An Act To Protect School Employees from Workplace Bullying
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 0880
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: DAUGHTRY
Amends: 20-A MRSA §6554

Legislative Document
No. 880
S.P. 294
In Senate, March 8, 2021
An Act To Protect School Employees from Workplace Bullying
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator DAUGHTRY of Cumberland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §6554, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 659, §3, is amended 
to read:
1.  Findings.  All students have the right to attend and all school employees have the 
right to work in public schools that are safe, secure and peaceful environments.   The 
Legislature finds that bullying and cyberbullying have a negative effect on the school 
environment and, student learning and student and school employee well-being.  These 
behaviors must be addressed to ensure student and school employee safety and an inclusive 
learning environment.  Bullying may be motivated by a student's or school employee's 
actual or perceived race; color; religion; national origin; ancestry or ethnicity; sexual 
orientation; socioeconomic status; age; physical, mental, emotional or learning disability; 
gender; gender identity and expression; physical appearance; weight; family status; or other 
distinguishing personal characteristics or may be based on association with another person 
identified with such a characteristic. Nothing in this section may be interpreted as 
inconsistent with the existing protection, in accordance with the First Amendment of the 
United States Constitution, for the expression of religious, political and philosophical views 
in a school setting.
Sec. 2.  20-A MRSA §6554, sub-§2, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 659, §3, is 
amended to read:
A.  "Alternative discipline" means disciplinary action other than a student's suspension 
or expulsion from school that is designed to correct and address the root causes of a the 
student's specific misbehavior while retaining the student in class or school, or 
restorative school practices to repair the harm done to relationships and persons from 
the student's misbehavior. "Alternative discipline" includes, but is not limited to:
(1)  Meeting with the student and the student's parents;
(2)  Reflective activities, such as requiring the student to write an essay about the 
student's misbehavior;
(3)  Mediation when there is mutual conflict between peers, rather than one-way 
negative behavior, and when both parties freely choose to meet;
(4)  Counseling;
(5)  Anger management;
(6)  Health counseling or intervention;
(7)  Mental health counseling;
(8)  Participation in skills building and resolution activities, such as social-
emotional cognitive skills building, resolution circles and restorative conferencing;
(9)  Community service; and
(10)  In-school detention or suspension, which may take place during lunchtime, 
after school or on weekends.
Sec. 3.  20-A MRSA §6554, sub-§2, ¶B, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 659, §3, is 
amended to read:
B.  "Bullying" includes, but is not limited to, a written, oral or electronic expression or 
a physical act or gesture or any combination thereof directed at a student or school 
employee or students or school employees that:
(1)  Has, or a reasonable person would expect it to have, the effect of:
(a)  Physically harming a student or school employee or damaging a student's 
or school employee's property; or
(b)  Placing a student or school employee in reasonable fear of physical harm 
or damage to the student's or school employee's property;
(2)  Interferes with the rights of a student or school employee by:
(a)  Creating an intimidating or hostile educational environment for the student 
or school employee; or
(b)  Interfering with the student's academic performance or ability to 
participate in or benefit from the services, activities or privileges provided by 
a school; or
(c)  Interfering with the school employee's work performance or ability to 
participate in work-related school activities; or
(3)  Is based on a student's or school employee's actual or perceived characteristics 
identified in Title 5, section 4602 or 4684-A, or is based on a student's or school 
employee's association with a person with one or more of these actual or perceived 
characteristics or any other distinguishing characteristics and that has the effect 
described in subparagraph (1) or (2).
"Bullying" includes cyberbullying.
Sec. 4.  20-A MRSA §6554, sub-§2, ¶D, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 659, §3, is 
amended to read:
D.  "Retaliation" means an act or gesture against a student or school employee for 
asserting or alleging an act of bullying.  "Retaliation" also includes reporting that is not 
made in good faith on an act of bullying.
Sec. 5.  20-A MRSA §6554, sub-§4, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 659, §3, is 
amended to read:
A.  Takes place at school or on school grounds, at any school-sponsored or school-
related activity or event or while students or school employees are being transported to 
or from school or school-sponsored activities or events; or
Sec. 6.  20-A MRSA §6554, sub-§4, ¶B, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 659, §3, is 
amended to read:
B.  Takes place elsewhere or through the use of technology, but only if the bullying 
also infringes on the rights of the student or school employee at school as set forth in 
subsection 2, paragraph B.
Sec. 7.  20-A MRSA §6554, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 659, §3, is amended 
to read:
5.  Adoption of policy.  When revising the policies and procedures it has established 
to address bullying of students pursuant to section 1001, subsection 15, paragraph H, a 
school board shall ensure that its policies and procedures are consistent with the model 
policy developed or revised by the commissioner pursuant to section 254, subsection 11‑A. 
The policies and procedures must include, but are not limited to:
A.  A provision identifying the responsibility of students and others on school grounds 
to comply with the policies;
B.  A clear statement that bullying, harassment and sexual harassment and retaliation 
for reporting incidents of such behavior are prohibited;
C.  A provision outlining the responsibility of a superintendent to implement and 
enforce the bullying policies required by this section, including:
(1)  A requirement that the superintendent designate a school principal or other 
school personnel to administer the policies at the school level; and
(2)  A procedure for publicly identifying the superintendent's designee or designees 
for administering the policies at the school level;
D.  A requirement that school staff members, coaches and advisors for extracurricular 
and cocurricular activities report incidents of bullying to the school principal or other 
school personnel designated by the superintendent pursuant to paragraph C;
E.  Procedures for students, school staff members, parents and others to report incidents 
of bullying.  The procedures must permit reports of bullying to be made anonymously;
F.  A procedure for promptly investigating and responding to incidents of bullying, 
including written documentation of reported incidents and the outcome of the 
investigations;
G.  A clear statement that any person who engages in bullying, who is determined to 
have knowingly and falsely accused another of bullying or who engages in acts of 
retaliation against a person who reports a suspected incident of bullying is subject to 
disciplinary actions, which actions may include but are not limited to imposing a series 
of graduated consequences that include alternative discipline;
H.  A procedure for a person to appeal a decision of a school principal or a 
superintendent's designee related to taking or not taking disciplinary action in 
accordance with the policies adopted pursuant to this subsection.  The appeals 
procedure must be consistent with other appeals procedures established by the school 
board and may include an appeal to the superintendent;
I.  A procedure to remediate any substantiated incident of bullying to counter the 
negative impact of the bullying and reduce the risk of future bullying incidents, which 
may include referring the victim, perpetrator or other involved persons to counseling 
or other appropriate services;
J.  A process for the school to communicate to the parent of a student who has been 
bullied the measures being taken to ensure the safety of the student who has been 
bullied and to prevent further acts of bullying; and
K.  A procedure for communicating with a local or state law enforcement agency if the 
school principal or the superintendent's designee believes that the pursuit of criminal 
charges or a civil action under the Maine Civil Rights Act is appropriate.
School boards may combine the policies and procedures required by this subsection with 
nondiscrimination, harassment and sexual harassment policies and grievance procedures.
SUMMARY
This bill amends the law governing bullying in public schools to include a prohibition 
on the bullying of school employees.