Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

SECOND REGULAR SESSION
                        HOUSE BILL NO. 2335
                               103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY


                               INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE KELLEY.

     5817H.01I                                                                    JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk


                                                AN ACT
     To repeal sections 160.261, 160.263, 160.775, 162.065, 162.069, 167.950, 170.048, and
           170.315, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof nine new sections relating to school
           employee training.


     Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:

             Section A. Sections 160.261, 160.263, 160.775, 162.065, 162.069, 167.950, 170.048,
 and 170.315, RSMo, are repealed and nine new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known
 as sections 160.261, 160.263, 160.775, 162.065, 162.069, 167.950, 168.331, 170.048, and
 170.315, to read as follows:
             160.261. 1. (1) The local board of education of each school district shall clearly
 establish a written policy of discipline, including the district's determination on the use of
 corporal punishment and the procedures in which punishment will be applied. A written copy
 of the district's discipline policy and corporal punishment procedures, if applicable, shall be
 provided to the pupil and parent or legal guardian of every pupil enrolled in the district at the
 beginning of each school year and also made available in the office of the superintendent of
 such district, during normal business hours, for public inspection. No pupil shall be subject to
 corporal punishment procedures outlined in the discipline and corporal punishment policy
 without a parent or guardian being notified and providing written permission for the corporal
 punishment.
         (2) All employees of the district shall [annually] receive instruction related to the
 specific contents of the policy of discipline and any interpretations necessary to implement
 the provisions of the policy in the course of their duties, including but not limited to approved
 methods of dealing with acts of school violence, disciplining students with disabilities and

     EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
     intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
HB 2335                                              2

 instruction in the necessity and requirements for confidentiality. Such instruction shall be
 provided as established in section 168.331.
          2. (1) The policy shall require school administrators to report acts of school violence
 to all teachers at the attendance center and, in addition, to other school district employees with
 a need to know.
          (2) For the purposes of this chapter or chapter 167, "need to know" is defined as
 school personnel who are directly responsible for the student's education or who otherwise
 interact with the student on a professional basis while acting within the scope of their
 assigned duties. As used in this section, the phrase "act of school violence" or "violent
 behavior" means the exertion of physical force by a student with the intent to do serious
 physical injury as defined in section 556.061 to another person while on school property,
 including a school bus in service on behalf of the district, or while involved in school
 activities.
          (3) The policy shall at a minimum require school administrators to report, as soon as
 reasonably [practical] practicable, to the appropriate law enforcement agency any of the
 following crimes, or any act which if committed by an adult would be one of the following
 crimes, committed on school property including, but not limited to, actions on any school
 bus in service on behalf of the district or while involved in school activities:
          [(1)] (a) First degree murder under section 565.020;
          [(2)] (b) Second degree murder under section 565.021;
          [(3)] (c) Kidnapping under section 565.110 as it existed prior to January 1, 2017, or
 kidnapping in the first degree under section 565.110;
          [(4)] (d) First degree assault under section 565.050;
          [(5)] (e) Rape in the first degree under section 566.030;
          [(6)] (f) Sodomy in the first degree under section 566.060;
          [(7)] (g) Burglary in the first degree under section 569.160;
          [(8)] (h) Burglary in the second degree under section 569.170;
          [(9)] (i) Robbery in the first degree under section 569.020 as it existed prior to
 January 1, 2017, or robbery in the first degree under section 570.023;
          [(10)] (j) Distribution of drugs under section 195.211 as it existed prior to January 1,
 2017, or manufacture of a controlled substance under section 579.055;
          [(11)] (k) Distribution of drugs to a minor under section 195.212 as it existed prior to
 January 1, 2017, or delivery of a controlled substance under section 579.020;
          [(12)] (l) Arson in the first degree under section 569.040;
          [(13)] (m) Voluntary manslaughter under section 565.023;
HB 2335                                             3

