II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 506 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to address 

and take action to prevent bullying and harassment of students. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 8, 2011 

Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. KIRK, Mr. KERRY, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr. 

DURBIN, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. SANDERS, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. WYDEN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, 

Mrs. BOXER, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, and Ms. MIKULSKI) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

of 1965 to address and take action to prevent bullying 

and harassment of students. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe Schools Improve5 ment Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 506 IS

1 (1) Bullying and harassment fosters a climate 

2 of fear and disrespect that can seriously impair the 

3 physical and psychological health of its victims and 

4 create conditions that negatively affect learning, 

5 thereby undermining the ability of students to 

6 achieve their full potential. 

7 (2) Bullying and harassment contribute to high 

8 dropout rates, increased absenteeism, and academic 

9 underachievement. 

10 (3) Bullying and harassment include a range of 

11 behaviors that negatively impact a student’s ability 

12 to learn and participate in educational opportunities 

13 and activities that schools offer. Such behaviors can 

14 include hitting or punching, name-calling, intimida15 tion through gestures or social exclusion, and send16 ing insulting or offensive messages through elec17 tronic communications such as internet sites, e-mail, 

18 instant messaging, mobile phones and messaging, 

19 telephone, or any other means. 

20 (4) Schools with enumerated anti-bullying and 

21 harassment policies have an increased level of re22 porting and teacher intervention in incidents of bul23 lying and harassment, thereby reducing the overall 

24 frequency and number of such incidents. 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 506 IS

1 (5) Students have been particularly singled out 

2 for bullying and harassment on the basis of their ac3 tual or perceived race, color, national origin, sex, 

4 disability status, sexual orientation or gender iden5 tity, among other categories. 

6 (6) Some young people experience a form of 

7 bullying called relational aggression or psychological 

8 bullying, which harms individuals by damaging, 

9 threatening, or manipulating their relationships with 

10 their peers, or by injuring their feelings of social ac11 ceptance. 

12 (7) Interventions to address bullying and har13 assment and create a positive and safe school cli14 mate, combined with evidence-based discipline poli15 cies and practices, such as Positive Behavior Inter16 ventions and Supports (PBIS) and restorative prac17 tices, can minimize suspensions, expulsions, and 

18 other exclusionary discipline policies to ensure that 

19 students are not ‘‘pushed-out’’ or diverted to the ju20 venile justice system. 

21 (8) According to a recent poll, 85 percent of 

22 Americans strongly support or somewhat support a 

23 Federal law to require schools to enforce specific 

24 rules to prevent bullying. 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 506 IS

1 (9) Students, parents, educators, and policy2 makers have come together to call for leadership and 

3 action to address the national crisis of bullying and 

4 harassment. 

5 SEC. 3. SAFE SCHOOLS IMPROVEMENT. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Elementary and 

7 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7101 et 

8 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘PART D—SAFE SCHOOLS IMPROVEMENT 

10 ‘‘SEC. 4401. PURPOSE. 

11 ‘‘The purpose of this part is to address the problem 

12 of bullying and harassment of students in public elemen13 tary schools and secondary schools. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 4402. STATE REQUIREMENTS. 

15 ‘‘(a) STATE REPORTING, NEEDS ASSESSMENT, AND

16 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Each State that receives funds 

17 under this Act shall carry out the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) COLLECTION AND REPORT OF INFORMA19 TION.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State shall collect 

21 and report information on the incidence, preva22 lence, age of onset, perception of health risk, 

23 and perception of social disapproval of bullying 

24 and harassment by youth in elementary schools 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 506 IS

1 and secondary schools and communities in the 

2 State. 

3 ‘‘(B) SOURCE OF INFORMATION.—In col4 lecting information described in subparagraph 

5 (A), the State shall include information col6 lected from incident reports by school officials, 

7 anonymous student surveys, and anonymous 

8 teacher, administrator, specialized instructional 

9 support personnel, and other school personnel 

10 surveys reported to the State on a school-by11 school basis but shall not identify victims of 

12 bullying or harassment or persons accused of 

13 bullying or harassment. 

14 ‘‘(C) REPORT.—The chief executive officer 

15 of the State, in cooperation with the State edu16 cational agency, shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) submit a biennial report on the 

18 information described in this paragraph to 

19 the Secretary; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) make such information readily 

21 available to the public. 

