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<section article="ged" article_name="Education" number="7-424" title_number="7" title_name="Public Schools" subtitle_number="4" subtitle_name="Health and Safety of Students">
  <level label="a">
    <level label="1">
      <text>In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>“Bullying, harassment, or intimidation” means intentional conduct, including verbal, physical, or written conduct, or an intentional electronic communication, that:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Creates a hostile educational environment by substantially interfering with a student’s educational benefits, opportunities, or performance, or with a student’s physical or psychological well–being and is:</text>
        <level label="1">
          <text>Motivated by an actual or a perceived personal characteristic including race, national origin, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, ancestry, physical attributes, socioeconomic status, familial status, or physical or mental ability or disability;</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>Sexual in nature, including descriptions or depictions of a student with the student’s intimate parts exposed or while engaged in an act of sexual contact; or</text>
        </level>
        <level label="3">
          <text>Threatening or seriously intimidating; and</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <level label="1">
          <text>Occurs on school property, at a school activity or event, or on a school bus; or</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>Substantially disrupts the orderly operation of a school.</text>
        </level>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>“Electronic communication” means a communication transmitted by means of an electronic device, including a telephone, cellular phone, computer, or pager.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <text>“Intimate parts” means the naked genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or female nipple.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="5">
      <text>“Sexual contact” means sexual intercourse, including genital–genital, oral–genital, anal–genital, or oral–anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <level label="1">
      <text>The Department shall require a county board to report incidents of bullying, harassment, or intimidation against students attending a public school under the jurisdiction of the county board.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>An incident of bullying, harassment, or intimidation may be reported by:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>A student;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>The parent, guardian, or close adult relative of a student; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>A school staff member.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <level label="1">
      <text>The Department shall create a standard victim of bullying, harassment, or intimidation report form.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Each victim of bullying, harassment, or intimidation report form shall:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Identify the victim and the alleged perpetrator, if known;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Indicate the age of the victim and alleged perpetrator;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>Describe the incident, including alleged statements made by the alleged perpetrator;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>Identify any actual or perceived personal characteristics described in subsection (a)(2)(i)1 of this section that are believed to have been a motivating factor in the incident;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="v">
        <text>Indicate the location of the incident;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vi">
        <text>Identify any physical injury suffered by the victim and describe the seriousness and any permanent effects of the injury;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vii">
        <text>Indicate the number of days a student is absent from school, if any, as a result of the incident;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="viii">
        <text>Identify any request for psychological services initiated by the victim or the victim’s family due to psychological injuries suffered; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ix">
        <text>Include instructions on how to fill out the form and the mailing address to where the form shall be sent.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>A county board shall distribute copies of the victim of bullying, harassment, or intimidation report form to each public school under the county board’s jurisdiction.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <level label="1">
      <text>A county board may establish an anonymous two–way electronic tip program to allow the reporting of an act of bullying, harassment, or intimidation of a student.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The purpose of the anonymous two–way electronic tip program is for a student, a parent, guardian, or close adult relative of a student, or a school staff member to report acts of bullying, harassment, or intimidation.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>Each county board that establishes an anonymous two–way electronic tip program shall publicize the anonymous two–way electronic tip program in student handbooks, school system websites, and other locations that the county board determines are necessary or appropriate.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <text>On receipt of a report of an act of bullying, harassment, or intimidation from an anonymous two–way electronic tip, the recipient of the report or the recipient’s designee shall:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Complete a victim of bullying, harassment, or intimidation report form in accordance with subsection (c) of this section; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Provide a transcript of the conversation to a designated person in the school.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="5">
      <text>The Governor may include funding in the State budget to provide grants to county boards to establish an anonymous two–way electronic tip program.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="e">
    <level label="1">
      <text>Subject to the requirements of this subsection, each county board shall submit summaries of report forms filed with the county board to the State Board on or before January 31 each year.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>A county board shall delete any information that identifies an individual.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <level label="i">
        <text>A county board shall include in its report incidents of bullying, harassment, or intimidation that, after a thorough and impartial investigation, are determined to have been motivated in whole or in substantial part by personal characteristics described in subsection (a)(2)(i)1 of this section of members of a particular group, if:</text>
        <level label="1">
          <text>There has been a substantial increase in incidents of bullying, harassment, or intimidation for students in that group over the previous school year;</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>There has been a substantial decrease in incidents of bullying, harassment, or intimidation for students in that group over the previous school year; or</text>
        </level>
        <level label="3">
          <text>There is a disproportionate incident rate of bullying, harassment, or intimidation for students in that group.</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>On or before July 1, 2027, the Department shall establish standards for the conditions described under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="f">
    <level label="1">
      <text>Subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection, on or before January 31 each year, each county board shall make available on request information described under subsection (e)(3) of this section.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>A county board may not publish any information that could be used to identify an individual student.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="g">
    <text>The information contained in a victim of bullying, harassment, or intimidation report form in accordance with subsection (c) of this section or received from an anonymous two–way electronic tip in accordance with subsection (d) of this section:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>Is confidential and may not be redisclosed except as otherwise provided under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act or this section; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>May not be made a part of a student’s permanent educational record.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="h">
    <level label="1">
      <text>The Department shall submit a report on or before March 31 each year to the Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, consisting of a summary of the information included in the victim of bullying, harassment, or intimidation report forms filed with the county boards the previous year.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The report submitted by the Department shall include, to the extent feasible:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>A description of the act constituting the bullying, harassment, or intimidation;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>The age of the victim and alleged perpetrator;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>The allegation of the alleged perpetrator’s motive;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>A description of the investigation of the complaint and any corrective action taken by the appropriate school authorities;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="v">
        <text>The number of days a student is absent from school, if any, as a result of the incident; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vi">
        <text>The number of false allegations reported.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
</section>
