A. The department shall:

(1)     issue guidance for bullying prevention programs and policies in accordance with the Safe Schools for All Students Act; and

(2)     within one hundred twenty days of the effective date of the Safe Schools for All Students Act:

(a) promulgate rules for a model policy for local school boards on bullying prevention in accordance with that act, as well as any developmentally, culturally or linguistically appropriate variants of the policy;

(b) provide guidance to local school boards relating to effective forms of progressive discipline to reduce bullying and school violence; and

(c) provide guidance to local school boards on effective bullying prevention programs to reduce bullying and school violence.

B. At the same time as or as part of the annual accountability report, each school district and charter school shall report on the status of its implementation of the provisions of the Safe Schools for All Students Act, including the aggregate number of incidents of bullying in the state, the aggregate number of incidents of harassment under any applicable federal or state laws, the aggregate number of responsive actions taken by public schools by type of action, a tabulation of the number of incidents associated with each distinguishing characteristic defined in the Safe Schools for All Students Act, the department’s evaluation of the sufficiency of funding for bullying prevention programs and any recommendations for policy or programmatic change to improve the addressing of bullying issues in the state.