| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to bullying in the public school |
| 3 | system; amending s. 1006.147, F.S.; revising |
| 4 | provisions prohibiting bullying or harassment of a |
| 5 | student or school employee through the use of |
| 6 | computer-related activities; prohibiting bullying |
| 7 | through the use of data or computer software that is |
| 8 | accessed at a nonschool-related location or activity |
| 9 | if certain conditions are met; providing that bullying |
| 10 | includes cyberbullying; revising the list of behaviors |
| 11 | that indicate possible bullying; defining the terms |
| 12 | "cyberbullying" and "within the scope of a public K-12 |
| 13 | educational institution"; requiring that each school |
| 14 | district include in its districtwide policy |
| 15 | instruction on recognizing behaviors that lead to |
| 16 | bullying and harassment and taking appropriate |
| 17 | preventive action; requiring that any complaint of a |
| 18 | computer-related incident be investigated by a school |
| 19 | district official using a computer on which web- |
| 20 | filtering software is not installed; providing an |
| 21 | effective date. |
| 22 |
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| 23 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 24 |
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| 25 | Section 1. Subsections (2) and (3) and paragraph (l) of |
| 26 | subsection (4) of section 1006.147, Florida Statutes, are |
| 27 | amended, and paragraph (c) is added to subsection (7) of that |
| 28 | section, to read: |
| 29 | 1006.147 Bullying and harassment prohibited.- |
| 30 | (2) Bullying or harassment of any student or employee of a |
| 31 | public K-12 educational institution is prohibited: |
| 32 | (a) During any education program or activity conducted by |
| 33 | a public K-12 educational institution; |
| 34 | (b) During any school-related or school-sponsored program |
| 35 | or activity or on a school bus of a public K-12 educational |
| 36 | institution; or |
| 37 | (c) Through the use of data or computer software that is |
| 38 | accessed through a computer, computer system, or computer |
| 39 | network within the scope of a public K-12 educational |
| 40 | institution; or |
| 41 | (d) Through the use of data or computer software that is |
| 42 | accessed at a nonschool-related location, activity, function, or |
| 43 | program or through the use of technology or an electronic device |
| 44 | that is not owned, leased, or used by a school district or |
| 45 | school, if the bullying creates a hostile environment at school |
| 46 | for the victim, infringes on the rights of the victim at school, |
| 47 | or materially or substantially disrupts the education process or |
| 48 | the orderly operation of a school. This paragraph does not |
| 49 | require a school to staff any nonschool-related activity, |
| 50 | function, or program. |
| 51 | (3) For purposes of this section: |
| 52 | (a) "Bullying" includes cyberbullying and means |
| 53 | systematically and chronically inflicting physical hurt or |
| 54 | psychological distress on one or more students and may involve: |
| 55 | 1. Teasing; |
| 56 | 2. Social exclusion; |
| 57 | 3. Threat; |
| 58 | 4. Intimidation; |
| 59 | 5. Stalking; |
| 60 | 6. Physical violence; |
| 61 | 7. Theft; |
| 62 | 8. Sexual, religious, or racial harassment; |
| 63 | 9. Public or private humiliation; or |
| 64 | 10. Emotional pain or discomfort; or |
| 65 | 11.10. Destruction of property. |
| 66 | (b) "Cyberbullying" means bullying through the use of |
| 67 | technology or any electronic communication, which includes, but |
| 68 | is not limited to, any transfer of signs, signals, writing, |
| 69 | images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted |
| 70 | in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic system, |
| 71 | photoelectronic system, or photooptical system, including, but |
| 72 | not limited to, electronic mail, Internet communications, |
| 73 | instant messages, or facsimile communications. Cyberbullying |
| 74 | includes the creation of a webpage or weblog in which the |
| 75 | creator assumes the identity of another person, or the knowing |
| 76 | impersonation of another person as the author of posted content |
| 77 | or messages, if the creation or impersonation creates any of the |
| 78 | conditions enumerated in the definition of bullying. |
