An Act To Ensure the Proper Treatment of Bullying Situations in Schools

Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §6554, sub-§5, ¶F,  as enacted by PL 2011, c. 659, §3, is amended to read:

Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §6554, sub-§5, ¶F-1  is enacted to read:

Sec. 3. Modification of model policy. Within 90 days after the effective date of this Act, the Commissioner of Education shall modify the model policy to address bullying and cyberbullying developed pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 254, subsection 11-A to make it consistent with the provisions of this Act and shall provide the modified model policy to each school administrative unit in the State and post it on the publicly accessible portion of the Department of Education's website along with any training and instructional materials related to the policy that the commissioner determines necessary.

summary

This bill modifies the law governing school policies on bullying to require that:

1. Policies governing written documentation be developed and established by each school board in consultation with teachers;

2. The policies include procedures for investigating and attempting to resolve an allegation of bullying involving a person without any prior history of bullying, under which the incident, if it can be informally and satisfactorily resolved among the affected individuals, does not require written documentation; and

3. Within 90 days after the effective date of this legislation, the Commissioner of Education modify the commissioner's model policy to address bullying and cyberbullying to make it consistent with the provisions of this legislation and provide the modified model policy to each school administrative unit in the State and post it on the publicly accessible portion of the Department of Education's website along with any training and instructional materials related to the policy that the commissioner determines necessary.