S.L. 2012-149 (Senate Bill 707) Summary

• Enacts the School Violence Prevention Act of 2012 to establish protections against bullying, harassment, and violence in North Carolina schools.

• Creates new crime of cyber-bullying of school employees by students, punishable as Class 2 misdemeanor, with provisions for deferred prosecution and record expungement.

• Provides liability protection for school personnel acting in good faith to stop student fights and requires district attorney or magistrate approval before issuing criminal process against school employees for misdemeanor offenses occurring during job duties.

• Restricts probation officer visits to schools during school hours to authorized Division of Community Corrections School Partnership Program participants and requires visits occur in private areas away from general student population.

• Requires students convicted of cyber-bullying a school employee to be transferred to another school or class and limits prayer for judgment continued orders for felonies to maximum 12 months.