119-hr2682

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2682 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 2682

 To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to 
establish a grant program that will support efforts at the State level 
 to establish anti-bullying task forces to study, address, and reduce 
 bullying in elementary and secondary schools, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 April 7, 2025

Mr. Krishnamoorthi (for himself, Mr. Khanna, Ms. Norton, Mr. Tonko, Mr. 
 Soto, and Ms. Sherrill) introduced the following bill; which was 
 referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to 
establish a grant program that will support efforts at the State level 
 to establish anti-bullying task forces to study, address, and reduce 
 bullying in elementary and secondary schools, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``STOP Bullying Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 The Congress finds the following:

    (1) Nearly 1-in-5 K-12 students have reported being bullied 
 at school, accounting for more than 10,000,000 students across 
 the country.

    (2) Since most instances of bullying take place on school 
 grounds, school staff and teachers play an instrumental role in 
 bullying prevention.

    (3) According to the NCES, 68 percent of grade 6-12 
 students who are bullied face repeated incidents over multiple 
 days, and many have reported negative impacts on their physical 
 health as a result of being bullied at school.

    (4) Research shows that engaged educators who are 
 supportive of all students help to reduce the overall presence 
 of bullying and harassment on school grounds.

    (5) Marginalized students face high rates of bullying, with 
 studies showing that 71 percent of Jewish families have 
 experienced antisemitism at school, 78 percent of Sikh students 
 have been bullied at school, 83 percent of LGBTQ+ students have 
 been harassed or assaulted at school, and 44 percent of 
 teenagers with developmental disabilities have been bullied at 
 school.

    (6) Hostile school environments have a detrimental effect 
 on the academic success and health of students.

    (7) 56 percent of bullying incidents are never reported to 
 an adult, inhibiting school systems in addressing hostile 
 environments and supporting the well-being of all students.

    (8) Governments and educators in every State have a 
 responsibility to ensure State and local education systems have 
 processes in place for students to be able to learn in a safe 
 environment, regardless of their actual or perceived race, 
 color, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation, 
 gender identity, or religion.

SEC. 3. STATE ANTI-BULLYING TASK FORCE REQUIREMENT.

 Subpart 2 of part F of title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7881 et seq.) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:

``

SEC. 8549D. STATE ANTI-BULLYING TASK FORCE GRANTS.

 ``

    (a) Anti-Bullying Task Force Grant Program.--The Secretary shall 
carry out a program to make grants to each State to establish and 
implement a task force to study, address, and reduce bullying in 
elementary schools and secondary schools.
 ``

    (b) Use of Funds.--Each State task force established under a 
grant under this section shall use the grant funds to conduct a study 
on bullying in the elementary schools and secondary schools of such 
State that includes--
 ``

    (1) policies of the local educational agencies in such 
 State with respect to bullying;
 ``

    (2) teacher, parent, and student education with respect 
 to bullying; and
 ``

    (3) the incidents of student violence and self-harm as a 
 result of bullying.
 ``
            (c) Membership.--
 ``

    (1) Chair.--Each Chief Education Officer of a State shall 
 designate one individual to serve as the chair of the task 
 force of such State.
 ``

    (2) Composition.--Each State shall designate at least one 
 individual from each of the following categories to serve on 
 the task force of such State:
 ``
        (A) At least one teacher at elementary schools 
 and secondary schools selected in consultation with the 
 union or association representing educators.
 ``
        (B) At least one school administrator.
 ``
            (C) At least one parent of students.
 ``
            (D) At least one K-12 student.
 ``
        (E) At least one guidance counselor.
 ``
        (F) At least one child psychologist.
 ``
        (G) At least one school psychologist.
 ``
        (H) At least one paraprofessional.
 ``
            (I) At least one lawyer.
 ``
        (J) At least one representative from a community-
 based organization who specializes in providing 
 supportive services to students who identify as 
 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer.
 ``
        (K) Professionals who specialize in providing 
 support services to students who identify as lesbian, 
 gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer.
 ``
            (L) At least one individual from the State 
 Education Agency office focused on school improvement 
 and school climate.
 ``
            (M) Additional individuals, as determined by the 
 chair of the task force.
 ``

    (3) Terms of members.--
 ``
        (A) In general.--Each member of a task force of 
 State shall be appointed for the duration of the 
 existence of such task force.
 ``
        (B) Vacancies.--A vacancy on a task force shall 
 be filled in the manner in which the original 
 designation was made under paragraph

    (2) .
 ``

    (4) Discretionary coordination.--A task force of a State 
 may coordinate activities under this section with other boards 
 and commissions of such State.
 ``
            (d) Report to Chief Education Officer.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date on 
 which the State submits the study required under subsection

    (b) , the State task force of such State shall submit a final 
 report to the Chief Education Officer of such State and the 
 Secretary of Education containing--
 ``
        (A) the annual findings and conclusions of the 
 task force;
 ``
        (B) the recommendations of the task force for 
 legislation or administrative actions; and
 ``
            (C) best practices with respect to bullying in 
 elementary schools and secondary schools that includes 
 recommendations for how--
 ``
            (i) to address and reduce bullying;
 ``
            (ii) to best educate all relevant school 
 staff on recognizing bullying; and
 ``
            (iii) parents can best address and 
 discuss with their children the early warning 
 signs of bullying.
 ``

    (2) Publication.--Each State task force shall make the 
 final report submitted under paragraph

    (1) publicly 
 available.''.
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