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A03661 Summary:BILL NO A03661C
SAME AS No same as
SPONSOR O'Donnell (MS)
COSPNSR Glick, Nolan, Lifton, Benjamin, Fields, McEneny, Clark, Paulin,
Rosenthal, John, Galef, Hevesi, Espaillat, Englebright, Kavanagh,
Powell, Rivera N, Lancman, Peralta, Stirpe, Hoyt, Dinowitz, Jaffee,
Schimel, Cahill, Brodsky, Titone, Boyland
MLTSPNSR Alfano, Barra, Bing, Brennan, Farrell, Gianaris, Gottfried, Jacobs,
Jeffries, Kellner, Koon, Latimer, Lupardo, Markey, Millman,
Peoples-Stokes, Perry, Pheffer, Sweeney, Weisenberg, Wright
Add Art 2 SS10 - 18, amd SS801-a & 2801, Ed L
Enacts the "Dignity For All Students Act"; authorizes the commissioner of
education to establish policies and procedures affording all students in public
schools an environment free of harassment and discrimination; requires
reporting harassment and discrimination to such commission; makes exemptions.
A03661 Actions:BILL NO A03661C
01/28/2009 referred to education
02/04/2009 reported referred to codes
02/20/2009 amend and recommit to codes
02/20/2009 print number 3661a
03/16/2009 amend and recommit to codes
03/16/2009 print number 3661b
03/31/2009 reported
04/02/2009 advanced to third reading cal.284
04/07/2009 passed assembly
04/07/2009 delivered to senate
04/07/2009 REFERRED TO EDUCATION
01/06/2010 DIED IN SENATE
01/06/2010 RETURNED TO ASSEMBLY
01/06/2010 ordered to third reading cal.275
02/08/2010 amended on third reading 3661c
A03661 Votes:BILL: A03661B DATE: 04/07/2009 MOTION: YEA/NAY: 131/005
Abbate Y Cahill Y Englebr Y Hooper Y Maisel Y Powell Y Skartad Y
Alessi Y Calhoun Y Errigo Y Hoyt Y Markey Y Pretlow Y Spano Y
Alfano Y Camara ER Espaill Y Hyer-Sp Y Mayerso Y Quinn Y Stirpe Y
Amedore Y Canestr Y Farrell Y Jacobs ER McDonou Y Rabbitt Y Sweeney Y
Arroyo Y Carrozz ER Fields Y Jaffee Y McEneny Y Raia Y Tedisco ER
Aubry ER Castro Y Finch Y Jeffrie Y McKevit Y Ramos Y Thiele Y
Bacalle Y Christe Y Fitzpat NO John Y Meng Y Reilich Y Titone ER
Ball Y Clark Y Gabrysz Y Jordan Y Miller Y Reilly Y Titus Y
Barclay Y Colton Y Galef Y Kavanag Y Millman Y Rive J Y Tobacco Y
Barra Y Conte Y Gantt ER Kellner Y Molinar Y Rive N ER Towns ER
Barron Y Cook Y Gianari Y Kolb Y Morelle Y Rive PM Y Townsen NO
Benedet Y Corwin Y Giglio Y Koon Y Nolan ER Robinso Y Walker Y
Benjami Y Crouch Y Glick Y Lancman Y Oaks Y Rosenth Y Weinste Y
Bing Y Cusick Y Gordon Y Latimer Y O'Donne Y Russell Y Weisenb ER
Boyland Y Cymbrow Y Gottfri Y Lavine Y O'Mara Y Saladin NO Weprin Y
Boyle Y DelMont Y Greene Y Lentol Y Ortiz Y Sayward Y Wright Y
Bradley ER DenDekk Y Gunther Y Lifton Y Parment Y Scarbor Y Zebrows Y
Brennan Y Destito Y Hawley Y Lope PD Y Paulin Y Schimel Y Mr Spkr Y
Brodsky Y Diaz ER Hayes Y Lope VJ Y Peoples Y Schimmi Y
Brook-K Y Dinowit Y Heastie Y Lupardo Y Peralta Y Schroed Y
Burling NO Duprey Y Hevesi Y Magee Y Perry Y Scozzaf Y
Butler NO Eddingt Y Hikind ER Magnare Y Pheffer Y Seminer Y
A03661 Memo:BILL NUMBER:A3661C
TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the education law, in relation to enact-
ing the dignity for all students act
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: The purpose of this bill is to afford
all students an environment free of any harassment that substantially
interferes with their education, regardless of the basis of the harass-
ment, and free of discrimination based on actual or perceived race,
color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, disability,
sexual orientation, gender, or sex.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section one of the bill establishes its
short title, the Dignity for all Students Act. Section 2 of the bill
amends the Education Law by adding a new article 2 entitled "Dignity for
all Students." New article 2 sets forth the legislative intent in
section 10, and sets forth definitions in section 11. The definition of
'harassment" in section 11(7) was carefully drafted to ensure that this
legislation protects children against harassment in a manner that is
consistent with the First Amendment protections of speech and
expression. See Tinker v. Des Moines School District, 393 U,S. 503
(1969) and its progeny. In addition, by moving the list of protected
classes to the end of the definition, and by adding the phrase "not
limited to" at the beginning of the list, the amendment made in the
B-print explicitly establishes, in the bill text itself, that the list
is non-exclusive and that the definition is content neutral.
