Bullying Redress And Verified Enforcement Act or the BRAVE Act
This bill requires a local educational agency (LEA), in order to receive certain federal education funding, to collect and publish certain information about instances of bullying in schools.
Specifically, the bill requires an LEA employee who becomes aware of bullying to report information about the bullying to an LEA-designated individual within seven business days. The LEA-designated individual must, within 60 days after receiving such a report, inform all of the LEA's employees of the acts described and the response of the LEA's employees.
Additionally, the bill requires each LEA to
- review its policies on bullying on an annual basis, and
- publish and make available to students and parents a quarterly report that lists the number of bullying reports made since the previous quarterly report and informs the public of the right to file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within the Department of Education (ED).
The bill requires the OCR to (1) establish and publish complaint procedures; (2) investigate each complaint; (3) withhold certain federal funds from, issue a complaint against, or enter into a compliance agreement with any noncompliant LEA; and (4) make information about each complaint available on ED's website.
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.