I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1957 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to address 
and take action to prevent bullying and harassment of students. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 5, 2017 
Ms. SA´NCHEZ (for herself, Mr. CURBELO of Florida, Mr. POCAN, Mr. YOUNG 
of Alaska, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. KING of New 
York, Mr. GALLEGO, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. MAC-
ARTHUR, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. LOWENTHAL, and Mr. 
CICILLINE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 to address and take action to prevent bullying 
and harassment of students. 
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 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Bullying and harassment foster a climate of 
fear and disrespect that can seriously impair the 
physical and psychological health of its victims and 
create conditions that negatively affect learning, 
thereby undermining the ability of students to 
achieve their full potential. 
(2) Bullying and harassment contribute to high 
dropout rates, increased absenteeism, and academic 
underachievement. 
(3) Bullying and harassment include a range of 
behaviors that negatively impact a student’s ability 
to learn and participate in educational opportunities 
and activities that schools offer. Such behaviors can 
include hitting or punching, name-calling, intimida-
tion through gestures or social exclusion, and send-
ing insulting or offensive messages through elec-
tronic communications, such as Internet sites, e- 
mail, instant messaging, mobile phones and mes-
saging, telephone, or any other means. 
(4) Schools with enumerated anti-bullying and 
harassment policies have an increased level of re-
porting and teacher intervention in incidents of bul-
lying and harassment, thereby reducing the overall 
frequency and number of such incidents. 
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(5) Students have been particularly singled out 
for bullying and harassment on the basis of their ac-
tual or perceived race, color, national origin, sex, 
disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, 
or religion, among other categories. 
(6) Some young people experience a form of 
bullying called relational aggression or psychological 
bullying, which harms individuals by damaging, 
threatening, or manipulating their relationships with 
their peers, or by injuring their feelings of social ac-
ceptance. 
(7) Interventions to address bullying and har-
assment conduct to create a positive and safe school 
climate, combined with evidence-based discipline 
policies and practices, such as Positive Behavior 
Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and restorative 
practices, can minimize suspensions, expulsions, and 
other exclusionary discipline policies to ensure that 
students are not ‘‘pushed-out’’ or diverted to the ju-
venile justice system. 
(8) According to one poll, 85 percent of Ameri-
cans strongly support or somewhat support a Fed-
eral law to require schools to enforce specific rules 
to prevent bullying. 
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(9) Students, parents, educators, and policy-
makers have come together to call for leadership and 
action to address the national crisis of bullying and 
harassment. 
SEC. 3. SAFE SCHOOLS IMPROVEMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7101 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘PART G—SAFE SCHOOLS IMPROVEMENT 
‘‘SEC. 4701. PURPOSE. 
‘‘The purpose of this part is to address the problem 
of bullying and harassment conduct of students in public 
elementary schools and secondary schools. 
‘‘SEC. 4702. ANTI-BULLYING POLICIES. 
‘‘(a) BULLYING.—In this part, the term ‘bullying’ in-
cludes cyber-bullying through electronic communications. 
‘‘(b) POLICIES.—A State that receives a grant under 
this title shall require all local educational agencies in the 
State to carry out the following: 
‘‘(1) Establish policies that prevent and prohibit 
conduct, including bullying and harassment, that is 
sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive— 
‘‘(A) to limit a student’s ability to partici-
pate in, or benefit from, a program or activity 
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of a public school or local educational agency; 
or 
‘‘(B) to create a hostile or abusive edu-
cational environment, adversely affecting a stu-
dent’s education, at a program or activity of a 
public school or local educational agency, in-
cluding acts of verbal, nonverbal, or physical 
aggression or intimidation. 
