SB 253 Delaware Senate · 153rd General Assembly (2025-2026)

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SCHOOL BULLYING.

Summary

This Act revises the parent notification requirements for school bullying policies by repealing the requirement that notification be made using a form generated by the Department of Justice (DOJ). This change conforms to DOJ’s current practices and procedures related to involvement with student behavior issues. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

Senate Passage

Jun 2026

House Passage

May 2026

Signed into Law

Jul 2026

Introduced Mar 9, 2026 Signed Jul 23, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HA 1 to SB 253 → Bill Text · 3 edits

MINOR

The final Senate Bill text replaces the House Amendment's requirement that schools use a Department of Education template for parent notification with a new requirement that parents be provided a form generated by the Department of Justice describing the DOJ School Ombudsman role and contact information. The form must also inform parents of their right to know when a bullying incident has been reported to the Department of Education. The word 'alleged' was removed from references to targets and perpetrators of bullying.

REQUIREMENT

Replaced the requirement that schools use the Department of Education's template for parent notification with a requirement that parents be provided a form generated by the Department of Justice describing the DOJ School Ombudsman role and providing contact information.

Added a requirement that the DOJ form must inform the parent of their right to know when the bullying incident has been reported to the Department of Education under paragraph (b)(2)k.

DEFINITION

Removed the word 'alleged' before 'target of bullying' and 'perpetrator of bullying,' changing the notification trigger from alleged involvement to confirmed involvement.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 12, 2026 · House May 21, 2026

How they voted

20–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 21

Mar 12, 2026

D Democratic15

14 Yea 1

93% Yea

R Republican6

6 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jul 23, 2026

Signed into law

Signed by Governor

executive

Jun 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed By Senate. Votes: 19 YES 2 ABSENT

upper

May 21, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed By House. Votes: 38 YES 3 ABSENT

lower

May 21, 2026

Lower · Passed

Amendment HA 1 to SB 253 - Passed In House by Voice Vote

lower

May 19, 2026

Introduced

Amendment HA 1 to SB 253 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

upper

Apr 15, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported Out of Committee (Education) in House with 15 On Its Merits

lower

Mar 17, 2026

Introduced

Assigned to Education Committee in House

lower

Mar 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT

upper

Mar 11, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported Out of Committee (Education) in Senate with 5 On Its Merits

upper

Mar 9, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Assigned to Education Committee in Senate

upper

8 primary · 0 co-sponsors