22 ‘‘(2) NEEDS ASSESSMENT.—The State shall 

23 conduct, and publicly report the results of, a needs 

24 assessment for bullying and harassment prevention 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 506 IS

1 programs, which shall be based on ongoing State 

2 evaluation activities, including data on— 

3 ‘‘(A) the incidence and prevalence of re4 ported incidents of bullying and harassment; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(B) the perception of students, parents, 

7 and communities regarding their school envi8 ronment, including with respect to the preva9 lence and seriousness of incidents of bullying 

10 and harassment and the responsiveness of the 

11 school to those incidents. 

12 ‘‘(3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The State shall 

13 provide technical assistance to local educational 

14 agencies and schools in their efforts to prevent and 

15 appropriately respond to incidents of bullying and 

16 harassment. 

17 ‘‘(b) AVAILABLE FUNDING FOR STATES.—To imple18 ment the requirements described in subsection (a), the 

19 State may use— 

20 ‘‘(1) administrative funds consolidated under 

21 section 9201; or 

22 ‘‘(2) other funds available to the State under 

23 this Act, to the extent consistent with the authorized 

24 uses of such funds. 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 506 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 4403. LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY REQUIREMENTS. 

2 ‘‘(a) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY DISCIPLINE

3 POLICIES, PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, AND GRIEVANCE

4 PROCEDURES.—Each local educational agency that re5 ceives funds under this Act shall— 

6 ‘‘(1) include within the agency’s comprehensive 

7 discipline policies clear prohibitions against bullying 

8 and harassment for the protection of all students; 

9 ‘‘(2) establish and monitor performance indica10 tors for incidents of bullying and harassment; 

11 ‘‘(3) provide annual notice to parents, students, 

12 and educational professionals— 

13 ‘‘(A) describing the full range of bullying 

14 and harassment conduct prohibited by the agen15 cy’s discipline policies; and 

16 ‘‘(B) reporting on the numbers and nature 

17 of bullying and harassment incidents for each 

18 school served by the local educational agency; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(4) establish and provide annual notice to stu21 dents, parents, and educational professionals of 

22 grievance procedures for students, parents, or edu23 cational professionals who seek to register com24 plaints regarding bullying and harassment prohib25 ited by the discipline policies, including— 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 506 IS

1 ‘‘(A) the name of the local educational 

2 agency official who is designated as responsible 

3 for receiving such complaints; and 

4 ‘‘(B) timelines that the local educational 

5 agency will follow in the resolution of such com6 plaints. 

7 ‘‘(b) AVAILABLE FUNDING FOR LOCAL EDU8 CATIONAL AGENCIES.—To implement the requirements 

9 described in subsection (a), the local educational agency 

10 may use— 

11 ‘‘(1) administrative funds consolidated under 

12 section 9203; or 

13 ‘‘(2) other funds available to the local edu14 cational agency under this Act, to the extent con15 sistent with the authorized uses of such funds. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 4404. EVALUATION. 

17 ‘‘(a) BIENNIAL EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall 

18 conduct an independent biennial evaluation of programs 

19 to combat bullying and harassment in elementary schools 

20 and secondary schools, including implementation of the re21 quirements described in sections 4402 and 4403, including 

22 whether such programs have appreciably reduced the level 

23 of bullying and harassment and have conducted effective 

24 parent involvement and training programs. 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 506 IS

1 ‘‘(b) DATA COLLECTION.—The Commissioner for 

2 Education Statistics shall collect data, that are subject to 

3 independent review, to determine the incidence and preva4 lence of bullying and harassment in elementary schools 

5 and secondary schools in the United States. The collected 

6 data shall include incident reports by school officials, 

7 anonymous student surveys, anonymous parent surveys, 

8 and anonymous teacher, administrator, specialized in9 structional support personnel, and other school personnel 

10 surveys. 

11 ‘‘(c) BIENNIAL REPORT.—Not later than January 1, 

12 2012, and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall 

13 submit to the President and Congress a report on the find14 ings of the evaluation conducted under subsection (a) to15 gether with the data collected under subsection (b) and 

16 data submitted by the States under section 

17 4402(a)(1)(C)(i). 

