Bullying, cyber-bullying, hazing, abusive conduct, and retaliation policy

(1) An LEA governing board shall adopt a bullying, cyber-bullying, hazing, abusive conduct, and retaliation policy. (2) The LEA governing board shall: (a) develop the policy with input from: (i) students; (ii) parents; (iii) teachers; (iv) school administrators; (v) school staff; or (vi) local law enforcement agencies; and (b) provide protection to a student, regardless of the student's legal status. (3) The LEA governing board shall include the following components in the policy: (a) definitions of bullying, cyber-bullying, hazing, abusive conduct, and retaliation that are consistent with this part; (b) language prohibiting bullying, cyber-bullying, hazing, and abusive conduct; (c) language prohibiting retaliation as described in Section 53G-9-603; (d) language prohibiting making a false report of bullying, cyber-bullying, hazing, abusive conduct, or retaliation; (e) language outlining appropriate punishments for a student who shares a recording of an act of bullying, cyber-bullying, hazing, abusive conduct, and retaliation in order to impact or encourage future incidents; (f) as required in Section 53G-9-604, a process for parental notification of: (i) a student's threat of suicide; (ii) an incident involving the parent's student; and (iii) implementation of the school's action plan to address the incident; (g) a grievance process for a school employee who has experienced abusive conduct; (h) a requirement that the school or LEA create and implement an action plan for each incident in accordance with Section 53G-9-605.5; (i) a communication process requiring the school or LEA regularly updates each parent of a student involved in an incident regarding implementation of an action plan, including: (i) the outcome of the school's or LEA's investigation; (ii) a discussion of safety considerations for the student who is the subject of the incident; and (iii) an explanation of the school's or LEA's process for addressing the incident; and (j) a requirement for a signed statement annually, indicating that the individual signing the statement has received the LEA governing board's policy, from each: (i) school employee; (ii) student who is at least eight years old; and (iii) parent of a student enrolled in the LEA. (4) An LEA shall, in relation to the policy described in this section: (a) include a copy in student conduct handbooks; (b) include a copy in employee handbooks; and (c) provide a copy to a parent of a student enrolled in the charter school or school district. (5) A policy may not permit formal disciplinary action that is based solely on an anonymous report of bullying, cyber-bullying, hazing, abusive conduct, or retaliation. (6) Nothing in this part is intended to infringe upon the right of a school employee, parent, or student to exercise the right of free speech.