Best Practices to Prevent Discrimination in Schools

The bill requires the department of education (department) to enter into an agreement with an organization (selected organization) to develop best practices for local education providers, and specifically public schools, to effectively respond to reports of harassment or discrimination. The selected organization shall submit a report to the department, the office of school safety, and the general assembly's education committees that includes an explanation of the best practices developed by the selected organization.

Current law requires public schools to provide training to all employees about harassment and discrimination, beginning no later than July 1, 2024. The bill repeals that deadline and instead requires harassment and discrimination training beginning with employee training for the 2025-26 school year, with the training beginning no later than December 31, 2025. The bill requires that harassment and discrimination training that occurs after August 1, 2025, be consistent with the best practices developed by the selected organization.

The bill requires the selected organization to develop a harassment or discrimination training program curriculum for use by schools that is consistent with the best practices developed by the selected organization and that complies with the requirements for public schools' harassment and discrimination training. The department shall make the training program curriculum materials available to public schools at no cost. The bill appropriates $111,111 from the state education fund to the department for training for local education providers on responding to harassment and discrimination reports.

(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)