The State Board of Education recently announced it was
beginning the process to adopt regulations to implement AB 1575 (2012) and AB 9
(2011) regarding bullying. AB 1575 prohibits
school districts from charging students fees for participating in any
educational activity, including extracurricular activities. Districts were
required to have policies in place to implement AB 1575 by March 1, 2013. The
bill allows complaints regarding fees to be filed with the school principal.
Anonymous complaints are permitted, and if the complainant is not satisfied
with the decision at the school level, an appeal to the California Department
of Education may go forward. The department is authorized to direct
reimbursement of all improperly collected fees if it finds an appeal has merit.
AB 9 required districts to adopt policies prohibiting bullying based on
specific characteristics, including disability, gender, gender identity and
expression, nationality, race or ethnicity. AB 9 also required districts to
have procedures for receiving and investigating complaints of such bullying.
The proposed regulations published by
the State Board of Education amend the existing Uniform Complaint Procedures to
include complaints about student fees and complaints of bullying. Comments on
the proposed regulations may be submitted by e-mail or in writing until May 15,
2013. The regulations are posted at www.cde.ca.gov/re/lr/rr.
Showing posts with label bullying. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bullying. Show all posts
Monday, April 15, 2013
Monday, October 15, 2012
Legislative Update: School Fees, Layoff Notice, Bullying, and Student Discipline
KMTG will be issuing a series of updates, as part of our Legal Alerts, on new legislation signed by Governor Brown. All laws become effective January 1, 2013, unless otherwise stated. Below is a brief summary of AB 1575, AB 1908, AB 1732, and AB 1729.
AB 1575 prohibits public school students from being required to pay a fee for participation in an educational activity. The new law applies to all public schools, including charter and alternative schools. All supplies, materials, and equipment that a pupil needs to participate in educational activities must be provided free of charge. However, the new law provides that it should not be interpreted to prohibit a school from soliciting voluntary donations, voluntary participation in fundraising activities, or from providing prizes or recognition to students for voluntarily participating in fundraising activities.
AB 1908 extends the period of time in which notice must be given before a classified employee may be subject to layoff, amending Education Code section 45117 and section 8801. AB 1908 requires that a school district or community college district give a classified employee written notice of not less than 60 days before the layoff date if the termination date of any specially funded program is other than June 30. AB 1908 further provides that, if a layoff is the result of a bona fide reduction or elimination of the service being performed by any department, the school district or community college district must give classified employees subject to layoff for lack of work notice not less than 60 days prior to the effective date of layoff.
AB 1732 clarifies the definition of what constitutes bullying by means of an electronic act, and includes posting on a burn page or impersonating another student. Additionally, AB 1732 specifically provides that “an electronic act shall not constitute pervasive conduct solely on the basis that it has been transmitted on the Internet or is currently posted on the Internet.”
AB 1729 gives school administrators more flexibility in disciplining students, including alternatives to suspension or expulsion that are age appropriate and aimed at correcting the specific behavior. Suspension for first time offenses is still allowed under Section 48900(a) through (e), without first attempting other means of correction. However, Section 48900.5 is amended to eliminate language that allows administrators to suspend students for first time offenses under Section 48900(f) through (r) based on a finding that the student causes a danger to persons or property or threatens to disrupt the instructional process. Section 48900.5 will now permit suspension for first time offenses under Section 48900(f) through (r) if “the pupil’s presence causes a danger to persons.”
Legal Alerts are available on our website, or if you are interested in receiving email notification of our Legal Alerts, please email us at kmtgalerts@kmtg.com
Meghan Covert Russell
AB 1575 prohibits public school students from being required to pay a fee for participation in an educational activity. The new law applies to all public schools, including charter and alternative schools. All supplies, materials, and equipment that a pupil needs to participate in educational activities must be provided free of charge. However, the new law provides that it should not be interpreted to prohibit a school from soliciting voluntary donations, voluntary participation in fundraising activities, or from providing prizes or recognition to students for voluntarily participating in fundraising activities.
