North Carolina HB 945: Reporting of Sexual Assault on School Buses.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 945

Short Title: Reporting of Sexual Assault on School Buses. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Cotham, Biggs, and Bell (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Education - K-12, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
April 14, 2025
*H945-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO REQUIRE REPORTS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT OR HARASSMENT TO 2
SPECIFY IF THE INCIDENT OCCURRED ON A SCHOOL BUS, TO INCREASE THE 3
FREQUENCY OF ACTS OF SCHOOL VIOLENCE REPORTING, AND TO ESTABLISH 4
A PENALTY FOR FAILING TO REPORT AN ACT OF VIOLENCE. 5
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 6
SECTION 1. G.S. 115C-12(21) reads as rewritten: 7
"(21) Duty to Monitor Acts of School Violence. – The State Board of Education 8
shall monitor and compile an annual a biannual report on acts of violence in 9
the public schools.schools in accordance with the following: 10
a. The State Board shall adopt standard definitions for acts of school 11
violence and shall require local boards of education to report them 12
within five days of the act occurring to the State Board in a standard 13
format adopted by the State Board. The State Board shall require local 14
boards of education to specify in their reports if an act of violence 15
occurred on a school bus and the State Board shall include this data in 16
the reports required under this subdivision. Failure of an employee of 17
a local school administrative unit or a member of a local board of 18
education to make a report to the State Board as required by this 19
sub-subdivision is a Class I felony. 20
b. The State Board shall submit its report on acts of violence in the public 21
schools to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the 22
House of Representatives, and the Joint Legislative Education 23
Oversight Committee by March 15 of each year.at the end of the 24
second and fourth quarters of each school year. 25
c. Reports submitted pursuant to this subdivision are public record, 26
except that any sensitive identifying information from the report shall 27
be redacted for the privacy of minors." 28
SECTION 2. This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with 29
the 2025-2026 school year. 30