Senate Bill 682 Summary

• Expands the definition of "harassment, intimidation, bullying and cyberbullying" in the School Safety and Bullying Prevention Act to include acts motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, gender, gender identity, and expression.

• Requires school district discipline policies to prohibit bullying by electronic communication if specifically directed at students or school personnel and concerning bullying at school, and mandates school employees report suspected bullying to principals immediately.

• Directs the State Board of Education to develop a model bullying prevention policy and training materials for school districts, and to regularly monitor districts for compliance with bullying prevention requirements.

• Modifies Safe School Committee membership to require inclusion of administrators and school staff, and expands committee duties to study harassment, intimidation, bullying, cyberbullying, and bullycide.

• Effective date is July 1, 2015, with an emergency clause allowing immediate effect upon passage and approval.