Text of NY S 1987 (2010)

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Bill No.: Summary Actions Floor Votes Memo Text S01987 Summary: BILL NOS01987B SAME ASSAME AS A03661-C SPONSORDUANE COSPNSRADAMS, ADDABBO, BRESLIN, DILAN, FOLEY, HASSELL-THOMPSON, HUNTLEY, JOHNSON C, KRUEGER, LITTLE, MONTGOMERY, OPPENHEIMER, PARKER, PERALTA, PERKINS, SAVINO, SCHNEIDERMAN, SERRANO, SQUADRON, THOMPSON, VALESKY MLTSPNSR 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. Go to top S01987 Actions: BILL NOS01987B 02/10/2009REFERRED TO EDUCATION 03/16/2009AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO EDUCATION 03/16/2009PRINT NUMBER 1987A 01/06/2010REFERRED TO EDUCATION 03/11/2010AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO EDUCATION 03/11/2010PRINT NUMBER 1987B 04/30/2010NOTICE OF COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION - REQUESTED 05/18/2010REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE 06/22/2010COMMITTEE DISCHARGED AND COMMITTED TO RULES 06/22/2010ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.1070 06/22/2010SUBSTITUTED BY A3661C A03661 AMEND=C O'Donnell (MS) 01/28/2009referred to education 02/04/2009reported referred to codes 02/20/2009amend and recommit to codes 02/20/2009print number 3661a 03/16/2009amend and recommit to codes 03/16/2009print number 3661b 03/31/2009reported 04/02/2009advanced to third reading cal.284 04/07/2009passed assembly 04/07/2009delivered to senate 04/07/2009REFERRED TO EDUCATION 01/06/2010DIED IN SENATE 01/06/2010RETURNED TO ASSEMBLY 01/06/2010ordered to third reading cal.275 02/08/2010amended on third reading 3661c 05/17/2010passed assembly 05/17/2010delivered to senate 05/17/2010REFERRED TO EDUCATION 06/22/2010SUBSTITUTED FOR S1987B 06/22/20103RD READING CAL.1070 06/22/2010MOTION TO AMEND LOST 06/22/2010PASSED SENATE 06/22/2010RETURNED TO ASSEMBLY 09/07/2010delivered to governor 09/13/2010signed chap.482 09/13/2010approval memo.22Go to top S01987 Floor Votes: There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.Go to top S01987 Text: STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1987--B 2009-2010 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 10, 2009 ___________ Introduced by Sens. DUANE, ADAMS, BRESLIN, DILAN, FOLEY, HASSELL-THOMP- SON, C. JOHNSON, KRUEGER, LITTLE, MONTGOMERY, OPPENHEIMER, PERKINS, SAVINO, SCHNEIDERMAN, SERRANO, SQUADRON, THOMPSON, VALESKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- recommitted to the Committee on Education in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to enacting the dignity for all students act The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "dignity for all students act". 3 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new article 2 to read as 4 follows: 5 ARTICLE 2 6 DIGNITY FOR ALL STUDENTS 7 Section 10. Legislative intent. 8 11. Definitions. 9 12. Discrimination and harassment prohibited. 10 13. Policies and guidelines. 11 14. Commissioner's responsibilities. 12 15. Reporting by commissioner. 13 16. Protection of people who report discrimination or harass- 14 ment. 15 17. Application. 16 18. Severability and construction. 17 § 10. Legislative intent. The legislature finds that students' ability 18 to learn and to meet high academic standards, and a school's ability to EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01245-12-0 S. 1987--B 2 1 educate its students, are compromised by incidents of discrimination or 2 harassment including bullying, taunting or intimidation. It is hereby 3 declared to be the policy of the state to afford all students in public 4 schools an environment free of discrimination and harassment. The 5 purpose of this article is to foster civility in public schools and to 6 prevent and prohibit conduct which is inconsistent with a school's 7 educational mission. 8 § 11. Definitions. For the purposes of this article, the following 9 terms shall have the following meanings: 10 1. "School property" shall mean in or within any building, structure, 11 athletic playing field, playground, parking lot, or land contained with- 12 in the real property boundary line of a public elementary or secondary 13 school; or in or on a school bus, as defined in section one hundred 14 forty-two of the vehicle and traffic law. 15 2. "School function" shall mean a school-sponsored extra-curricular 16 event or activity. 17 3. "Disability" shall mean disability as defined in subdivision twen- 18 ty-one of section two hundred ninety-two of the executive law. 19 4. "Employee" shall mean employee as defined in subdivision three of 20 section eleven hundred twenty-five of this title. 21 5. "Sexual orientation" shall mean actual or perceived heterosexuali- 22 ty, homosexuality or bisexuality. 23 6. "Gender" shall mean actual or perceived sex and shall include a 24 person's gender identity or expression. 