Harassment is defined as "creation of a hostile environment by conduct
or by verbal threats, intimidation or abuse that has or would have the
effect of unreasonably and substantially interfering with a student's
educational performance, opportunities or benefits, or mental, emotional
or physical well-being:" Education Law S11(7), as proposed in this bill.
The definition includes an objective reasonableness standard and,
consistent with Tinker and the cases decided after Tinker, it also
provides that speech (e.g., the verbal threats included in the defi-
nition) becomes harassment only when it does, or foreseeably would,
substantially interfere with a students education. it is also the legis-
lative intent that, consistent with the hostile environment case law
developed in the employment context, conduct or verbal behavior must be
severe or pervasive in order to substantially interfere with educational
performance, opportunities, etc. and to therefore be harassment under
this definition. This content-neutral definition is followed by a non-
exclusive list of protected classes whose members are often the targets
of the type of harassment the bill seeks to prevent. The purpose of
listing these protected classes is to provide examples of the types of
status-based harassment frequently encountered by students without in
any way limiting the application of the definition-to individuals in
those classes.
Section 12 prohibits harassment, as defined in section 11(7) and
discussed above, and it also prohibits discrimination on the basis of
actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group,
religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender, or
sex in any activity occurring on school grounds or at a school function.
New section 12 includes language intended to make clear that the Dignity
for All Students Act does not contravene or override existing provisions
of law, including but not limited to the Education Commissioner's regu-
lations, regarding single gender schools and athletic teams.
Sections 13 and 14 of new article 2 respectively provide for the poli-
cies and guidelines to be established by school districts, and the State
Education Commissioners responsibilities. This part of the bill requires
school districts to develop procedures which create a school environment
free of discrimination and harassment and to establish guidelines for
training school personnel. School districts must also establish guide-
lines for developing nondiscriminatory instructional and counseling
methods and ensuring that staff will be available at every school who
have been trained to handle human relations in the areas in which
discrimination is prohibited. The Commissioner of Education is to
provide advice, which may include model policies, and direct services,
to the extent possible, to help districts prevent discrimination and
harassment. The commissioner will also provide grants, from funds appro-
priated for such purpose, to local school districts to assist them in
implementing the guidelines provided for by the bill.
Section 15 of new Education Law article 2 requires the commissioner to
create a procedure whereby material incidents of discrimination and
harassment on school grounds or at school functions are reported to the
State Education Department at least annually. The commissioner may use
the existing UVIR (uniform violent incident reporting) system for this
purpose; however, it is the legislative intent that the UVIR system will
be adapted to include information about the specific nature of the inci-
dent, i.e., the type or types of bias involved in a reported incident of
harassment or discrimination, including the possibility that multiple
types of bias could be involved in a single incident, and all of the
types of bias involved should be reported.
Section 16 of new Education Law article 2 provides protection for people
who report incidents of discrimination or harassment. Section 17
provides for applicability of the new article with respect to certain
institutions and other laws, and section 18 provides for severability
and construction.
Section 3 of the bill amends section 801-a of the education law by
requiring sensitivity to the harassment or discrimination prohibited by
section 2 of this bill to be incorporated into the civility and charac-
ter training currently required by section 801-a of the education law.
Section 4 of the bill amends section 2801 of the education law by adding
a new paragraph n. Section 5 of the bill now provides that the bill will
take effect on July 1, 2012. This change in the effective date is the
only change made in the C-print of the bill.
The A-print added weight to the non-exclusive list of protected classes,
whose members are often the targets of the type of harassment the bill
seeks to prevent, that is contained in the harassment definition, and
also added weight to the same list that appears in other places in the
bill. As noted in the Justification section below, the GLSEN study shows
that looks/body size was the most frequently reported basis for harass-
ment of students in New York schools. There were no other changes in the
A-print
The B-print revised the harassment definition by moving the non-exclu-
sive list of protected classes from the middle of the definition to the
end of the definition, and by adding the phrase "not limited to" at the
beginning of the list. This change clarifies the consistently expressed
legislative intent that the list is non-exclusive and that the defi-
nition is content neutral. The B-print also made a conforming change in
proposed new Education Law S10, by removing the list of protected class-
es and simply stating the broad legislative intent to provide a school
environment free of discrimination and harassment. There were no other
changes in the B-print.
