Laws

Tina's Fund For Domestic Violence Awareness

A Non-Profit Organization

Important Facts

Lindsay Ann Burke Act

NJ Existing Law

Teacher Education

Updated October 5, 2010

Introduced Legislation-2010 Bills
State Bill Description
California
AB 1852 Would revise the social study and the assessment done prior to appointing a guardian to include information regarding whether the County Welfare Department has attempted to locate relative and nonrelative extended family members of the child and establish permanent familial connections between the child and those persons. The new training program would include information regarding the dynamics and effects of domestic violence upon families and children, including indicators and dynamics of teen dating violence. Pending.

SB 1300 Would authorize a school district to provide teen dating violence prevention education consisting of age-appropriate instruction, as developed by the State Board of Education as part of the sexual health and health education program it provides for students in grades 7 to 12. Pending.
Connecticut
HB 5315 Would include teen dating violence and domestic violence education as part of the in-service training program for certified teachers, administrators and pupil personnel. Passed, signed into law by the Governor, Public Act No. 10-91, 5/26/2010.
HB 5246 Requires the Commissioner of Public Health to develop one public service announcement issued by the Department of Public Health through a televised broadcast for the purpose of preventing teen dating and family violence. Enacted 6/07/2010, Public Act No. 10-137.
Florida
SB 642 and HB 467 Would require a comprehensive health education taught in the public schools to include a component on teen dating violence and abuse for students in grades 7 through 12. Would require district school boards to adopt and implement a dating violence and abuse policy and provides policy requirements. Also would require the Department of Education to develop a model policy that includes school personnel training. Senate version: Failed, session adjourned. House version: Passed, signed into law by the governor, Chapter No. 217, 6/07/2010.
Georgia
HB 1018 Relates to other educational programs relative to the Quality Basic Education Act. Would provide that the State Board of Education to incorporate into rape prevention and personal safety education programs a program for preventing teen dating violence, the Love Is Not Abuse Curriculum (Claiborne Institute curriculum) and would repeal conflicting laws. Failed, session adjourned.
Maryland
HB 911 and SB 984 Would require the State Board of Education to adopt in the public schools a specified program on dating violence on or before a specified date. Would alter the definition of victim of domestic violence. Would require the Governor to proclaim the first week in February each year Tween/Teen Dating Violence Education and Awareness Week. House version: Failed. Senate still pending.
Massachusetts
SB 2323 Would provide instruction for teaching about bullying, cyberbullying, and teen dating violence in schools. Pending.
New York
AB 10206 and SB 7131 Would require dating violence education and dating violence policies in school districts, board of cooperative educational services and county vocational education and extension boards. Defines dating violence as a pattern of behavior where one person uses threats of, or actually uses, physical, sexual, verbal or emotional abuse to control his or her dating partner and includes threats made by cell phone, text message, internet, and other electronic means. Pending.
Pennsylvania
HB 101 Would amend the terms and courses of study in the Public School Code of 1949. Would provide for dating violence education.
State Laws on Teen Dating Violence
State Description of Law
Florida
Fla. Stat. § 784.046  A victim of dating violence that has reasonable cause to believe he or she is in imminent danger of becoming the victim of another act of dating violence, or any person who has reasonable cause to believe he or she is in imminent danger of becoming the victim of an act of dating violence, or the parent or legal guardian of any minor child who is living at home and who seeks an injunction for protection against dating violence on behalf of that minor child, has standing in the circuit court to file a restraining order against the accused dating violence abuser.
Georgia
Ga. Code Ann. § 20-2-314 (2003 SB346)  The State Board of Education is required to develop a rape prevention and personal safety education program and a program for preventing teen dating violence for grades 8 through 12. Local boards may implement such programs at any time and for any grade level local boards find appropriate, and the state board shall encourage the implementation of such programs. In addition, the state board shall make information regarding such programs available to the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.
Illinois
Public Act. No 383 (2009 HB 973) Amends the Critical Health Problems and Comprehensive Health Education Act. Provides that the Comprehensive Health Education Program may include instruction on teen dating violence for specified grade levels.
Public Act No. 95-876 (2007 SB2023 and HB1330) Requires the State Board of Education to convene an Ensuring Success in School Task Force to develop policies and procedures for addressing the educational and related needs of youth who are parents, expectant parents, or victims of domestic or sexual violence to ensure their ability to stay in school, and successfully complete their education. Adds one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate and one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives to the Task Force. The Task Force will issue a final report to the General Assembly in Spring of 2009.
Public Act No. 383 (2009 HB 973) Amends the Critical Health Problems and Comprehensive Health Education Act. Provides that the Comprehensive Health Education Program may include instruction on teen dating violence for specified grade levels.
Massachusetts
2010 Mass. Acts, Chap. 256 (2010 SB 2583) Requires school districts to implement a specific policy to address teen dating violence in public schools. These policies are required to clearly state that teen dating violence will not be tolerated, and need to include guidelines for addressing alleged incidents of teen dating violence.
Nebraska
