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Public Act 098-0801
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| HB4207 Enrolled | LRB098 16062 NHT 51115 b |
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AN ACT concerning education.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section |
27-23.7 as follows:
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(105 ILCS 5/27-23.7) |
Sec. 27-23.7. Bullying prevention. |
(a) The General Assembly finds that a safe and civil school |
environment is necessary for students to learn and achieve and |
that bullying causes physical, psychological, and emotional |
harm to students and interferes with students' ability to learn |
and participate in school activities. The General Assembly |
further finds that bullying has been linked to other forms of |
antisocial behavior, such as vandalism, shoplifting, skipping |
and dropping out of school, fighting, using drugs and alcohol, |
sexual harassment, and sexual violence. Because of the negative |
outcomes associated with bullying in schools, the General |
Assembly finds that school districts and non-public, |
non-sectarian elementary and secondary schools should educate |
students, parents, and school district or non-public, |
non-sectarian elementary or secondary school personnel about |
what behaviors constitute prohibited bullying. |
Bullying on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, |
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religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, |
physical or mental disability, military status, sexual |
orientation, gender-related identity or expression, |
unfavorable discharge from military service, association with |
a person or group with one or more of the aforementioned actual |
or perceived characteristics, or any other distinguishing |
characteristic is prohibited in all school districts and |
non-public, non-sectarian elementary and secondary schools.
No |
student shall be subjected to bullying: |
(1) during any school-sponsored education program or |
activity; |
(2) while in school, on school property, on school |
buses or other school vehicles, at designated school bus |
stops waiting for the school bus, or at school-sponsored or |
school-sanctioned events or activities; or |
(3) through the transmission of information from a |
school computer, a school computer network, or other |
similar electronic school equipment; or . |
(4) through the transmission of information from a |
computer that is accessed at a nonschool-related location, |
activity, function, or program or from the use of |
technology or an electronic device that is not owned, |
leased, or used by a school district or school if the |
bullying causes a substantial disruption to the |
educational process or orderly operation of a school. This |
item (4) applies only in cases in which a school |
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administrator or teacher receives a report that bullying |
through this means has occurred and does not require a |
district or school to staff or monitor any |
nonschool-related activity, function, or program. |
(b) In this Section:
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"Bullying" includes "cyber-bullying" and means any severe |
or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including |
communications made in writing or electronically, directed |
toward a student or students that has or can be reasonably |
predicted to have the effect of one or more of the following: |
(1) placing the student or students in reasonable fear |
of harm to the student's or students' person or property; |
(2) causing a substantially detrimental effect on the |
student's or students' physical or mental health; |
(3) substantially interfering with the student's or |
students' academic performance; or |
(4) substantially interfering with the student's or |
students' ability to participate in or benefit from the |
services, activities, or privileges provided by a school. |
Bullying, as defined in this subsection (b), may take |
various forms, including without limitation one or more of the |
following: harassment, threats, intimidation, stalking, |
physical violence, sexual harassment, sexual violence, theft, |
public humiliation, destruction of property, or retaliation |
for asserting or alleging an act of bullying. This list is |
meant to be illustrative and non-exhaustive. |
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"Cyber-bullying" means bullying through the use of |
technology or any electronic communication, including without |
limitation any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, |
sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted in |
whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic system, |
photoelectronic system, or photooptical system, including |
without limitation electronic mail, Internet communications, |
instant messages, or facsimile communications. |
"Cyber-bullying" includes the creation of a webpage or weblog |
in which the creator assumes the identity of another person or |
the knowing impersonation of another person as the author of |
posted content or messages if the creation or impersonation |
creates any of the effects enumerated in the definition of |
bullying in this Section. "Cyber-bullying" also includes the |
distribution by electronic means of a communication to more |
than one person or the posting of material on an electronic |
medium that may be accessed by one or more persons if the |
distribution or posting creates any of the effects enumerated |
in the definition of bullying in this Section. |
"School personnel" means persons employed by, on contract |
with, or who volunteer in a school district or non-public, |
non-sectarian elementary or secondary school, including |
without limitation school and school district administrators, |
teachers, school guidance counselors, school social workers, |
school counselors, school psychologists, school nurses, |
cafeteria workers, custodians, bus drivers, school resource |
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officers, and security guards. |
(c) (Blank).
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(d) Each school district and non-public, non-sectarian |
elementary or secondary school shall create and maintain a |
policy on bullying, which policy must be filed with the State |
Board of Education. The policy or implementing procedure shall |
include a process to investigate whether a reported act of |
bullying is within the permissible scope of the district's or |
school's jurisdiction and shall require that the district or |
school provide the victim with information regarding services |
that are available within the district and community, such as |
counseling, support services, and other programs. Each school |
district and non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary |
school must communicate its policy on bullying to its students |
and their parent or guardian on an annual basis. The policy |
must be updated every 2 years and filed with the State Board of |
Education after being updated. The State Board of Education |
shall monitor the implementation of policies created under this |
subsection (d). |
(e) This Section shall not be interpreted to prevent a |
victim from seeking redress under any other available civil or |
criminal law.
Nothing in this Section is intended to infringe |
upon any right to exercise free expression or the free exercise |
of religion or religiously based views protected under the |
First Amendment to the United States Constitution or under |
Section 3 or 4 of Article 1 of the Illinois Constitution. |