53G-9-605. Bullying, cyber-bullying, hazing, abusive conduct, and retaliation policy.
(1) An LEA governing board shall adopt a bullying, cyber-bullying, hazing, abusive conduct, and retaliation policy.
(2) The LEA governing board shall: develop the policy with input from: students; parents; teachers; school administrators; school staff; or local law enforcement agencies; and 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: definitions of bullying, cyber-bullying, hazing, abusive conduct, and retaliation that are consistent with this part; language prohibiting bullying, cyber-bullying, hazing, and abusive conduct; language prohibiting retaliation as described in Section; 53G-9-603 language prohibiting making a false report of bullying, cyber-bullying, hazing, abusive conduct, or retaliation; 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; as required in Section, a process for parental notification of: 53G-9-604 a student's threat of suicide; an incident involving the parent's student; and implementation of the school's action plan to address the incident; a grievance process for a school employee who has experienced abusive conduct; a requirement that the school or LEA create and implement an action plan for each incident in accordance with Section; 53G-9-605.5 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: the outcome of the school's or LEA's investigation; a discussion of safety considerations for the student who is the subject of the incident; and an explanation of the school's or LEA's process for addressing the incident; and a requirement for a signed statement annually, indicating that the individual signing the statement has received the LEA governing board's policy, from each: school employee; student who is at least eight years old; and parent of a student enrolled in the LEA.
(4) An LEA shall, in relation to the policy described in this section: include a copy in student conduct handbooks; include a copy in employee handbooks; and 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.