AB 1908 extends the period of time in which notice must be given before a classified employee may be subject to layoff, amending Education Code section 45117 and section 8801. AB 1908 requires that a school district or community college district give a classified employee written notice of not less than 60 days before the layoff date if the termination date of any specially funded program is other than June 30. AB 1908 further provides that, if a layoff is the result of a bona fide reduction or elimination of the service being performed by any department, the school district or community college district must give classified employees subject to layoff for lack of work notice not less than 60 days prior to the effective date of layoff.
AB 1732 clarifies the definition of what constitutes bullying by means of an electronic act, and includes posting on a burn page or impersonating another student. Additionally, AB 1732 specifically provides that “an electronic act shall not constitute pervasive conduct solely on the basis that it has been transmitted on the Internet or is currently posted on the Internet.”
AB 1729 gives school administrators more flexibility in disciplining students, including alternatives to suspension or expulsion that are age appropriate and aimed at correcting the specific behavior. Suspension for first time offenses is still allowed under Section 48900(a) through (e), without first attempting other means of correction. However, Section 48900.5 is amended to eliminate language that allows administrators to suspend students for first time offenses under Section 48900(f) through (r) based on a finding that the student causes a danger to persons or property or threatens to disrupt the instructional process. Section 48900.5 will now permit suspension for first time offenses under Section 48900(f) through (r) if “the pupil’s presence causes a danger to persons.”
Legal Alerts are available on our website, or if you are interested in receiving email notification of our Legal Alerts, please email us at kmtgalerts@kmtg.com
Meghan Covert Russell
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
AB 1732: Clarification of Cyberbullying Law
AB 1732, which was chaptered on July 23, 2012, clarifies existing law related to disciplining a student for cyberbullying. Current law (Education Code 48900) outlines the requirements for suspending or expelling students, including discipline for bullying. Bullying is defined as "any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including communications made in writing or by means of an electronic act, which includes, among other tings, a post on a social network Internet Web site, and including one or more acts, as specified, committed by a pupil or group of pupils, directed toward one or more pupils that has or can be reasonably predicted to have one or more specified effects." AB 1732 identifies specific conduct that constitutes "a post on a social network Internet Web site," including creating a credible impersonation of a student and/or creating a false profile online (also known as a "burn page"). AB 1732 also notes that an electronic act does not become "pervasive conduct" merely on the basis that it has been transmitted or posted on the Internet.
For the entire text of AB 1732 click here.
Meghan Covert Russell
For the entire text of AB 1732 click here.
Meghan Covert Russell
Monday, July 2, 2012
It's July 1: Do Your Anti-Bullying Policies Comply With The Law?
As of July 1, 2012, AB 9 requires that all school district anti-harassment/anti-discrimination board policies must include language prohibiting the intimidation and bullying based on the actual or perceived characteristics as set forth in Education Code 220.
AB 9 also requires districts to have a complaint procedure in place for responding to allegations of bullying.
Do your board policies comply with the requirements set forth in AB 9? If not, now is the time to revise them!
For past coverage of AB 9 and its requirements, please click here.
AB 9 also requires districts to have a complaint procedure in place for responding to allegations of bullying.
Do your board policies comply with the requirements set forth in AB 9? If not, now is the time to revise them!
For past coverage of AB 9 and its requirements, please click here.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Georgia School District Not Held Liable for Student's Suicide
This week the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ruled in favor of the Murray County School District on their motion for summary judgment in the case of Long v. Murray County School District. The case has garnered national attention due to its focus on bullying. Seventeen-year-old Tyler Lee Long ("Long"), who was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, was the victim of severe, nearly constant bullying at his Georgia high school and eventually committed suicide. Long's parents sued the Murray County School District alleging that their failure to intervene, investigate, correct, or train employees to adequately protect Tyler from bullying constituted deliberate indifference and was the cause of his decision to take his own life.
