SAMUEL ROSENBERG

ASSISTANT RESEARCH ANALYST

MASON HOLLER

LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH ANALYST

EDUCATION COMMITTEE

Telephone: (602) 926-3171

ARIZONA STATE SENATE

RESEARCH STAFF

TO:                  MEMBERS OF THE SENATE

EDUCATION COMMITTEE

DATE:            February 18, 2025

SUBJECT:      Strike everything amendment to S.B. 1508, relating to bullying

Purpose

Directs a school district governing board (governing board) to adopt definitions for bullying, cyberbullying, harassment and intimidation as prescribed for the governing board's policy and procedures to prohibit harassing, intimidating and bullying.

Background

A school district governing board must prescribe and enforce policies and procedures to prohibit pupils from harassing, intimidating and bullying other pupils on school grounds, school property, school busses, at school bus stops, at school-sponsored events and activities and through the use of technology or electronic communication on school computers, networks, forums and mailing lists. The policies and procedures must include: 1) a procedure for pupils, parents and employees to confidentially report incidents of harassment, intimidation or bullying; 2) a requirement that employees report the suspected incidents in writing; 3) a formal process for the appropriate school officials to investigate the reported incidents; 4) disciplinary actions for pupils who have admitted or been found to have committed the incidents; 5) procedures to protect the health and safety of pupils who are physically harmed as the result of an incident; and 6) definitions of harassment, intimidation and bullying (A.R.S. § 15-341).

Harass means conduct that is directed at a specific person that seriously alarms, annoys, humiliates or mentally distresses the person and would cause a reasonable person to be seriously alarmed, annoyed, humiliated or mentally distressed (A.R.S. § 13-2921). A person commits threatening or intimidating if the person threatens or intimidates, by word or conduct, to cause:
1) physical injury to another person or serious damage to the property of another person; 2) serious public inconvenience; or 3) physical injury to another person or damage to the property of another person in order to promote, further or assist in the interests of or cause, induce or solicit another person to participate in a criminal street gang, criminal syndicate or racketeering enterprise (A.R.S. § 13-1202).

There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.

Provisions

1. Requires a governing board's policies and procedures to prohibit harassing, intimidating and bullying to include a definition of bullying that means a single significant act or a pattern of acts by one or more students that is directed at another student, that exploits an imbalance of power, that involves written expression, verbal expression, expression through electronic means or physical conduct, that occurs on or is delivered to school property, a
school-sponsored activity, a school-related activity, a vehicle operated by the school district or a vehicle that is used to transport students to school and meets any of the following:

a) results in physical harm or substantial negative mental health effects to a student, damage to a student's property or places a student in reasonable fear of harm of damage to the student or the student's property;

b) is sufficiently severe, persistent and pervasive that the conduct or threatened conduct creates an intimidating, threatening or abusive educational environment for the student;

c) materially and substantially disrupts the educational process or the orderly operation of a classroom or school; or

d) infringes on the rights of a student at school.

2. Requires a governing board's policies and procedures to prohibit harassing, intimidating and bullying to include a definition of cyberbullying that substantially:

a) means bullying that is conducted through an electronic communication device, including a telephone, cellular phone, computer pager, camera, email, instant messaging, text messaging, a social media application, an internet website or any other internet-based communication platform; and

b) includes any conduct or communication that is delivered to school property, a school-sponsored activity or school-related activity if the conduct or communication interferes with a student's educational opportunities or substantially disrupts the orderly operation of a classroom, school, school-sponsored activity or school-related activity.

3. Requires a governing board's policies and procedures to prohibit harassing, intimidating and bullying to include a definition of harassment that is consistent with the statute relating to harassment classifications.

4. Requires a governing board's policies and procedures to prohibit harassing, intimidating and bullying to include a definition of intimidation that is consistent with the statute relating to intimidation classifications.

5. Makes conforming and technical changes.

6. Becomes effective on the general effective date.