Neb. Rev. Stat.§ 43 Sec. 79-2,142 (2009 LB 63) (originally LB 64, but added to LB 63 during session) Section 43-47 adopts the Lindsay Burke Act passed in Rhode Island in 2007. Would require the state department of education to develop a model policy for schools to address teen dating violence through their curriculum. Enacted, signed into law by the Governor, 5/27/2009.
New Jersey
N.J.S.A. 18A:35-4.23 (2003 SB 487 and AB 3081) Creates the Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Education Fund and allows the board of education to teach the psychology and dynamics of teen dating violence when appropriate in elementary, middle and high school.
Ohio
Session Law Chapter No. 15 (2007 HB119) Requires the Franklin County Child and Family Health Services  to support the Compdrug Teen Dating Violence Prevention Project. Comp Drug Inc. is an organization that offers services in prevention, intervention and treatment programs for persons with substance abuse problems and the largest provider of institutional and community based corrections programs.
2009 HB 19 Enacts the Tina Croucher Act. Requires school districts to adopt a dating violence prevention policy and to include dating violence prevention education within the health education curriculum. Signed into law by the Governor on December 28, 2009.
Rhode Island
Gen. Laws 1956, § 16-85-2   (2007 SB 875 and HB6166) Establishes the Lindsay Anne Burke Act which requires the Department of Education to develop a model dating violence policy to assist school districts in developing policies for dating violence reporting and response. The model policy shall be implemented on or before April 1, 2008. Each school district's policy should include a policy for responding to incidents of dating violence and to provide dating violence education to students, parents, staff, faculty and administrators, in order to prevent dating violence and to address incidents involving dating violence. Click here to view Rhode Island Department of Education's policy on teen dating violence.
Tennessee
T. C. A. § 49-1-220 (2006 SB 595) This act urges the Department of Education to develop a sexual violence/teen dating violence awareness curriculum for presentation at least once in grades 7 and 8 and at least once and preferably twice in grades 9 through 12. The curriculum is intended to increase awareness of teen dating violence and sexual violence, including rape prevention strategies, resources available, etc.
Texas
Secretary of State Chapter No. 131 (2007 HB121) Schools are required to develop and implement a dating violence policy. The school policy should provide training for teachers and administrators and awareness education for students and parents. It should also enforce protective orders or school based alternative including counseling for affected students. The policy is also required to addressing safety planning.
Virginia
Va. Code Ann. § 22.1-207.1 (2007 HB 1916) Develops curriculum guidelines for teaching teen dating violence and all family life education in schools. The guidelines promote parental involvement, foster positive self concepts and provide mechanisms for coping with peer pressure and the stresses of modern living according to the students' developmental stages and abilities. The Board shall also establish requirements for appropriate training for teachers of family life education, which shall include training in instructional elements to support the various curriculum components.
Washington
RCWA 28A.300.185 (2005 HB 1252) Requires the state school superintendent to develop a model curriculum. The model curriculum shall include, but is not limited to, instruction on developing conflict management skills, communication skills, domestic violence and dating violence, financial responsibility, and parenting responsibility.
posted 9/27/10
N.J. Bill Targets Teen Dating Violence
By The Associated Press
Trenton, N.J.
New Jersey school districts may soon have to incorporate age-appropriate dating violence education into their middle and high school curriculums.
The mandate, part of legislation that was approved earlier this month by a state Assembly panel, also would require that faculty and certain staff members be trained to recognize and handle dating violence among students.
And the state Department of Education would have to establish a task force to develop a policy to prevent and address dating violence at schools.
That policy would have to contain, at a minimum, a statement that dating violence will not be tolerated. It also would have to include details on reporting procedures, guidelines for responding to at-school incidents and specific discipline procedures.
According to the National Teen Dating Violence Prevention Project , about 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience some type of physical abuse from a dating partner in a single year.
"Teen dating violence is hurting and killing innocent children in our communities and homes," said Assemblyman David Wolfe, R-Brick, who is among the bipartisan bill's five primary sponsors. "It's a growing public health issue, it's a silent epidemic that is largely ignored by parents, schools and the media. Our goal is to prevent dating abuse before it begins, through early education of both students and faculty."
The Assembly's Education Committee released the bill Sept. 16, and it now heads to the full Assembly. A vote that has not yet been scheduled. Besides Wolfe, the bill is sponsored by Democrat Joan Voss of Fort Lee and Republicans James Holzapfel of Toms River, Anthony Bucco of Boonton and Mary Pat Angelini of Ocean Township.
An identical measure has been introduced in the Senate by Andrew Ciesla, R-Ocean.
"It's important that we empower our students to recognize the warning signs and understand that this is not normal or acceptable behavior," said Voss, a retired educator. "Hopefully, this bill will go a long way toward preventing any unnecessary tragedies."
If approved, the dating violence education would be incorporated into the health education curriculum for students in grades 7 through 12. It would include information on the definition of dating violence, recognizing warning signs and the characteristics of healthy relationships.
The bill also requires the state education department to post dating violence training materials on its website. Each district would then provide that information to teachers and other staff members who have significant contact with students.
The training materials would include information on school, family, peer and community resources available to address dating violence.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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