An Act To Ensure the Proper Treatment of Bullying Situations in Schools
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 0723
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: McCLELLAN, HUBBELL, JOHNSON, MAKER, POULIOT
Amends: 20-A MRSA §6554

Legislative Document 
No. 723 
H.P. 496 
House of Representatives, February 28, 2013 
An Act To Ensure the Proper Treatment of Bullying Situations in 
Schools 
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed. 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative McCLELLAN of Raymond. 
Cosponsored by Representatives: HUBBELL of Bar Harbor, JOHNSON of Greenville, 
MAKER of Calais, POULIOT of Augusta. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §6554, sub-§5, ¶F, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 659, §3, is 
amended to read: 
F.  A procedure for promptly investigating and responding to incidents of bullying, 
including written documentation, in a form developed and established by the school 
board in consultation with teachers, of reported incidents, other than incidents 
resolved in accordance with procedures established under paragraph F-1, and the 
outcome of the investigations; 
Sec. 2.  20-A MRSA §6554, sub-§5, ¶F-1 is enacted to read: 
F-1.  Procedures for investigating and attempting to resolve an allegation of bullying 
involving a person without any prior history of bullying, under which the incident, if 
it can be informally and satisfactorily resolved among the affected individuals, 
including the person who was the object of the alleged bullying and that person's 
parents, does not require written documentation under paragraph F; 
Sec. 3.  Modification of model policy.  Within 90 days after the effective date of 
this Act, the Commissioner of Education shall modify the model policy to address 
bullying and cyberbullying developed pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, 
section 254, subsection 11-A to make it consistent with the provisions of this Act and 
shall provide the modified model policy to each school administrative unit in the State 
and post it on the publicly accessible portion of the Department of Education's website 
along with any training and instructional materials related to the policy that the 
commissioner determines necessary. 
SUMMARY 
This bill modifies the law governing school policies on bullying to require that: 
1.  Policies governing written documentation be developed and established by each 
school board in consultation with teachers; 
2.  The policies include procedures for investigating and attempting to resolve an 
allegation of bullying involving a person without any prior history of bullying, under 
which the incident, if it can be informally and satisfactorily resolved among the affected 
individuals, does not require written documentation; and 
3.  Within 90 days after the effective date of this legislation, the Commissioner of 
Education modify the commissioner's model policy to address bullying and cyberbullying 
to make it consistent with the provisions of this legislation and provide the modified 
model policy to each school administrative unit in the State and post it on the publicly 
accessible portion of the Department of Education's website along with any training and 
instructional materials related to the policy that the commissioner determines necessary.