The C-print changes the effective date to July 1, 2012 to ensure that
there is adequate time for both SEA and school districts to develop
thoughtful and well-designed implementation plans. This time frame also
will permit proposed budgets at the state and local levels to include
consideration of the implementation plans before the law takes effect.
There are no other changes in the C-print.
JUSTIFICATION: In deciding First Amendment cases in school settings,
courts have recognized "the special need to maintain a safe, secure and
effective learning environment," Harper v. Poway Unified School, 445
F.3d 1166 at 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), citing Tinker v. Des Moines School
District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969). Students need such a safe, welcoming and
supportive school environment so that they can concentrate on their
academic and personal growth, and they should never have to be preoccu-
pied by the threat or actual occurrence of harassment or discrimination
at school. The Dignity for All Students Act promotes civility among
students and between students and teachers. It will also help create an
atmosphere where learning is paramount and distractions to learning are
minimized:
Moreover, the Act provides a response to the large numbers of harassed
and stigmatized students skipping school and engaging in high risk
behaviors like drug use, alcohol abuse, and perhaps even suicide. No
child or teen should ever be pushed to such extremes because of an
intolerable environment in his or her school. Scholarly literature and
common sense establish that harassment and intimidation interfere with
students' ability to learn. By prohibiting harassment in public schools
and establishing the basis for proactive measures such as training and
model policies, the "Dignity for All Students Act" takes a major step in
creating more nurturing environments in all our schools.
A 2008 review of existing literature, that also analyzed 1993-94 data
from a large urban school district, noted that bullying victimization is
estimated to affect 15-20% of the U.S. student population. The authors
defined bullying to include threats, intimidation and other conduct, and
concluded it was the most common form of "low level" school violence.
Meyer-Adams, N. & Conner, B.T., "School violence: Bullying behavior and
the Psychosocial School Environment in Middle Schools," Children &
Schools, Vol. 30, No. 4 (October 2008), The negative effects of bullying
include increased truancy and dropout rates as well as negative psycho-
social effects such as depression, etc. Id. at p. 212, Verbal teasing
and intimidation are the most common form of bullying. Dupper, D.R. &
Meyer-Adams, N., "Low-level violence: A neglected aspect of school
culture," Urban Education, Vol. 37, No. 3 at p. 351 (2002). A 1992 study
found that 88% of secondary school students reported having observed
bullying and 76.8% stated they had been victims. id. In addition to the
negative effects discussed above, bullying victims' grades may suffer
and even "good kids" may be pushed into starting fights. Id. at 352.
There is also harm to those who witness peer harassment. id.
The continuing need for this legislation is apparent from recent data
demonstrating the prevalence of bias-based harassment in New York
schools. A survey commissioned by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Educa-
tion Network (GLSEN) found that more than one-third (39%) of New York
students reported that bullying, name-calling, and harassment is a seri-
ous problem in school. Students were asked about the frequency of
witnessing other students bullied, called names, or harassed in school.
From Teasing to Torment: A Report on School Climate in New York (GLSEN
2005), at p. B. The most commonly reported harassment was based on phys-
ical appearance. Sixty-six percent (66%) of students reported that
people at school were harassed at least sometimes because of their looks
or body size, with 38% reporting that this happened often or very often.
id. This bill therefore now includes weight as one of the examples
contained in the non-exclusive list at the end of the harassment defi-
nition. Bullying and harassment based on how people expressed their
gender, or because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation was
also very common. Fifty seven percent of respondents reported that
students were bullied or harassed at least sometimes because of the way
they expressed their gender, and about a quarter (23%) said these behav-
iors occurred often or very often. Id. More than five out of ten (52%)
reported that students were harassed because they were or were perceived
to be lesbian, gay, or bisexual, id., even as only 5% identified as
being so. Id. at 2. About a quarter (24%) said these behaviors occurred
often or very often. Id. at 8.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: A.3496-A/S.1571 (passed Assembly 2007 and
2008); A.949115.1454 (passed Assembly 2006); A.4963/S.1454 (passed
Assembly 2005); A,1118/S.1925 (2003-04) passed Assembly 2003 and 2004;
A.2634-A /8.1628-A (2001-02) passed Assembly 2002; A.9244- A/S.5775-A
(2000).
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: Minimal.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect on July 1, 2012.
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