SF 3863

as introduced - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 03/10/2022 09:17am

A bill for an act
relating to education; modifying student bullying policy provisions; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 121A.031, subdivision 4, by adding subdivisions.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 121A.031, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Local policy components.

(a) Each district and school policy implemented
under this section must, at a minimum:

(1) designate a staff member as the primary contact person in the school building to
receive reports of prohibited conduct under clause (3), ensure the policy and its procedures
including restorative practices, consequences, and sanctions are fairly and fully implemented,
and serve as the primary contact on policy and procedural matters implicating both the
district or school and the department;

(2) require school employees who witness prohibited conduct or possess reliable
information that would lead a reasonable person to suspect that a student is a target of
prohibited conduct to make reasonable efforts to address and resolve the prohibited conduct;

(3) provide a procedure to begin to investigate reports of prohibited conduct within three
school days of the report, and make the primary contact person responsible for the
investigation and any resulting record and for keeping and regulating access to any record;

(4) indicate how a school will respond to an identified incident of prohibited conduct,
including immediately intervening to protect the target of the prohibited conduct; at the
school administrator's discretion and consistent with state and federal data practices law
governing access to data, including section 13.02, subdivision 8, a presumption that a district
or school official will notify the parent of the reported target of the prohibited conduct and
the parent of the actor engaged in the prohibited conduct; providing other remedial responses
to the prohibited conduct; and ensuring that remedial responses are tailored to the particular
incident and nature of the conduct and the student's developmental age and behavioral
history;

(5) prohibit reprisals or retaliation against any person who asserts, alleges, or reports
prohibited conduct or provides information about such conduct and establish appropriate
consequences for a person who engages in reprisal or retaliation;

(6) allow anonymous reporting but do not rely solely on an anonymous report to
determine discipline;

(7) provide information about available community resources to the target, actor, and
other affected individuals, as appropriate;

(8) where appropriate for a child with a disability to prevent or respond to prohibited
conduct, allow the child's individualized education program or section 504 plan to address
the skills and proficiencies the child needs to respond to or not engage in prohibited conduct;

(9) use new employee training materials, the school publication on school rules,
procedures, and standards of conduct, and the student handbook on school policies to
publicize the policy;

(10) require ongoing professional development, consistent with section 122A.60, to
build the skills of all school personnel who regularly interact with students, including but
not limited to educators, administrators, school counselors, social workers, psychologists,
other school mental health professionals, school nurses, cafeteria workers, custodians, bus
drivers, athletic coaches, extracurricular activities advisors, and paraprofessionals to identify,
prevent, and appropriately address prohibited conduct;

(11) allow the alleged actor in an investigation of prohibited conduct to present a defense;
and

(12) inform affected students and their parents of their rights under state and federal
data practices laws to obtain access to data related to the incident and their right to contest
the accuracy or completeness of the data.

(b) Professional development under a local policy includes, but is not limited to,
information about:

(1) developmentally appropriate strategies both to prevent and to immediately and
effectively intervene to stop prohibited conduct;

(2) the complex dynamics affecting an actor, target, and witnesses to prohibited conduct;

(3) research on prohibited conduct, including specific categories of students at risk for
prohibited conduct in school;

(4) the incidence and nature of cyberbullying; and

(5) Internet safety and cyberbullying.

new text begin (c) Each district and school under this subdivision must annually certify to the
commissioner of education that the bullying prevention policy implemented under this
section has been discussed with students, school personnel, and volunteers, consistent with
subdivision 3. Each district must also certify to the commissioner that it has implemented
and is following a three-year training cycle for all school personnel that includes discussion
of its bullying prevention policy. Consistent with section 127A.42, the commissioner may
reduce state aid for a failure to implement any portion of this section.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 121A.031, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 8. new text end

new text begin Retaliation prohibited. new text end

new text begin Consistent with the provisions of sections 181.931 to
181.937, an employer may not retaliate against a school employee for making a complaint
pursuant to this section or a policy adopted as required under subdivision 3.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 121A.031, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 9. new text end

new text begin Civil penalty. new text end

new text begin Failure to comply with this section shall result in a civil penalty
of $5,000 per violation.
new text end