         [(14)] (n) Involuntary manslaughter under section 565.024 as it existed prior to
 January 1, 2017, involuntary manslaughter in the first degree under section 565.024, or
 involuntary manslaughter in the second degree under section 565.027;
         [(15)] (o) Second degree assault under section 565.060 as it existed prior to January 1,
 2017, or second degree assault under section 565.052;
         [(16)] (p) Rape in the second degree under section 566.031;
         [(17)] (q) Felonious restraint under section 565.120 as it existed prior to January 1,
 2017, or kidnapping in the second degree under section 565.120;
         [(18)] (r) Property damage in the first degree under section 569.100;
         [(19)] (s) The possession of a weapon under chapter 571;
         [(20)] (t) Child molestation in the first degree pursuant to section 566.067 as it
 existed prior to January 1, 2017, or child molestation in the first, second, or third degree
 pursuant to section 566.067, 566.068, or 566.069;
         [(21)] (u) Sodomy in the second degree pursuant to section 566.061;
         [(22)] (v) Sexual misconduct involving a child pursuant to section 566.083;
         [(23)] (w) Sexual abuse in the first degree pursuant to section 566.100;
         [(24)] (x) Harassment under section 565.090 as it existed prior to January 1, 2017, or
 harassment in the first degree under section 565.090; or
         [(25)] (y) Stalking under section 565.225 as it existed prior to January 1, 2017, or
 stalking in the first degree under section 565.225[;].
70
 [committed on school property, including but not limited to actions on any school bus in
 service on behalf of the district or while involved in school activities.]
         (4) The policy shall require that any portion of a student's individualized education
 program that is related to demonstrated or potentially violent behavior shall be provided to
 any teacher and other school district employees who are directly responsible for the student's
 education or who otherwise interact with the student on an educational basis while acting
 within the scope of [their] such teacher's or employees' assigned duties.
         (5) The policy shall also contain the consequences of failure to obey standards of
 conduct set by the local board of education, and the importance of the standards to the
 maintenance of an atmosphere where orderly learning is possible and encouraged.
         3. The policy shall provide that any student who is on suspension for any of the
 offenses listed in subsection 2 of this section or any act of violence or drug-related activity
 defined by school district policy as a serious violation of school discipline pursuant to
 subsection 9 of this section shall have as a condition of his or her suspension the requirement
 that such student is not allowed, while on such suspension, to be within one thousand feet of
 HB 2335                                               4

 any school property in the school district where such student attended school or any activity
 of that district, regardless of whether or not the activity takes place on district property unless:
          (1) Such student is under the direct supervision of the student's parent, legal guardian,
 or custodian and the superintendent or the superintendent's designee has authorized the
 student to be on school property;
          (2) Such student is under the direct supervision of another adult designated by the
 student's parent, legal guardian, or custodian, in advance, in writing, to the principal of the
 school which suspended the student and the superintendent or the superintendent's designee
 has authorized the student to be on school property;
          (3) Such student is enrolled in and attending an alternative school that is located
 within one thousand feet of a public school in the school district where such student attended
 school; or
          (4) Such student resides within one thousand feet of any public school in the school
 district where such student attended school in which case such student may be on the property
 of his or her residence without direct adult supervision.
          4. Any student who violates the condition of suspension required pursuant to
 subsection 3 of this section may be subject to expulsion or further suspension pursuant to the
 provisions of sections 167.161, 167.164, and 167.171. In making this determination
 consideration shall be given to whether the student poses a threat to the safety of any child or
 school employee and whether such student's unsupervised presence within one thousand feet
 of the school is disruptive to the educational process or undermines the effectiveness of the
 school's disciplinary policy. Removal of any pupil who is a student with a disability is subject
 to state and federal procedural rights. This section shall not limit a school district's ability to:
          (1) Prohibit all students who are suspended from being on school property or
 attending an activity while on suspension;
          (2) Discipline students for off-campus conduct that negatively affects the educational
 environment to the extent allowed by law.
          5. The policy shall provide for a suspension for a period of not less than one year, or
 expulsion, for a student who is determined to have brought a weapon to school, including but
 not limited to the school playground or the school parking lot, brought a weapon on a school
 bus or brought a weapon to a school activity whether on or off of the school property in
 violation of district policy, except that:
          (1) The superintendent or, in a school district with no high school, the principal of the
 school which such child attends may modify such suspension on a case-by-case basis; and
          (2) This section shall not prevent the school district from providing educational
 services in an alternative setting to a student suspended under the provisions of this section.
 HB 2335                                              5

