consequences and appropriate |
| 121 | remedial action for a person who engages in reprisals or |
| 122 | retaliation. |
| 123 | (i) The consequences and appropriate remedial action for a |
| 124 | person found to have falsely accused another. |
| 125 | (j) A statement of how the policy is to be publicized, |
| 126 | including notice that the policy applies to participation in |
| 127 | school-related and school-sponsored programs and activities. |
| 128 | (8) To assist school districts in developing policies for |
| 129 | the prevention of harassment, discrimination, and violence, the |
| 130 | State Board of Education shall develop model policies applicable |
| 131 | to kindergarten through grade 12. These model policies must be |
| 132 | issued no later than July 1, 2006. |
| 133 | (9) Notice of a school district's policy must appear in |
| 134 | any school district publication that sets forth the |
| 135 | comprehensive rules, procedures, and standards of conduct for |
| 136 | schools within the school district and in any student or school |
| 137 | employee handbook. |
| 138 | (10) Educational institutions covered under this section |
| 139 | shall develop and implement methods and strategies for providing |
| 140 | instruction to teachers, school administrators, and counseling |
| 141 | staff on identifying, preventing, and responding to all forms of |
| 142 | harassment, discrimination, and violence as set forth in this |
| 143 | section. |
| 144 | (11) This section does not prohibit a victim from seeking |
| 145 | redress under any other civil or criminal law. |
| 146 | (a) A person who has filed a complaint with a school under |
| 147 | this section shall be advised by the school that civil law |
| 148 | remedies, including, but not limited to, injunctions, |
| 149 | restraining orders, or other remedies or orders, may also be |
| 150 | available to complainants. The school shall make this |
| 151 | information available by publication in appropriate |
| 152 | informational materials. |
| 153 | (b) This section does not require an exhaustion of the |
| 154 | administrative complaint process before civil law remedies may |
| 155 | be pursued. |
| 156 | (c) A school employee or volunteer who promptly reports an |
| 157 | incident of harassment, discrimination, or violence to the |
| 158 | appropriate school official designated in the school district's |
| 159 | policy and who makes this report in compliance with the |
| 160 | procedures set forth in the district's policy is immune from a |
| 161 | cause of action for damages arising out of any failure to remedy |
| 162 | the reported incident. |
| 163 | Section 2. If any provision of this act or its application |
| 164 | to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity |
| 165 | does not affect other provisions or applications of the act |
| 166 | which can be given effect without the invalid provision or |
| 167 | application, and to this end the provisions of this act are |
| 168 | severable. |
| 169 | Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |