I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2262 
To amend the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act to include 
bullying and harassment prevention programs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 5, 2009 
Ms. LINDA T. SA´NCHEZ of California (for herself, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mrs. 
MCCARTHY of New York, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BISHOP of 
New York, Ms. BORDALLO, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. CARNAHAN, 
Ms. CLARKE, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. DELAHUNT, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. 
DOYLE, Mr. ETHERIDGE, Mr. FARR, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. 
GORDON of Tennessee, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. 
HINOJOSA, Mr. HOLT, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. KIRK, Mr. LANCE, Ms. MATSUI, 
Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. 
PAYNE, Mr. REYES, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. SAR-
BANES, Mr. SIRES, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. STARK, Ms. SUTTON, Mr. 
TONKO, Mr. WEINER, and Mr. WEXLER) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities 
Act to include bullying and harassment prevention programs. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe Schools Improve-
ment Act of 2009’’. 
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SEC. 2. BULLYING AND HARASSMENT PREVENTION POLI-
CIES, PROGRAMS, AND STATISTICS. 
(a) STATE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 
4112(c)(3)(B)(iv) of the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and 
Communities Act (20 U.S.C. 7112(c)(3)(B)(iv)) is amend-
ed by inserting ‘‘, including bullying and harassment,’’ 
after ‘‘violence’’. 
(b) STATE APPLICATION.—Section 4113(a) of such 
Act (20 U.S.C. 7113(a)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (9)— 
(A) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(E) the incidence and prevalence of re-
ported incidents of bullying and harassment; 
and 
‘‘(F) the perception of students regarding 
their school environment, including with respect 
to the prevalence and seriousness of incidents of 
bullying and harassment and the responsiveness 
of the school to those incidents;’’; 
(2) in paragraph (18), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(3) in paragraph (19), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(4) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(20) provides an assurance that the State edu-
cational agency will provide assistance to districts 
and schools in their efforts to prevent and appro-
priately respond to incidents of bullying and harass-
ment and describes how the agency will meet this re-
quirement.’’. 
(c) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY PROGRAM APPLI-
CATION.—Section 4114(d) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 
7114(d)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (2)(B)(i)— 
(A) in subclause (I), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(III) performance indicators for 
bullying and harassment prevention 
programs and activities; and’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (7)— 
(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘, 
including bullying and harassment’’ after ‘‘dis-
orderly conduct’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (D), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(F) annual notice to parents and students 
describing the full range of prohibited conduct 
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contained in the discipline policies described in 
subparagraph (A); and 
‘‘(G) grievance procedures for students or 
parents that seek to register complaints regard-
ing the prohibited conduct contained in the dis-
cipline policies described in subparagraph (A), 
including— 
‘‘(i) the name of the school district of-
ficials who are designated as responsible 
for receiving such complaints; and 
‘‘(ii) timelines that the school district 
will follow in the resolution of such com-
plaints;’’. 
(d) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Section 4115(b)(2) 
of such Act (20 U.S.C. 7115(b)(2)) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (A)— 
(A) in clause (vi), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(B) in clause (vii), by striking the period 
at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(viii) teach students about the con-
sequences of bullying and harassment.’’; 
and 
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‘‘(V) disability; 
‘‘(VI) sexual orientation; 
‘‘(VII) gender identity; or 
‘‘(VIII) religion; 
‘‘(ii) any other distinguishing charac-
teristics that may be defined by a State or 
local educational agency; or 
‘‘(iii) association with a person or 
group with one or more of the actual or 
perceived characteristics listed in clause (i) 
or (ii). 
‘‘(13) HARASSMENT.—The term ‘harassment’ 
means conduct that— 
‘‘(A) adversely affects the ability of one or 
more students to participate in or benefit from 
the school’s educational programs or activities 
because the conduct, as reasonably perceived by 
the student (or students), is so severe, per-
sistent, or pervasive; and 
‘‘(B) includes conduct that is based on— 
‘‘(i) a student’s actual or perceived— 
‘‘(I) race; 
‘‘(II) color; 
‘‘(III) national origin; 
‘‘(IV) sex; 
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‘‘(V) disability; 
‘‘(VI) sexual orientation; 
‘‘(VII) gender identity; or 
‘‘(VIII) religion; 
‘‘(ii) any other distinguishing charac-
teristics that may be defined by a State or 
local educational agency; or 
‘‘(iii) association with a person or 
group with one or more of the actual or 
perceived characteristics listed in clause (i) 
or (ii). 
‘‘(14) VIOLENCE.—The term ‘violence’ includes 
bullying and harassment.’’. 
(h) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.— 
(1) AMENDMENT.—The Safe and Drug-Free 
Schools and Communities Act (20 U.S.C. 7101 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 4156. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 
‘‘(a) FEDERAL
AND STATE NONDISCRIMINATION 
LAWS.—Nothing in this part shall be construed to invali-
date or limit rights, remedies, procedures, or legal stand-
ards available to victims of discrimination under any other 
Federal law or law of a State or political subdivision of 
a State, including title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 
(42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), title IX of the Education 
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Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), section 
504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), 
or the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
12101 et seq.). The obligations imposed by this part are 
in addition to those imposed by title IX of the Education 
Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), title VI 
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), 
and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 
U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). 
‘‘(b) FREE SPEECH AND EXPRESSION LAWS.—Noth-
ing in this part shall be construed to alter legal standards 
regarding, or affect the rights available to individuals 
under, other Federal laws that establish protections for 
freedom of speech and expression.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is amended by 
adding after the item relating to section 4155 the 
following: 
‘‘Sec. 4156. Effect on other laws.’’. 
Æ 
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