          6. For the purpose of this section, the term "weapon" shall mean a firearm as defined
 under 18 U.S.C. Section 921 and the following items, as defined in section 571.010: a
 blackjack, a concealable firearm, an explosive weapon, a firearm, a firearm silencer, a gas
 gun, a knife, knuckles, a machine gun, a projectile weapon, a rifle, a shotgun, a spring gun or
 a switchblade knife; except that this section shall not be construed to prohibit a school board
 from adopting a policy to allow a Civil War reenactor to carry a Civil War era weapon on
 school property for educational purposes so long as the firearm is unloaded. The local board
 of education shall define weapon in the discipline policy. Such definition shall include the
 weapons defined in this subsection but may also include other weapons.
          7. All school district personnel responsible for the care and supervision of students
 are authorized to hold every pupil strictly accountable for any disorderly conduct in school or
 on any property of the school, on any school bus going to or returning from school, during
 school-sponsored activities, or during intermission or recess periods.
          8. Teachers and other authorized district personnel in public schools responsible for
 the care, supervision, and discipline of schoolchildren, including volunteers selected with
 reasonable care by the school district, shall not be civilly liable when acting in conformity
 with the established policies developed by each board, including but not limited to policies of
 student discipline or when reporting to his or her supervisor or other person as mandated by
 state law acts of school violence or threatened acts of school violence, within the course and
 scope of the duties of the teacher, authorized district personnel or volunteer, when such
 individual is acting in conformity with the established policies developed by the board.
 Nothing in this section shall be construed to create a new cause of action against such school
 district, or to relieve the school district from liability for the negligent acts of such persons.
          9. Each school board shall define in its discipline policy acts of violence and any
 other acts that constitute a serious violation of that policy. "Acts of violence" as defined by
 school boards shall include but not be limited to exertion of physical force by a student with
 the intent to do serious bodily harm to another person while on school property, including a
 school bus in service on behalf of the district, or while involved in school activities. School
 districts shall for each student enrolled in the school district compile and maintain records of
 any serious violation of the district's discipline policy. Such records shall be made available
 to teachers and other school district employees with a need to know while acting within the
 scope of their assigned duties, and shall be provided as required in section 167.020 to any
 school district in which the student subsequently attempts to enroll.
          10. Spanking, when administered by certificated personnel and in the presence of a
 witness who is an employee of the school district, or the use of reasonable force to protect
 persons or property, when administered by personnel of a school district in a reasonable
 HB 2335                                             6

 manner in accordance with the local board of education's written policy of discipline, is not
 abuse within the meaning of chapter 210.
         11. Upon receipt of any reports of child abuse by the children's division pursuant to
 sections 210.110 to 210.165 which allegedly involve personnel of a school district, the
 children's division shall notify the superintendent of schools of the district or, if the person
 named in the alleged incident is the superintendent of schools, the president of the school
 board of the school district where the alleged incident occurred.
         12. In order to ensure the safety of all students, should a student be expelled for
 bringing a weapon to school, violent behavior, or for an act of school violence, that student
 shall not, for the purposes of the accreditation process of the Missouri school improvement
 plan, be considered a dropout or be included in the calculation of that district's educational
 persistence ratio.
              160.263. 1. As used in this section, the following terms mean:
         (1) "Mechanical restraint", the use of any device or equipment to restrict a student's
 freedom of movement. Mechanical restraint shall not include devices implemented by trained
 personnel or used by a student with a prescription for such devices from an appropriate
 medical or related services professional and that are used for specific and approved purposes
 for which such devices were designed, such as the following:
         (a) Adaptive devices or mechanical supports used to achieve proper body position,
 balance, or alignment to allow greater freedom of mobility than would be possible without the
 use of such devices or mechanical supports;
         (b) Vehicle safety restraints when used as intended during the transport of a student in
 a moving vehicle;
         (c) Restraints for medical immobilization; or
         (d) Orthopedically prescribed devices that permit a student to participate in activities
 without risk;
         (2) "Physical restraint", a personal restriction such as person-to-person physical
 contact that immobilizes, reduces, or restricts the ability of a student to move the student's
 torso, arms, legs, or head freely. Physical restraint shall not include:
         (a) A physical escort, which is a temporary touching or holding of the hand, wrist,
 arm, shoulder, or back for the purpose of inducing a student to walk to a safe location;
         (b) Comforting or calming a student;
         (c) Holding a student's hand to transport the student for safety purposes;
         (d) Intervening in a fight; or
         (e) Using an assistive or protective device prescribed by an appropriately trained
 professional or professional team;
HB 2335                                              7

         (3) "Prone restraint", using mechanical or physical restraint or both to restrict a
 student's movement while the student is lying with the student's front or face downward;
         (4) "Restraint" includes, but is not limited to, mechanical restraint, physical restraint,
 and prone restraint;
         (5) "Seclusion", the involuntary confinement of a student alone in a room or area that
 the student is physically prevented from leaving and that complies with the building code in
 effect in the school district. Seclusion shall not include the following:
         (a) A timeout, which is a behavior management technique that is part of an approved
 program, involves the monitored separation of the student in a nonlocked setting, and is
 implemented for the purpose of calming;
         (b) In-school suspension;
         (c) Detention; or
         (d) Other appropriate disciplinary measures.
         2. The school discipline policy under section 160.261 shall reserve confining a
 student in seclusion for situations or conditions in which there is imminent danger of physical
 harm to self or others.
         3. For all school years beginning on or after July 1, 2022, no school district, charter
 school, or publicly contracted private provider shall use any mechanical, physical, or prone
 restraint technique that:
         (1) Obstructs views of the student's face;
         (2) Obstructs the student's respiratory airway, i