House panel advances bill requiring districts to report serious bullying incidents, notify families

Representative Chris Mathias presented House Bill 44 to the House Education Committee on Jan. 23, describing it as a narrowed rewrite of a prior bill. Under HB 44, districts would be required to include procedures in their policies for reporting ‘‘serious’’ incidents of harassment, intimidation or bullying — defined in the bill as incidents that result in a form of suspension.

Mathias told the committee that HB 44 removes a prior draft’s universal reporting mandate and eliminates new automatic family-notification requirements; the current draft instead requires districts to adopt reporting procedures and to ensure families and caregivers of involved students are aware when a serious incident occurs so parents can help address the conduct. The bill also states that law enforcement shall be notified if the alleged conduct may violate criminal law.

Representative Harris asked whether the ‘‘may violate criminal law’’ language could sweep in minor conduct and lead to law-enforcement involvement for low‑level incidents; Mathias and other members said the phrase codifies existing practice in which building administrators consult school resource officers or police when they reasonably believe a crime may have occurred; they said criminal processing would still require law-enforcement investigation and due process.

Representative Garner moved that the committee send HB 44 to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation. The motion passed on a voice vote; committee members did not record a roll-call tally in the hearing transcript.