Report Title:

Education

 

Description:

Tasks the department of education to enact a dating violence policy and age-appropriate dating violence education to middle and high school students and dating violence prevention training to appropriate staff.

 


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1672

TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT


 

 

relating to education.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that when a student is a victim of dating violence, their academic life suffers and their safety at school is jeopardized.  The legislature also finds that a policy to create an environment free of dating violence and to provide dating violence education to students, parents, staff, faculty, and administrators, in order to prevent dating violence and to address incidents involving dating violence would benefit students.  The purpose of this Act is to provide the authority to create such a policy.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding two new sections to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§302A-A  Dating violence policy. (a)  As used in this section:

     "At school" means in a classroom, on or immediately adjacent to school premises, on a school bus or other school-related vehicle, at an official school bus stop, or at any school-sponsored activity or event whether or not it is on school grounds.

     "Dating partner" means any person, regardless of gender, involved in an intimate relationship with another primarily characterized by the expectation of affectionate involvement whether casual, serious or long-term.

     "Dating violence" means a pattern of behavior where one person uses threats of, or actually uses, physical, sexual, verbal or emotional abuse to control his or her dating partner.

     (b)  The department shall develop a model dating violence policy to assist school districts in developing policies for dating violence reporting and response.  The model policy shall be issued before January 1, 2010.  The policy shall include, but not be limited to, a statement that dating violence will not be tolerated, dating violence reporting procedures, guidelines to responding to at school incidents of dating violence and discipline procedures specific to such incidents.

     (c)  The policy shall be published along with any rules, procedures and standards of conduct for students at school.

     (d)  The department shall provide, on an annual basis, dating violence training to all administrators, teachers, nurses, and counselors at the middle and high school levels.  Other staff may attend the training on a voluntary basis.  The training shall include, but not be limited to, warning signs of dating violence and the departmental dating violence policy. 

     (e)  Notice shall be given to all parents and legal guardians of middle and high school students of the department's dating violence policy.  Copies shall be provided upon request.

     (f)  This section shall not create any civil or criminal cause of action, nor shall it prevent a victim from redress under other available laws.

     §302A-B   Dating violence education.   (a)  The department shall incorporate age-appropriate dating violence education into any annual health curriculum framework for students in grades seven through twelve.  Dating violence education shall include, but not be limited to, defining dating violence, recognizing dating violence warning signs and characteristics of healthy relationships.  Students shall be provided with the departmental dating violence policy.

     (b)  As used in this section, "at school", "dating partner", and "dating violence" shall have the same meaning as defined in §302A-A.

     (c)  The department shall review and approve grade level topics relating to dating violence and healthy relationships.

     (d)  Upon written request to a school principal, a parent or legal guardian of a student less than eighteen years of age, within a reasonable period of time after the request is made, shall be permitted to examine the dating violence education program instruction materials at the school in which their child is enrolled."

     SECTION 3.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

 

 

INTRODUCED BY:

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