Safe Schools Improvement Act

The "Safe Schools Improvement Act" aims to comprehensively address and prevent bullying and harassment in public elementary and secondary schools. It mandates that any state receiving a grant under Title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 must require its local educational agencies (LEAs) to implement robust anti-bullying policies. These policies must prohibit conduct that limits a student's ability to participate in educational programs or creates a hostile learning environment. Specifically, they must forbid bullying or harassment based on a student's actual or perceived race, color, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics), disability, or religion , or association with individuals possessing these characteristics. LEAs must also provide annual notice of these policies to students, parents, and educators, and establish clear grievance procedures with designated officials and resolution timelines. The bill further requires LEAs to collect and publicly report annual, anonymized data on the incidence and frequency of prohibited conduct. States must then submit biennial reports to the Secretary of Education, detailing this data and their plans to support LEA efforts. The Secretary is also tasked with conducting independent biennial evaluations of these programs and policies to assess their effectiveness in reducing bullying and harassment. The Act clarifies that its provisions are supplementary to existing federal and state nondiscrimination laws, such as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and Title IX of the Education Amendments, and do not diminish any rights or remedies available under those statutes or alter free speech protections.