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Utah Code § 53G-9-605

Bullying, cyber-bullying, hazing, abusive conduct, and retaliation policy

Amended by Chapter 21, 2024 General Session

(1) An LEA governing board shall adopt a bullying, cyber-bullying, hazing, abusive conduct, and retaliation policy.

(2) The LEA governing board shall:

(a) develop the policy with input from:

(i) students;

(ii) parents;

(iii) teachers;

(iv) school administrators;

(v) school staff; or

(vi) local law enforcement agencies; and

(b) provide protection to a student, regardless of the student's legal status.

(3) The LEA governing board shall include the following components in the policy:

(a) definitions of bullying, cyber-bullying, hazing, abusive conduct, and retaliation that are consistent with this part;

(b) language prohibiting bullying, cyber-bullying, hazing, and abusive conduct;

(c) language prohibiting retaliation as described in Section 53G-9-603;

(d) language prohibiting making a false report of bullying, cyber-bullying, hazing, abusive conduct, or retaliation;

(e) language outlining appropriate punishments for a student who shares a recording of an act of bullying, cyber-bullying, hazing, abusive conduct, and retaliation in order to impact or encourage future incidents;

(f) as required in Section 53G-9-604, a process for parental notification of:

(i) a student's threat of suicide;

(ii) an incident involving the parent's student; and

(iii) implementation of the school's action plan to address the incident;

(g) a grievance process for a school employee who has experienced abusive conduct;

(h) a requirement that the school or LEA create and implement an action plan for each incident in accordance with Section 53G-9-605.5;

(i) a communication process requiring the school or LEA regularly updates each parent of a student involved in an incident regarding implementation of an action plan, including:

(i) the outcome of the school's or LEA's investigation;

(ii) a discussion of safety considerations for the student who is the subject of the incident; and

(iii) an explanation of the school's or LEA's process for addressing the incident; and

(j) a requirement for a signed statement annually, indicating that the individual signing the statement has received the LEA governing board's policy, from each:

(i) school employee;

(ii) student who is at least eight years old; and

(iii) parent of a student enrolled in the LEA.

(4) An LEA shall, in relation to the policy described in this section:

(a) include a copy in student conduct handbooks;

(b) include a copy in employee handbooks; and

(c) provide a copy to a parent of a student enrolled in the charter school or school district.

(5) A policy may not permit formal disciplinary action that is based solely on an anonymous report of bullying, cyber-bullying, hazing, abusive conduct, or retaliation.

(6) Nothing in this part is intended to infringe upon the right of a school employee, parent, or student to exercise the right of free speech.

Official source: Utah State Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Utah statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.