18 ‘‘SEC. 4405. DEFINITIONS. 

19 ‘‘In this part: 

20 ‘‘(1) BULLYING.—The term ‘bullying’— 

21 ‘‘(A) means conduct, including an elec22 tronic communication, that adversely affects the 

23 ability of 1 or more students to participate in 

24 or benefit from the school’s educational pro25 grams or activities by placing the student (or 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 506 IS

1 students) in reasonable fear of physical harm; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(B) includes conduct that is based on— 

4 ‘‘(i) a student’s actual or perceived— 

5 ‘‘(I) race; 

6 ‘‘(II) color; 

7 ‘‘(III) national origin; 

8 ‘‘(IV) sex; 

9 ‘‘(V) disability; 

10 ‘‘(VI) sexual orientation; 

11 ‘‘(VII) gender identity; or 

12 ‘‘(VIII) religion; 

13 ‘‘(ii) any other distinguishing charac14 teristics that may be defined by a State or 

15 local educational agency; or 

16 ‘‘(iii) association with a person or 

17 group with 1 or more of the actual or per18 ceived characteristics listed in clause (i) or 

19 (ii). 

20 ‘‘(2) ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION.—The term 

21 ‘electronic communication’ means a communication 

22 transmitted by means of an electronic device, such 

23 as a telephone, cellular phone, computer, or pager. 

24 ‘‘(3) HARASSMENT.—The term ‘harassment’— 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 506 IS

1 ‘‘(A) means conduct, including an elec2 tronic communication, that adversely affects the 

3 ability of 1 or more students to participate in 

4 or benefit from the school’s educational pro5 grams or activities because the conduct, as rea6 sonably perceived by the student (or students), 

7 is so severe, persistent, or pervasive; and 

8 ‘‘(B) includes conduct that is based on— 

9 ‘‘(i) a student’s actual or perceived— 

10 ‘‘(I) race; 

11 ‘‘(II) color; 

12 ‘‘(III) national origin; 

13 ‘‘(IV) sex; 

14 ‘‘(V) disability; 

15 ‘‘(VI) sexual orientation; 

16 ‘‘(VII) gender identity; or 

17 ‘‘(VIII) religion; 

18 ‘‘(ii) any other distinguishing char19 acteristic that may be defined by a State 

20 or local educational agency; or 

21 ‘‘(iii) association with a person or 

22 group with 1 or more of the actual or per23 ceived characteristics listed in clause (i) or 

24 (ii). 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 506 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 4406. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 

2 ‘‘(a) FEDERAL AND STATE NONDISCRIMINATION

3 LAWS.—Nothing in this part shall be construed to invali4 date or limit rights, remedies, procedures, or legal stand5 ards available to victims of discrimination under any other 

6 Federal law or law of a State or political subdivision of 

7 a State, including title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 

8 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), title IX of the Education 

9 Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), section 

10 504 or 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 

11 794, 794a), or the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 

12 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). The obligations imposed by this 

13 part are in addition to those imposed by title VI of the 

14 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), title 

15 IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 

16 1681 et seq.), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

17 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), and the Americans with Disabil18 ities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). 

19 ‘‘(b) FREE SPEECH AND EXPRESSION LAWS.—Noth20 ing in this part shall be construed to alter legal standards 

21 regarding, or affect the rights (including remedies and 

22 procedures) available to individuals under, other Federal 

23 laws that establish protections for freedom of speech or 

24 expression. 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 506 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 4407. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

2 ‘‘Nothing in this part shall be construed to prohibit 

3 a State or local entity from enacting any law with respect 

4 to the prevention of bullying or harassment of students 

5 that is not inconsistent with this part.’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

7 section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

8 of 1965 is amended by inserting after the item relating 

9 to section 4304 the following: 

‘‘PART D—SAFE SCHOOLS IMPROVEMENT

‘‘Sec. 4401. Purpose. 

‘‘Sec. 4402. State requirements. 

‘‘Sec. 4403. Local educational agency requirements. 

‘‘Sec. 4404. Evaluation. 

‘‘Sec. 4405. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 4406. Effect on other laws. 

‘‘Sec. 4407. Rule of construction.’’. 

Æ 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS