I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 284
To amend the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act to include 
bullying and harassment prevention programs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 6, 2005
Mr. SHIMKUS (for himself and Mr. DAVIS of Illinois) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
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. BULLYING AND HARASSMENT PREVENTION 
POLICIES, 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: 
‘‘(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 the matter preceding subclause (I), 
by striking the semicolon and inserting a 
comma; 
(B) in subclause (I), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; and 
(C) 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 
contained in the discipline policies described in 
subparagraph (A); and
‘‘(G) complaint 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 or district 
officials who are designated as responsible 
for receiving such complaints; and 
‘‘(ii) timelines that the school or dis-
trict will follow in the resolution of such 
complaints;’’. 
(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 
(2) in subparagraph (E), by adding at the end 
the following:
‘‘(xxiii) Programs that address the 
causes of bullying and harassment and 
that train teachers, administrators, and 
counselors regarding strategies to prevent 
bullying and harassment and to effectively 
intervene when such incidents occur.’’. 
(e) REPORTING.—Section 4116(a)(2)(B) of such Act 
(20 U.S.C. 7116(a)(2)(B)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, in-
cluding bullying and harassment,’’ after ‘‘drug use and vi-
olence’’. 
(f) IMPACT EVALUATION.—Section 4122 of such Act 
(20 U.S.C. 7132) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘and school 
violence’’ and inserting ‘‘school violence, including 
bullying and harassment,’’; and 
(2) in the first sentence of subsection (b), by in-
serting ‘‘, including bullying and harassment,’’ after 
‘‘drug use and violence’’. 
(g) DEFINITIONS.—
(1) DRUG AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION.—Para-
graph (3)(B) of section 4151 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 
7151) is amended by inserting ‘‘, bullying, and other 
harassment’’ after ‘‘sexual harassment and abuse’’. 
(2) 
PROTECTIVE
FACTOR, 
BUFFER, 
OR 
ASSET.—Paragraph (6) of such section is amended
by inserting ‘‘, including bullying and harassment’’ 
after ‘‘violent behavior’’. 
(3) RISK FACTOR.—Paragraph (7) of such sec-
tion is amended by inserting ‘‘, including bullying 
and harassment’’ after ‘‘violent behavior’’. 
(4) 
BULLYING, 
HARASSMENT, 
AND
VIO-
LENCE.—Such section is further amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(12) BULLYING.—The term ‘bullying’ means 
conduct, including conduct that is based on a stu-
dent’s actual or perceived identity with regard to 
race, color, national origin, gender, disability, sexual 
orientation, religion, or any other distinguishing 
characteristics that may be defined by a State or 
local educational agency, that—
‘‘(A) is directed at one or more students; 
‘‘(B) substantially interferes with edu-
cational opportunities or educational programs 
of such students; and 
‘‘(C) adversely affects the ability of a stu-
dent to participate in or benefit from the 
school’s educational programs or activities by 
placing a student in reasonable fear of physical 
harm.
‘‘(13) HARASSMENT.—The term ‘harassment’ 
means conduct, including conduct that is based on 
a student’s actual or perceived identity with regard 
to race, color, national origin, gender, disability, sex-
ual orientation, religion, or any other distinguishing 
characteristics that may be defined by a State or 
local educational agency, that—
‘‘(A) is directed at one or more students; 
‘‘(B) substantially interferes with edu-
cational opportunities or educational programs 
of such students; and 
‘‘(C) adversely affects the ability of a stu-
dent to participate in or benefit from the 
school’s educational programs or activities be-
cause the conduct as reasonably perceived by 
the student is so severe, pervasive, and objec-
tively offensive. 
‘‘(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 alter 
legal standards regarding, or limit rights available to vic-
tims of, bullying or harassment under other Federal or 
State laws, including title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 
1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), title IX of the Education 
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.). 
‘‘(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.’’.
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