Safe Schools Improvement Act

This bill aims to make schools safer by stopping bullying and harassment. States would have to make local school districts set clear rules that ban bullying in elementary and secondary schools. The rules must protect students based on race, color, national origin, disability, religion, or sex. Sex here includes sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics (including intersex traits).

Schools must tell students, parents, and staff each year what behavior is not allowed; give students and parents a way to report problems and get help; and share yearly data with the public about how often bullying and harassment happen in each school and district. The U.S. Department of Education would run an independent review every two years to see what works, and the National Center for Education Statistics would collect state data on bullying and harassment.

• Who is affected: Students, parents, teachers, local school districts, and state education agencies.
• What changes: Required anti-bullying policies with clear protections; yearly notices to families and staff; a way to report and resolve complaints; public yearly data on incidents; federal reviews every two years; federal data collection.