Long was subject to numerous instances of bullying throughout his time at Murray County High School, but often these instances were not observed by school staff nor reported to school staff. Long's parents did email school staff with concerns about their son and school officials did respond by disciplining harassers and taking measures to prevent future harm. However, Long's parents argued that the school's response failed to adequately address and stop the bullying.
Plaintiffs also alleged that the peer-on-peer harassment violated the ADA and Section 504 and that Long was discriminated against because of his disability. Although the Court determined that Plaintiffs could potentially show that Long was (1) disabled, (2) harassed due to a disability, (3) that the harassment denied Long equal access to education, and (4) that the appropriate school officials had actual notice of the harassment, they were unable to show that (5) the Defendant's actions rose to the level of deliberate indifference. According to the Court, "school officials will only be deemed deliberately indifferent if their response to the harassment or lack thereof is clearly unreasonable in light of the known circumstances." The Court noted that "although Plaintiffs establish that Defendants should have done more to address disability harassment, Plaintiffs fail to meet the high bar of deliberate indifference and demonstrate that Defendants' response was clearly unreasonable." The evidence showed that the District investigated and responded to each reported incident.
Although the District was not held legally liable for Long's death, the case is an important lesson to students and staff that bullying is very real danger that deserves serious attention in our schools. Students should be encouraged to report any instances of bullying they observe to school staff. School officials should actively investigate any reports of bullying and appropriately discipline students. Additionally, it should be noted that as in this case, students with disabilities are often the targets of bullying. If students with disabilities are being bullied, the student's IEP team may want to address this in the IEP, or create a safety plan for the student.
The ruling is available in its entirety here.
Meghan Covert Russell
Long was subject to numerous instances of bullying throughout his time at Murray County High School, but often these instances were not observed by school staff nor reported to school staff. Long's parents did email school staff with concerns about their son and school officials did respond by disciplining harassers and taking measures to prevent future harm. However, Long's parents argued that the school's response failed to adequately address and stop the bullying.
Plaintiffs also alleged that the peer-on-peer harassment violated the ADA and Section 504 and that Long was discriminated against because of his disability. Although the Court determined that Plaintiffs could potentially show that Long was (1) disabled, (2) harassed due to a disability, (3) that the harassment denied Long equal access to education, and (4) that the appropriate school officials had actual notice of the harassment, they were unable to show that (5) the Defendant's actions rose to the level of deliberate indifference. According to the Court, "school officials will only be deemed deliberately indifferent if their response to the harassment or lack thereof is clearly unreasonable in light of the known circumstances." The Court noted that "although Plaintiffs establish that Defendants should have done more to address disability harassment, Plaintiffs fail to meet the high bar of deliberate indifference and demonstrate that Defendants' response was clearly unreasonable." The evidence showed that the District investigated and responded to each reported incident.
Although the District was not held legally liable for Long's death, the case is an important lesson to students and staff that bullying is very real danger that deserves serious attention in our schools. Students should be encouraged to report any instances of bullying they observe to school staff. School officials should actively investigate any reports of bullying and appropriately discipline students. Additionally, it should be noted that as in this case, students with disabilities are often the targets of bullying. If students with disabilities are being bullied, the student's IEP team may want to address this in the IEP, or create a safety plan for the student.
The ruling is available in its entirety here.
Meghan Covert Russell
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Cyberbullying Education Needs to Begin Before Middle School Study Suggests
A new study by Stephanie Englander of Bridgewater University suggests that 83 percent of middle schoolers, 39 percent of fifth-graders, and 20 percent of third-graders have their own cell phone. The study was conducted for the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center with the hopes of determining whether readily available technology, such as cell phones, plays a role in cyberbullying.
 |
Cell phone use graph in Research Findings: MARC 2011 Survey Grades 3-12
(Credit:
Elizabeth Englander/Bridgewater State University) |
At what grade do your schools begin to address cyberbullying? How do you talk to elementary students differently than high school students regarding cyberbullying?
Englander's full report is available here.
Meghan Covert Russell
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