BRAVE Act

Summary: Bullying Redress and Verified Enforcement Act or the BRAVE Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to require the employees of local educational agencies (LEAs) who become aware of bullying to report to an LEA-designated individual, within seven business days: (1) the acts that constituted bullying; (2) the protected characteristic of the victim if the bullying included a reference to or was motivated by such an actual or perceived protected characteristic; and (3) the response of the LEA's employees. Requires the LEA-designated individual, within 60 days after receiving such a report, to inform all the LEA's employees of the acts described and the response of the LEA's employees. Requires each LEA to annually review its policies on bullying. Directs each LEA to publish and make available to all of its students and their parents a quarterly report that: (1) summarizes the bullying reported since the previous quarterly report, (2) summarizes the responses to such bullying by the LEA's employees, (3) excludes any personally identifiable information of any student involved, and (4) informs the public of the right to file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights for the Department of Education regarding the LEA's failure to comply with this Act's requirements. Directs the Assistant Secretary who heads the Office of Civil Rights to: (1) establish the complaint procedure and publish it on the Department's website; (2) investigate each complaint to determine if the LEA complied with this Act's requirements; (3) withhold ESEA funds from, issue a complaint against, or enter into a compliance agreement with a noncompliant LEA to bring it into compliance; and (4) make information about each complaint available on the Department's website. Conditions each LEA's receipt of ESEA funds on the LEA: (1) annually certifying to the Secretary of Education in writing that it is in compliance with this Act's requirements, and (2) submitting its four most recent quarterly reports on bullying.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Bullying Redress and Verified 
Enforcement Act'' or the ``BRAVE Act''.

SEC. 2. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

    Title IX of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 7801 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 9534 the 
following:

``SEC. 9534A. BULLYING.

    ``(a) Official Reporting Requirements.--
            ``(1) Report of bullying.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), a 
                local educational agency shall require an employee of 
                the local educational agency who becomes aware of 
                bullying to report to the individual designated under 
                paragraph (2) by not later than 7 business days after 
                becoming aware of such bullying a description of--
                            ``(i) the acts that constituted bullying;
                            ``(ii) if the bullying included a reference 
                        to or was motivated by an actual or perceived 
                        protected characteristic of the victim, such 
                        protected characteristic; and
                            ``(iii) the response to such bullying by 
                        employees of the local educational agency.
                    ``(B) Exception.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), 
                in the case of an employee of a local educational 
                agency who is informed of bullying by a student 
                attending a school served by the local educational 
                agency, but the student requests that such bullying not 
                be reported by the employee, the employee shall not be 
                required to report such bullying under subparagraph 
                (A).
            ``(2) Receipt of reports.--A local educational agency shall 
        designate an individual to receive reports of bullying and 
        shall inform each employee of the local educational agency of 
        the contact information of the individual so designated.
            ``(3) Reporting to the local educational agency.--Not later 
        than 60 days after the date of the receipt of a report under 
        paragraph (1), the individual designated under paragraph (2) 
        shall inform all employees of the local educational agency of 
        the acts described and the response by employees of the local 
        educational agency and shall exclude any personally 
        identifiable information of any student involved.
            ``(4) Publicly available quarterly reports.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), a 
                local educational agency shall publish and make 
                available to all students served by the local 
                educational agency and parents of such students a 
                report on a quarterly basis that--
                            ``(i) summarizes the bullying reported 
                        since the previous quarterly report;
                            ``(ii) summarizes the responses by 
                        employees of the local educational agency to 
                        such bullying;
                            ``(iii) excludes any personally 
                        identifiable information of any student 
                        involved; and
                            ``(iv) informs the public of the right to 
                        file a complaint under subsection (b)(2).
                    ``(B) Exception.--A local educational agency shall 
                not publish a report under subparagraph (A) in a case 
                in which such publication would reveal personally 
                identifiable information about an individual student.
            ``(5) Annual policy review.--Each local educational agency 
        shall review, on an annual basis, the policies on bullying for 
        schools served by the local educational agency.
    ``(b) Federal Enforcement.--
            ``(1) Condition of federal funding.--As a condition of 
        receiving funds under this Act, a local educational agency 
        shall--
                    ``(A) annually certify to the Secretary in writing 
                that such local educational agency has complied with 
                this section; and
                    ``(B) together with such certification, submit the 
                4 most recent quarterly reports published preceding 
                such certification pursuant to subsection (a)(4).
            ``(2) Federal receipt of complaints.--The Assistant 
        Secretary who serves as the head of the Office of Civil Rights 
        for the Department of Education shall--
                    ``(A) establish a procedure for a student of a 
                local educational agency, a parent of such student, or 
                another appropriate individual to submit to the 
                Assistant Secretary a complaint relating to a failure 
                to comply with this section; and
                    ``(B) publish such procedure on the Internet 
                website of the Department of Education.
            ``(3) Federal response to complaints.--After receiving a 
        complaint pursuant to paragraph (2), the Assistant Secretary 
        shall--
                    ``(A) investigate such complaint to determine if a 
                local educational agency failed to comply with this 
                section; and
                    ``(B) if such local educational agency is 
                determined under subparagraph (A) to have failed to 
                comply with this section--
                            ``(i) withhold further payment of funds 
                        under this Act to such local educational 
                        agency;
                            ``(ii) issue a complaint to compel 
                        compliance of such local educational agency 
                        through a cease and desist order; or
                            ``(iii) enter into a compliance agreement 
                        with such local educational agency to bring it 
                        into compliance with this section,
                in the same manner as the Secretary is authorized to 
                take such actions under sections 455, 456, and 457, 
                respectively, of the General Education Provisions Act.
            ``(4) Public availability of information about 
        complaints.--Not later than 60 days after receiving a complaint 
        pursuant to subsection (b)(2), the Assistant Secretary shall 
        make available on the Internet website of the Department of 
        Education information about such complaint, which shall--
                    ``(A) if the bullying included a reference to or 
                was motivated by an actual or perceived protected 
                characteristic of the victim, include a description of 
                such protected characteristic; and
                    ``(B) exclude any personally identifiable 
                information of any student involved.
    ``(c) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Bullying.--The term `bullying' means any severe, 
        pervasive, or persistent electronic, written, verbal, or 
        physical act by one student or a group of students toward 
        another student during school hours and on school premises, or 
        at a school-sponsored activity outside of school hours, that 
        causes--
                    ``(A) harm to or reasonable concern for the person, 
                property, or mental health of such other student; or
                    ``(B) such other student to withdraw from or avoid 
                benefitting from the services, activities, or 
                opportunities offered by the school.
            ``(2) Protected characteristic.--The term `protected 
        characteristic' includes race, color, sex, religion, national 
        origin, disability, gender, gender identity, and sexual 
        orientation.''.