‘‘(2) The policies required under paragraph (1) 
shall include a prohibition of bullying or harassment 
conduct based on— 
‘‘(A) a student’s actual or perceived race, 
color, national origin, sex, disability, sexual ori-
entation, gender identity, or religion; 
‘‘(B) the actual or perceived race, color, 
national origin, sex, disability, sexual orienta-
tion, gender identity, or religion of a person 
with whom a student associates or has associ-
ated; or 
‘‘(C) any other distinguishing characteris-
tics that may be defined by the State or local 
educational agency, including being homeless or 
the child or ward of a member of the Armed 
Forces. 
‘‘(3) Provide— 
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‘‘(A) annual notice to students, parents, 
and educational professionals describing the full 
range of prohibited conduct contained in such 
local educational agency’s discipline policies; 
and 
‘‘(B) grievance procedures for students or 
parents to register complaints regarding the 
prohibited conduct contained in such local edu-
cational agency’s discipline policies, including— 
‘‘(i) the name of the local educational 
agency officials who are designated as re-
sponsible for receiving such complaints; 
and 
‘‘(ii) timelines that the local edu-
cational agency will establish in the resolu-
tion of such complaints. 
‘‘(4) Collect annual incidence and frequency of 
incidents data about the conduct prohibited by the 
policies described in paragraph (1) at the school 
building level that are accurate and complete and 
publicly report such data at the school level and 
local educational agency level. The local educational 
agency shall ensure that victims or persons respon-
sible for such conduct are not identifiable. 
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‘‘(5) Encourage positive and preventative ap-
proaches to school discipline that minimize students’ 
removal from instruction and ensure that students, 
including students described in paragraph (2), are 
not subject to disproportionate punishment. 
‘‘SEC. 4703. STATE REPORTS. 
‘‘The chief executive officer of a State that receives 
a grant under this title, in cooperation with the State edu-
cational agency, shall submit a biennial report to the Sec-
retary— 
‘‘(1) on the information reported by local edu-
cational agencies in the State pursuant to section 
4702(b)(4); and 
‘‘(2) describing the State’s plans for supporting 
local educational agency efforts to address the con-
duct prohibited by the policies described in section 
4702(b)(1). 
‘‘SEC. 4704. EVALUATION. 
‘‘(a) BIENNIAL EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall 
conduct an independent biennial evaluation of programs 
and policies to combat bullying and harassment in elemen-
tary schools and secondary schools, including implementa-
tion of the requirements described in section 4702, includ-
ing whether such requirements have appreciably reduced 
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the level of the prohibited conduct and have conducted ef-
fective parent involvement and training programs. 
‘‘(b) DATA COLLECTION.—The Commissioner for 
Education Statistics shall collect data from States, that 
are subject to independent review, to determine the inci-
dence and frequency of conduct prohibited by the policies 
described in section 4702. 
‘‘(c) BIENNIAL REPORT.—Not later than January 1, 
2019, and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall 
submit to the President and Congress a report on the find-
ings of the evaluation conducted under subsection (a) to-
gether with the data collected under subsection (b) and 
data submitted by the States under section 4703. 
‘‘SEC. 4705. 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 
Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), section 
504 or 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 
794, 794a), or the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 
(42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). The obligations imposed by this 
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part are in addition to those imposed by 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), and the Americans with Disabil-
ities 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 (including remedies and 
procedures) available to individuals under, other Federal 
laws that establish protections for freedom of speech or 
expression. 
‘‘SEC. 4706. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 
‘‘Nothing in this part shall be construed to prohibit 
a State or local entity from enacting any law with respect 
to the prevention of bullying or harassment of students 
that is not inconsistent with this part.’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 
section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 is amended by inserting after the item relating 
to section 4304 the following: 
‘‘PART G—SAFE SCHOOLS IMPROVEMENT 
‘‘Sec. 4701. Purpose. 
‘‘Sec. 4702. Anti-bullying policies. 
‘‘Sec. 4703. State reports. 
‘‘Sec. 4704. Evaluation. 
‘‘Sec. 4705. Effect on other laws. 
‘‘Sec. 4706. Rule of construction.’’. 
Æ 
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