Sponsors (39)
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Adds Congress’s findings that school bullying and harassment — including physical, social, and electronic/cyber behaviors — harm students’ physical and mental health, undermine learning, and are linked to higher dropout and absenteeism. The findings note common targets, effective school approaches (for example, PBIS and restorative practices), and the need for trauma‑informed supports for students who bully and/or are bullied. Makes two technical amendments to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Title IV): it inserts related statutory text at the end of Title IV and updates the ESEA table of contents by adding a new item after the listing for section 4644. The changes are declarative and administrative in nature and do not themselves create new funding or new federal mandates.
Bullying and harassment create a climate of fear and disrespect that can seriously damage victims’ physical and psychological health and harm learning, undermining students’ ability to reach their full potential.
Bullying and harassment contribute to higher dropout rates, increased absenteeism, and academic underachievement.
Bullying and harassment cover a range of behaviors that hurt a student’s ability to learn and join school activities; examples include hitting or punching, name-calling, intimidating gestures or social exclusion, and sending insulting or offensive messages through electronic communications (internet sites, e-mail, instant messaging, mobile phones, telephone, or other means).
Schools that have specific (enumerated) anti-bullying and harassment policies see more reporting and more teacher intervention, which reduces how often bullying and harassment happen.
Students are often targeted for bullying and harassment because of actual or perceived race, color, national origin, sex, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex characteristics (including intersex traits), religion, and other categories.
Primary impacts are informational and advisory rather than financial or regulatory. K–12 schools and local education agencies may use the congressional findings to shape or justify anti‑bullying policies, training, and adoption of evidence‑based approaches (such as PBIS, restorative practices, and trauma‑informed supports). Teachers and school personnel could see increased emphasis on intervention and reporting practices. Students who experience bullying may benefit indirectly if districts incorporate the cited practices; students who both perpetrate and experience bullying may be steered toward trauma‑informed supports. State education agencies and school districts may reference the statutory findings in guidance and grant applications, but the amendments do not themselves create new federal funding streams, reporting requirements, or compliance deadlines. Mental health and school counseling providers might be engaged more often as districts implement trauma‑informed responses, though any such increases would depend on local decisions and resources. Overall, administrative burden and direct costs at the federal level are minimal; the primary effect is to signal congressional priorities and encourage adoption of best practices at state and local levels.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
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Introduced March 12, 2025 by Timothy Michael Kaine · Last progress March 12, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Introduced in Senate