South Carolina General Assembly
120th Session, 2013-2014

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H. 4413

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Limehouse, Sottile, Taylor, Sabb, Gilliard and Erickson
Document Path: l:\council\bills\agm\18058ab14.docx

Introduced in the House on January 14, 2014
Currently residing in the House

Summary: Report-A-Bully In School Website Act

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  12/10/2013  House   Prefiled
  12/10/2013  House   Referred to Committee on Education and Public Works
   1/14/2014  House   Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 70)
   1/14/2014  House   Referred to Committee on Education and Public Works 
                        (House Journal-page 70)
   1/14/2014  House   Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Sottile, 
                        Taylor, Sabb
   5/21/2014  House   Recalled from Committee on Education and Public Works 
                        (House Journal-page 10)
   5/22/2014          Scrivener's error corrected
   5/28/2014  House   Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Gilliard, 
                        Erickson
   5/28/2014  House   Requests for debate-Rep(s). KR Crawford, Hayes, White, 
                        Whitmire, Munnerlyn, Neal, McEachern, Douglas, 
                        Erickson,  MS McLeod, Taylor, Limehouse, Brannon, 
                        Loftis, Wood, Clyburn, Hixon, Wells, Toole, Dillard, 
                        Robinson-Simpson (House Journal-page 27)

View the latest legislative information at the website

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

12/10/2013
5/21/2014
5/22/2014

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

RECALLED

May 21, 2014

H. 4413

Introduced by Reps. Limehouse, Sottile, Taylor and Sabb

S. Printed 5/21/14--H.    [SEC 5/22/14 12:27 PM]

Read the first time January 14, 2014.

            

A BILL

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, SO AS TO ENACT THE "REPORT-A-BULLY IN SCHOOL WEBSITE ACT"; BY ADDING SECTION 59-63-145 SO AS TO PROVIDE EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT SHALL DEVELOP A WEBSITE THROUGH WHICH A PERSON MAY ANONYMOUSLY REPORT ACTS OF HARASSMENT, INTIMIDATION, OR BULLYING OF A STUDENT AT SCHOOL; TO PROVIDE THE DISTRICT SHALL RESPOND TO COMPLAINTS RECEIVED BY MEANS OF THE WEBSITE IN A CERTAIN MANNER; TO IMPOSE RELATED REPORTING REQUIREMENTS ON THE DISTRICT; TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SHALL DEVELOP RELATED GUIDELINES; AND TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION RECEIVED THROUGH THE WEBSITE IS NOT SUBJECT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    This act must be known and may be cited as the "Report-a-Bully in School Website Act".

SECTION    2.    Article 2, Chapter 63, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 59-63-145.    (A)    Before September 1, 2014, each local school district shall include on its website a form that a student can complete online to anonymously report acts of harassment, intimidation, or bullying of a student in a school. This form must be called the 'Report-a-Bully in School Website', and a link to the form must be conspicuously displayed on the home page of the website for each district and school within the district. At a minimum, the form must include information about the date, location, and circumstances of the incident, along with the identity of the person who committed the incident. The school promptly shall investigate the allegations consistent with policies adopted by the district pursuant to the Safe School Climate Act. Each month the school shall report the number of acts reported through the website, the nature of each alleged act, whether the investigation of the report is pending or resolved, and if resolved, the date of the resolution.

(B)    To assist local school districts in developing policies for providing a 'Report-a-Bully in School Website', the State Board of Education shall develop model policies concerning the development, implementation, and promotion of the website within thirty days after the effective date of this section. This model policy shall include a template for a 'Report-a-Bully in School Website' that a school may use for its website. The State Board of Education also shall develop and implement a program to promote awareness of the website, emphasizing that preserving the anonymity of the identity of a person making a report is of paramount importance.

(C)    A report submitted through a 'Report-a-Bully in School Website' is not subject to the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act."

SECTION    3.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on June 3, 2014 at 11:23 AM