25 7. "Harassment" shall mean the creation of a hostile environment by 26 conduct or by verbal threats, intimidation or abuse that has or would 27 have the effect of unreasonably and substantially interfering with a 28 student's educational performance, opportunities or benefits, or mental, 29 emotional or physical well-being; or conduct, verbal threats, intim- 30 idation or abuse that reasonably causes or would reasonably be expected 31 to cause a student to fear for his or her physical safety; such conduct, 32 verbal threats, intimidation or abuse includes but is not limited to 33 conduct, verbal threats, intimidation or abuse based on a person's actu- 34 al or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, 35 religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender or 36 sex. 37 § 12. Discrimination and harassment prohibited. 1. No student shall 38 be subjected to harassment by employees or students on school property 39 or at a school function; nor shall any student be subjected to discrimi- 40 nation based on a person's actual or perceived race, color, weight, 41 national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, 42 sexual orientation, gender, or sex by school employees or students on 43 school property or at a school function. Nothing in this subdivision 44 shall be construed to prohibit a denial of admission into, or exclusion 45 from, a course of instruction based on a person's gender that would be 46 permissible under section thirty-two hundred one-a or paragraph (a) of 47 subdivision two of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-four of this chap- 48 ter and title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. section 49 1681, et. seq.), or to prohibit, as discrimination based on disability, 50 actions that would be permissible under section 504 of the Rehabili- 51 tation Act of 1973. 52 2. An age-appropriate version of the policy outlined in subdivision 53 one of this section, written in plain-language, shall be included in the 54 code of conduct adopted by boards of education and the trustees or sole 55 trustee pursuant to section twenty-eight hundred one of this chapter and S. 1987--B 3 1 a summary of such policy shall be included in any summaries required by 2 such section twenty-eight hundred one. 3 § 13. Policies and guidelines. The board of education and the trus- 4 tees or sole trustee of every school district shall create policies and 5 guidelines that shall include, but not be limited to: 6 1. Policies intended to create a school environment that is free from 7 discrimination or harassment; 8 2. Guidelines to be used in school training programs to discourage the 9 development of discrimination or harassment and that are designed: 10 a. to raise the awareness and sensitivity of school employees to 11 potential discrimination or harassment, and 12 b. to enable employees to prevent and respond to discrimination or 13 harassment; and 14 3. Guidelines relating to the development of nondiscriminatory 15 instructional and counseling methods, and requiring that at least one 16 staff member at every school be thoroughly trained to handle human 17 relations in the areas of race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic 18 group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, 19 gender, and sex. 20 § 14. Commissioner's responsibilities. The commissioner shall: 21 1. Provide direction, which may include development of model policies 22 and, to the extent possible, direct services, to school districts 23 related to preventing discrimination and harassment and to fostering an 24 environment in every school where all children can learn free of 25 manifestations of bias; 26 2. Provide grants, from funds appropriated for such purpose, to local 27 school districts to assist them in implementing the guidelines set forth 28 in this section; and 29 3. Promulgate regulations to assist school districts in implementing 30 this article including, but not limited to, regulations to assist school 31 districts in developing measured, balanced, and age-appropriate 32 responses to violations of this policy, with remedies and procedures 33 focusing on intervention and education. 34 § 15. Reporting by commissioner. The commissioner shall create a 35 procedure under which material incidents of discrimination and harass- 36 ment on school grounds or at a school function are reported to the 37 department at least on an annual basis. Such procedure shall provide 38 that such reports shall, wherever possible, also delineate the specific 39 nature of such incidents of discrimination or harassment, provided that 40 the commissioner may comply with the requirements of this section 41 through use of the existing uniform violent incident reporting system. 42 In addition the department may conduct research or undertake studies to 43 determine compliance throughout the state with the provisions of this 44 article. 45 § 16. Protection of people who report discrimination or harassment. 46 Any person having reasonable cause to suspect that a student has been 47 subjected to discrimination or harassment by an employee or student, on 48 school grounds or at a school function, who, acting reasonably and in 49 good faith, either reports such information to school officials, to the 50 commissioner, or to law enforcement authorities or otherwise initiates, 51 testifies, participates or assists in any formal or informal proceedings 52 under this article, shall have immunity from any civil liability that 53 may arise from the making of such report or from initiating, testifying, 54 participating or assisting in such formal or informal proceedings, and 55 no school district or employee shall take, request or cause a retaliato- 56 ry action against any such person who, acting reasonably and in good S. 1987--B 4 1 faith, either makes such a report or initiates, testifies, participates 2 or assists in such formal or informal proceedings. 3 § 17. Application. Nothing in this article shall: 4 1. Apply to private, religious or denominational educational insti- 5 tutions; or 6 2. Preclude or limit any right or cause of action provided under any 7 local, state or federal ordinance, law or regulation including but not 8 limited to any remedies or rights available under the Individuals With 9 Disabilities Education Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Law of 1964, 10 section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or the Americans with 11 Disabilities Act of 1990. 12 § 18. Severability and construction. The provisions of this article 13 shall be severable, and if any court of competent jurisdiction declares 14 any phrase, clause, sentence or provision of this article to be invalid, 15 or its applicability to any government agency, person or circumstance is 16 declared invalid, the remainder of this article and its relevant appli- 17 cability shall not be affected. The provisions of this article shall be 18 liberally construed to give effect to the purposes thereof. 19 § 3. Section 801-a of the education law, as added by chapter 181 of 20 the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows: 21 § 801-a. Instruction in civility, citizenship and character education. 22 The regents shall ensure that the course of instruction in grades 23 kindergarten through twelve includes a component on civility, citizen- 24 ship and character education. Such component shall instruct students on 25 the principles of honesty, tolerance, personal responsibility, respect 26 for others, observance of laws and rules, courtesy, dignity and other 27 traits which will enhance the quality of their experiences in, and 28 contributions to, the community. The regents shall determine how to 29 incorporate such component in existing curricula and the commissioner 30 shall promulgate any regulations needed to carry out such determination 31 of the regents. For the purposes of this section, "tolerance," "respect 32 for others" and "dignity" shall include awareness and sensitivity to 33 discrimination or harassment and civility in the relations of people of 34 different races, weights, national origins, ethnic groups, religions, 35 religious practices, mental or physical abilities, sexual orientations, 36 genders, and sexes. 37 § 4. Paragraphs l and m of subdivision 2 of section 2801 of the educa- 38 tion law, as added by chapter 181 of the laws of 2000, are amended and a 39 new paragraph n is added to read as follows: 40 l. a minimum suspension period, for students who repeatedly are 41 substantially disruptive of the educational process or substantially 42 interfere with the teacher's authority over the classroom, provided that 43 the suspending authority may reduce such period on a case by case basis 44 to be consistent with any other state and federal law. For purposes of 45 this section, the definition of "repeatedly are substantially disrup- 46 tive" shall be determined in accordance with the regulations of the 47 commissioner; [and] 48 m. a minimum suspension period for acts that would qualify the pupil 49 to be defined as a violent pupil pursuant to paragraph a of subdivision 50 two-a of section thirty-two hundred fourteen of this chapter, provided 51 that the suspending authority may reduce such period on a case by case 52 basis to be consistent with any other state and federal law[.]; and 53 n. provisions to comply with article two of this chapter. 54 § 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012, except that any rules or 55 regulations necessary for the timely implementation of this act on its 56 effective date shall be promulgated on or before such date. Go to top Sitemap Request Information Directions and Maps