Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Education Committee

HB 1163

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Sponsors: Representatives Liias, Johnson, Maxwell, Santos, Sullivan, Walsh, Orwall, Moeller, Van De Wege, Pedersen, McCoy, Ladenburg, Goodman, Hunt, Jinkins, Reykdal, Ormsby, Sells, Frockt, Upthegrove, Kagi, Blake, Fitzgibbon, Kenney, Stanford, Ryu, Miloscia, Carlyle, Pettigrew, Moscoso, Probst, Seaquist, Finn, Roberts, Appleton, Billig, Hasegawa, Clibborn, Hurst, Hudgins, Jacks, Dunshee, Green, Tharinger, Darneille and Rolfes.

Brief Summary of Bill

Requires the Office of the Education Ombudsman and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish an ongoing workgroup regarding prevention of bullying, intimidation, and harassment in public schools.
Specifies issues for the workgroup to examine and requires a biennial report.
Directs the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges and the Higher Education Coordinating Board to compile and analyze bullying and harassment prevention policies at colleges and universities and submit a report by December 1, 2011.

Background:

Since 2003 school districts have been required to maintain a district policy prohibiting harassment, intimidation, and bullying of any student. The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) developed a model prevention policy and training materials to assist school districts.

In 2010 legislation was enacted requiring the OSPI to revise and update the model policy, create a model procedure, and adopt rules regarding communication to parents, students, and employees. The 2010 law requires school districts to amend their policies by August 1, 2011 to, at a minimum, incorporate the new OSPI policy and procedure. School districts must also designate a primary contact person in the district for their policies and procedures. The Office of the Education Ombudsman (OEO) is designated as the lead agency to provide resources and tools to parents and families about anti-harassment policies and strategies.

The OSPI convened a workgroup of stakeholders to assist in developing the new model policy and procedure. In November 2010 the OSPI conveyed the new policy and procedures to the Education Committees of the Legislature, and included the following additional recommendations from the workgroup:

A continuing state-level anti-bullying workgroup is needed to advise the Legislature on the next steps in addressing bullying.
Training is needed for all school staff and should be required where resources permit.
School districts should periodically analyze their data on harassment, intimidation, and bullying and remediate where there are high incidents of bullying.
Funding should be provided to assist districts with training, data collection, best practices, and additional personnel to monitor areas with low supervision.

Summary of Bill:

The OEO and the OSPI convene an ongoing school bullying and harassment prevention workgroup to develop, recommend, and implement strategies to improve school climate and create respectful learning environments in public schools. The workgroup must:

consider whether additional disaggregated data on incidents of bullying and harassment should be collected and make recommendations to the OSPI on data collection;
examine procedures for anonymous reporting of incidents;
identify curriculum and best practices for improving school climate;
recommend best practices for informing and involving parents;
recommend training for school district primary contacts;
recommend pre-service training for educators;
examine and recommend policies for discipline of students and staff; and
in collaboration with the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC), examine and recommend policies to protect K-12 students attending community and technical colleges from bullying and harassment.

The workgroup includes representatives from the State Board of Education, the Washington State Parent-Teacher Association, school directors and administrators, school staff, youth, community organizations, and parents. Two members of the House of Representatives and two Senators are also on the workgroup. A biennial report is required beginning December 1, 2011.

The SBCTC and the Higher Education Coordinating Board must compile and analyze college and university policies and procedures regarding harassment, intimidation, and bullying prevention and each submit a report to the Education and Higher Education Committees of the Legislature with recommendations for improvement by December 1, 2011.