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