Schools would prohibit bullying under rules tied to education grants

States receiving Title IV education grants would require all their public school districts to adopt policies against bullying and harassment. Policies would cover targeting based on actual or perceived traits, such as race, disability, or sexual orientation. They would also cover targeting based on traits of people students associate with or have associated with. Policies would prohibit conduct that limits school participation or creates a hostile or abusive learning environment that harms a student's education. Protections under other federal free speech laws would remain in place.

School districts would explain prohibited conduct and provide a way for students and parents to file complaints. These requirements would apply to all public school districts in states receiving Title IV education grants. Complaint procedures would name the officials who receive complaints and set timelines for resolving them. Districts would provide notice each year.

School districts would collect accurate, complete incident counts and publish them for each school and the district. These requirements would cover conduct banned by the required policies in public school districts in states receiving Title IV education grants. Public reports could not identify victims or people responsible for the prohibited conduct. Districts would collect and publicly report incident data each year.

States would report incident data and support plans to federal education officials, who would independently evaluate school efforts against bullying and harassment. State reports would be required from states receiving Title IV education grants. Federal evaluations would assess elementary and secondary school programs, including whether the required policies reduce prohibited conduct. Federal evaluations would occur every two years. Federal reports would be due by January 1, 2026, and every two years thereafter.