Wisconsin Assembly Bill 458/Senate Bill 324 — This bill would provide guidelines for human growth and development curricula, and would allow parents to review curriculum materials and opt to remove their child from the program. Status: Both bills were introduced on Sept. 30, 2009. AB 458 was passed by the Assembly on Nov. 5, 2009. Both bills are still active. Wisconsin Senate Bill 154 — This bill would require the Department of Public Instruction to develop model anti-bullying policies for school districts to adopt, and would designate Wednesday of the fourth week in September as Bullying Awareness Day. Status: This bill was introduced on April 6, 2009. It was passed by Senate on Oct. 20, 2009. This bill is still active. Wisconsin Senate Bill 202 — This bill would require the Department of Public Instruction to develop model anti-bullying policies for school districts to adopt, and would designate Wednesday of the fourth week in September as Bullying Awareness Day. Status: This bill was introduced on May 14, 2009. This bill is still active.
Alabama House Bill 550 — This bill sought to require principals of public schools, grades 6-12, to notify the parents of students receiving abstinenceonly education that the children are not receiving information regarding prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS or pregnancy prevention. Status: This bill was introduced on Feb. 17, 2009. The bill died when the Legislature adjourned on May 19, 2009. Arizona House Bill 2298 — This bill sough to amend the “School Saftey and Liability Limitation Act” to specifically “protect pupils from harassment, intimidation or bullying based on a pupil’s actual or perceived race, color, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, religion or any other characteristic determined by the governing board.” Status: This bill was introduced on Jan. 20, 2009. The bill died when the Legislature adjourned on July 1, 2009. California Assembly Bill 974 — This bill would have allowed students to “express their beliefs about religion in homework, artwork and other written and oral assignments free from discrimination based on the religious content of their submissions.” A student’s religious beliefs could have included his or her feelings on homosexuality. The bill also would have required that schools open their facilities to religious extracurricular activities to the extent that such facilities are available to secular groups. Status: This bill was introduced on Feb. 26, 2009. On April 14, 2009, the bill died when the Committee on the Judiciary failed to pass the bill.
E Q U A LITY F R O m ST A TE TO ST A TE 2 0 0 9
Alabama House Bill 442 — This bill sought to require local boards of education to establish policies for public schools grade K-12 prohibiting harassment, intimidation or bullying. Status: This bill was introduced on Feb. 10, 2009. The bill died when the Legislature adjourned on May 19, 2009. Note that similar legislation, House Bill 216, passed and was signed into law (see above).
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Washington House Bill 1643 — This bill would require regional universities to adopt policies prohibiting the harassment, intimidation or bullying of any student or staff member. Status: This bill was introduced on Jan. 26, 2009. This bill is still active. Washington House Bill 2015 — This bill would establish guidelines for the expansion of tools, information and strategies used to combat harassment, intimidation and bullying of students. Status: This bill was introduced on Feb. 6, 2009. This bill is still active.
Schools-Related Bills: Dead
Schools-Related Bills
Tennessee House Bill 821/Senate Bill 1250 — These bills would prohibit public schools from providing any instruction or materials discussing sexual orientation other than heterosexuality in grades K-8. Status: HB 821 was introduced in the House on Feb. 11, 2009. SB 1250 was introduced in the Senate on Feb. 12, 2009. These bills are still active.