| 79 | Cyberbullying also includes the distribution by electronic means |
| 80 | of a communication to more than one person or the posting of |
| 81 | material on an electronic medium that may be accessed by one or |
| 82 | more persons, if the distribution or posting creates any of the |
| 83 | conditions enumerated in the definition of bullying. |
| 84 | (c)(b) "Harassment" means any threatening, insulting, or |
| 85 | dehumanizing gesture, use of data or computer software, or |
| 86 | written, verbal, or physical conduct directed against a student |
| 87 | or school employee that: |
| 88 | 1. Places a student or school employee in reasonable fear |
| 89 | of harm to his or her person or damage to his or her property; |
| 90 | 2. Has the effect of substantially interfering with a |
| 91 | student's educational performance, opportunities, or benefits; |
| 92 | or |
| 93 | 3. Has the effect of substantially disrupting the orderly |
| 94 | operation of a school. |
| 95 | (d) "Within the scope of a public K-12 educational |
| 96 | institution" means, regardless of ownership, any computer, |
| 97 | computer system, or computer network that is physically located |
| 98 | on school property or at a school-related or school-sponsored |
| 99 | program or activity. |
| 100 | (e)(c) Definitions in s. 815.03 and the definition in s. |
| 101 | 784.048(1)(d) relating to stalking are applicable to this |
| 102 | section. |
| 103 | (f)(d) The definitions of "bullying" and "harassment" |
| 104 | include: |
| 105 | 1. Retaliation against a student or school employee by |
| 106 | another student or school employee for asserting or alleging an |
| 107 | act of bullying or harassment. Reporting an act of bullying or |
| 108 | harassment that is not made in good faith is considered |
| 109 | retaliation. |
| 110 | 2. Perpetuation of conduct listed in paragraph (a), or |
| 111 | paragraph (b), or paragraph (c) by an individual or group with |
| 112 | intent to demean, dehumanize, embarrass, or cause physical harm |
| 113 | to a student or school employee by: |
| 114 | a. Incitement or coercion; |
| 115 | b. Accessing or knowingly causing or providing access to |
| 116 | data or computer software through a computer, computer system, |
| 117 | or computer network within the scope of the district school |
| 118 | system; or |
| 119 | c. Acting in a manner that has an effect substantially |
| 120 | similar to the effect of bullying or harassment. |
| 121 | (4) By December 1, 2008, each school district shall adopt |
| 122 | a policy prohibiting bullying and harassment of any student or |
| 123 | employee of a public K-12 educational institution. Each school |
| 124 | district's policy shall be in substantial conformity with the |
| 125 | Department of Education's model policy mandated in subsection |
| 126 | (5). The school district bullying and harassment policy shall |
| 127 | afford all students the same protection regardless of their |
| 128 | status under the law. The school district may establish separate |
| 129 | discrimination policies that include categories of students. The |
| 130 | school district shall involve students, parents, teachers, |
| 131 | administrators, school staff, school volunteers, community |
| 132 | representatives, and local law enforcement agencies in the |
| 133 | process of adopting the policy. The school district policy must |
| 134 | be implemented in a manner that is ongoing throughout the school |
| 135 | year and integrated with a school's curriculum, a school's |
| 136 | discipline policies, and other violence prevention efforts. The |
| 137 | school district policy must contain, at a minimum, the following |
| 138 | components: |
| 139 | (l) A procedure for providing instruction to students, |
| 140 | parents, teachers, school administrators, counseling staff, and |
| 141 | school volunteers on identifying, preventing, and responding to |
| 142 | bullying or harassment, including instruction on recognizing |
| 143 | behaviors that lead to bullying and harassment and taking |
| 144 | appropriate preventive action based on each of those |
| 145 | observations. |
| 146 | (7) |
| 147 | (c) Any complaint of a computer-related incident must be |
| 148 | investigated by a school district official using a computer on |
| 149 | which web-filtering software is not installed. |
| 150 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012. |