SB 1684 Arizona Senate · 57th Legislature - Second Regular Session

school liability; bullying; serious injury

This Arizona bill (SB 1684) allows students or their parents to sue public schools for failing to address bullying after receiving prior reports, if the student suffers serious physical injury. It requires three conditions: the school must have received at least one prior report (written, verbal, or staff observation) of bullying, the school negligently failed to act on that report, and the injury resulted directly from the bullying. The law also permits courts to award attorney fees and damages to successful claimants. It directly affects public schools, students injured by bullying, and families seeking recourse when schools ignore documented bullying concerns.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 9, 2026 Last action Jun 1, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

House Engrossed Version → Senate Engrossed Version (02/26/2026) · 4 edits · Feb 26, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was converted from a House version to a Senate version, which involved reformatting the title and removing specific subsections regarding where bullying must occur (e.g., on school grounds or via school computers). The most significant substantive change is the removal of the requirement that a student must suffer 'serious physical injury' to file a lawsuit, broadening the scope of potential claims. Additionally, the definition of a 'prior report' was expanded to include verbal reports, making it easier for students to meet the criteria for legal action.

Scope change

The bill's scope was broadened by removing the prerequisite of 'serious physical injury' and by expanding the definition of where bullying incidents can occur to include any location, not just school property or school-sponsored events.

ELIGIBILITY

Removed the requirement that a student must suffer 'serious physical injury' to bring a lawsuit against the school for bullying.

DEFINITION

Changed the definition of 'prior report' to include verbal reports in addition to written ones.

SCOPE

Deleted the specific subsections defining where bullying must occur (e.g., on school grounds, on a bus, or using school technology) to allow claims for incidents happening anywhere.

TECHNICAL

Updated the bill header from 'House Engrossed' to 'Senate Engrossed' and adjusted the section title to use singular 'definition' instead of 'definitions'.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jun 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

DPA

lower

Mar 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

DPA

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

PASSED

upper

Feb 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors