Text of NY S 4023 (2004)

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Bill No.: Summary Actions Floor Votes Memo Text S04023 Summary: BILL NOS04023A SAME ASSAME AS A09320 SPONSORSALAND COSPNSRFLANAGAN, FUSCHILLO, GOLDEN, KUHL, LAVALLE, MCGEE, MORAHAN, PADAVAN, RATH, ROBACH, SKELOS MLTSPNSR Amd SS801-a, 2801 & 3028-c, add S2803, Ed L; add S240.33, Pen L Prohibits bullying on school property; defines bullying; establishes punishment for people who are found guilty of bullying on school property; establishes the class B misdemeanor of aggravated harassment of teachers and school personnel.Go to top S04023 Text: STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4023--A 2003-2004 Regular Sessions IN SENATE April 9, 2003 ___________ Introduced by Sens. SALAND, FLANAGAN, GOLDEN, KUHL, LAVALLE, McGEE, MORAHAN, PADAVAN, RATH, ROBACH, SKELOS, VELELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education -- committee discharged and said bill committed to the Committee on Rules -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to prohibiting bullying on school property; and to amend the penal law, in relation to estab- lishing the crime of aggravated harassment of teachers, school person- nel and school board members The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative intent. In recent years, the state legislature 2 has taken several steps to ensure that school pupils, teachers and other 3 personnel are provided with a safe and secure learning environment on 4 all school property. Through the enactment of provisions requiring the 5 fingerprinting of a school district's prospective employees and the 6 enactment of the Safe Schools Against Violence in Education Act, the 7 legislature has ensured the increased safety of our schools. However, 8 to address concerns that harassment of pupils and school personnel 9 through acts of bullying can be both disruptive to the learning process 10 and harmful, mentally and/or physically, to intended victims, the legis- 11 lature finds that enactment of this legislation to prohibit bullying on 12 school property, which shall be known and may be noted as the "Schools 13 as Safe Harbors Act," is necessary and appropriate to further ensure 14 that New York state's public schools be made as safe as possible. 15 § 2. Section 801-a of the education law, as added by chapter 181 of 16 the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows: 17 § 801-a. Instruction in civility, citizenship and character education. 18 The regents shall ensure that the course of instruction in grades 19 kindergarten through twelve includes a component on civility, citizen- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02231-02-3 S. 4023--A 2 1 ship and character education. Such component shall instruct students on 2 the principles of honesty, tolerance, personal responsibility, respect 3 for others, observance of laws and rules, courtesy, dignity and other 4 traits which will enhance the quality of their experiences in, and 5 contributions to, the community. Such component shall also address 6 methods of discouraging acts of bullying, as defined in subdivision one 7 of section twenty-eight hundred three of this chapter, against fellow 8 students. The regents shall determine how to incorporate such component 9 in existing curricula and the commissioner shall promulgate any regu- 10 lations needed to carry out such determination of the regents. 11 § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 2801 of the education law is amended by 12 adding a new paragraph a-1 to read as follows: 13 a-1. provisions prohibiting bullying on school property, including a 14 school function, pursuant to section twenty-eight hundred three of this 15 article; 16 § 4. Subdivision 2 of section 2801 of the education law is amended by 17 adding a new paragraph f-1 to read as follows: 18 f-1. when any school employee having reasonable cause to suspect that 19 a student has committed an act of bullying, as defined in section twen- 20 ty-eight hundred three of this article, the school employee shall report 21 such incident to the principal, or designee thereof, who in turn shall 22 report such incident to the superintendent, upon a determination by the 23 principal, or designee thereof, that there is a reasonable suspicion 24 that the act occurred. Failure of an employee to make a report pursuant 25 to this paragraph may not be the basis for any disciplinary action or 26 professional misconduct charge against the employee; 27 § 5. The education law is amended by adding a new section 2803 to read 28 as follows: 29 § 2803. Bullying prohibited. 1. For purposes of this section, the 30 following terms shall have the following meanings: 31 a. "Public school" means: 32 (i) a public elementary or secondary school, kindergarten or pre-kin- 33 dergarten program, adult or continuing education program or other educa- 34 tional program operated by a school district, charter school, board of 35 cooperative educational services, county vocational education and exten- 36 sion boards; and 37 (ii) a school or educational program that serves students in any of 38 grades kindergarten through twelve and is operated by the department, or 39 is operated or supervised by another state agency or a political subdi- 40 vision and is subject to the provisions of section one hundred twelve of 41 this chapter. 42 b. "Publicly funded special education program" means an approved 43 provider of special education programs and services under section 44 forty-four hundred ten of this chapter, an approved private residential 45 or non-residential school for the provision of special services or 46 programs pursuant to subdivision two of section forty-four hundred one 47 of this chapter, a state-supported school subject to the provisions of 48 article eighty-five of this chapter or any other agency or entity that 49 provides special education programs or services pursuant to the 50 provisions of article eighty-one or eighty-nine of this chapter. 51 c. "School property" means in or within any building, structure, 52 athletic playing field, playground, parking lot or land contained within 53 the real property boundary line of a public school or a publicly funded 54 special education program; or in or on a school bus, as defined in 55 section one hundred forty-two of the vehicle and traffic law; and a S. 4023--A 3 1 "school function" means a school sponsored extra-curricular event or 2 activity. 3 d. "Bullying" means threatening, stalking or seeking to coerce or 4 compel a person to do something; engaging in verbal or physical conduct 5 that threatens another with harm, including intimidation through the use 6 of epithets or slurs involving race, ethnicity, national origin, reli- 7 gion, religious practices, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. 8 2. No student shall be subject to bullying by any student of a public 9 school or publicly funded special education program. 10 3. a. Any person found to be in violation of subdivision two of this 11 section in a public school or on school property shall be subject to 12 disciplinary action in accordance with the district's code of conduct 13 adopted pursuant to section twenty-eight hundred one of this article and 14 the discipline procedures applicable to students or employees of the 15 public school. Any person found to be in violation of subdivision two of 16 this section in a publicly funded special education program shall be 17 subject to discipline under the policies and procedures of such program 18 governing student conduct or employee discipline. 19 b. Nothing in this section shall be construed to create a private 20 cause of action. 21 4. Nothing in this section shall apply, or be construed to apply, to 22 private, religious or denominational educational institutions. Nor shall 23 this section preclude or limit, or be perceived to preclude or limit, 24 any right or cause of action provided under any local, state or federal 25 ordinance, law, rule or regulation. 26 5. A plain-language, age-appropriate description of the policies 27 outlined in subdivision two of this section shall be distributed to 28 employees, students and parents of each public school or publicly-funded 29 special education program on at least an annual basis. In the case of 30 public schools, such requirement shall be met by including such 31 description in the summary of the code of conduct provided to each 32 student and mailed to parents pursuant to subdivision four of section 33 twenty-eight hundred one of this article. 34 6. The provisions of this section shall be severable, and if any court 35 of competent jurisdiction declares any phrase, clause, sentence or 36 provision of this article to be invalid, or its applicability to any 37 government agency, person or circumstance, is declared invalid, the 38 remainder of this article and its relevant applicability shall not be 39 affected. 40 § 6. Section 3028-c of the education law, as added by chapter 181 of 41 the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows: 42 § 3028-c. Protection of school employees who report acts of bullying 43 or violence and weapons possession. Any school employee having reason- 44 able cause to suspect that a person has committed an act of bullying as 45 such term is defined in section twenty-eight hundred three of this chap- 46 ter or violence while in or on school property, or having reasonable 47 cause to suspect that a person has committed an act of bullying as such 48 term is defined in section twenty-eight hundred three of this chapter or 49 violence upon a student, school employee or volunteer either upon school 50 grounds or elsewhere, or having reasonable cause to suspect that a 51 person has brought a gun, knife, bomb or other instrument capable of or 52 that appears capable of causing death or physical injury upon school 53 grounds who in good faith reports such information to school officials, 54 to the commissioner, or to law enforcement authorities, shall have immu- 55 nity from any civil liability that may arise from the making of such 56 report, and no school district or school district employee shall take, S. 4023--A 4 1 request or cause a retaliatory action against any such employee who 2 makes such report. 3 § 7. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 240.33 to read 4 as follows: 5 § 240.33 Aggravated harassment of teachers and school personnel. 6 A person is guilty of aggravated harassment of teachers and school 7 personnel when, with intent to harass, annoy or alarm a person whom he 8 or she knows or reasonably should know to be a teacher, administrator or 9 other staff member of a public or private elementary, intermediate, 10 junior high, vocational or high school, engaged in the course of his or 11 her employment, he or she strikes, shoves or kicks such teacher, admin- 12 istrator or other staff member, and when such conduct takes place on 13 school property as defined in section twenty-eight hundred one of the 14 education law where such teacher, administrator or other staff member is 15 employed or assigned on the date of such conduct. 16 Aggravated harassment of teachers and school personnel is a class B 17 misdemeanor. 18 § 8. This act shall take effect on the first of September next 19 succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law. Go to top Sitemap Request Information Directions and Maps