THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

2348

THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020

S.D. 2

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO BULLYING.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that bullying and cyber‑bullying continue to plague Hawaii's youth.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, more than twenty-two per cent of middle school students in Hawaii were victims of cyber-bullying and forty per cent were bullied on school property during the twelve-month period addressed by the survey.  Additionally, more than twenty-three per cent seriously considered suicide and more than twelve per cent attempted suicide one or more times during the twelve-month period addressed by the survey.

     According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, youth who reported that they frequently bullied others and youth who reported being frequently bullied were both at an increased risk for suicide-related behavior.  Youth who reported both bullying others and being bullied, known as bully‑victims, had the highest risk for suicide-related behavior of any group that reported involvement in bullying.

     The purpose of this Act is to reduce bullying in public schools by appropriating funds to train selected public middle school teachers on bullying intervention so that those teachers may provide training on bullying intervention to other public school employees in the teachers' respective schools.

     SECTION 2.  (a)  During the 2020-2021 fiscal year and prior to a date established by the superintendent of education in coordination with the executive director of the state public charter school commission, the principal of each public middle school shall select at least one teacher employed by that school to attend an evidence-informed or evidence-based and culturally relevant bullying intervention training session approved by the superintendent of education; provided that public charter school teachers may also participate in the training sessions.

     (b)  Each teacher who attends a bullying intervention training session pursuant to subsection (a) shall provide, prior to the end of the 2020-2021 fiscal year, training on bullying intervention to at least five other public school employees employed at the teacher's respective school, or employees of a public charter school within the same school district as the teacher's respective school.

     (c)  If training sessions cannot be held during regular working hours, the department of education shall appropriately compensate teachers for attending training sessions conducted outside of the teacher's regular working hours.

     SECTION 3.  No later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2022, the department of education shall submit a report to the legislature regarding the bullying intervention training required by section 2 of this Act.  At a minimum, the report shall contain:

     (1)  The number of teachers who attended a bullying intervention training session pursuant to section 2(a) of this Act;

     (2)  The number of public school and public charter school employees who received bullying intervention training pursuant to section 2(b) of this Act;

     (3)  Information on any observed outcomes as a result of the training, including reduction in bullying or cyber-bullying, if any; and

     (4)  Recommendations regarding future training needs of public school and public charter school teachers and other employees on bullying intervention.

     SECTION 4.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $          or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2020-2021 for eight bullying intervention training sessions to be attended by selected public middle school teachers and for the selected public middle school teachers to provide training on bullying intervention to other public school employees employed at the teacher's respective school district.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.

 

 

Report Title:

Department of Education; Public Charter Schools; Bullying; Training; Teachers; Employees; Appropriation

 

Description:

Requires public middle school principals to select public middle school teachers to attend evidence-informed or evidence-based and culturally relevant bullying intervention training sessions.  Requires the selected public middle school teachers to provide training on bullying intervention to other public school and public charter school employees in the teacher's respective school district.  Appropriates moneys.  Effective 7/1/2050.  (SD2)

 

 

 

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