Component | Included |
---|---|
Prohibiting statement | Yes |
Definition | Yes |
Scope | Yes |
Protected groups | Yes |
District policy requirement | Yes |
Reporting and investigations | Yes |
Consequences | Yes |
Communication of policy | Yes |
Safeguards and supports | Yes |
Review and update of local policies | Yes |
Prevention education | Yes |
Staff training | Yes |
Parent engagement | No |
New York anti-bullying laws and regulations include the following definitions of harassment, bullying, and cyberbullying:
“Harassment” and “bullying” shall mean the creation of a hostile environment by conduct or by threats, intimidation or abuse, including cyberbullying, that (a) 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; or (b) reasonably causes or would reasonably be expected to cause a student to fear for his or her physical safety; or (c) reasonably causes or would reasonably be expected to cause physical injury or emotional harm to a student; or (d) occurs off school property and creates or would foreseeably create a risk of substantial disruption within the school environment, where it is foreseeable that the conduct, threats, intimidation or abuse might reach school property. Acts of harassment and bullying shall include, but not be limited to, those acts based on a person’s actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender or sex. For the purposes of this definition the term “threats, intimidation or abuse” shall include verbal and non-verbal actions.
“Cyberbullying” shall mean harassment or bullying as defined in subdivision seven of this section, including paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d) of such subdivision, where such harassment or bullying occurs through any form of electronic communication.
N.Y. Educ. Law § 11 (2019)
Yes. New York anti-bullying laws cover off-campus conduct that creates or would foreseeably create a risk of substantial disruption within the school environment, where it is foreseeable that the conduct, threats, intimidation, or abuse might reach school property.
New York school districts must establish and implement policies, procedures, and guidelines to create a school environment that is free from harassment, bullying, and discrimination. School district policies must contain key policy and procedural elements, including, but not limited to:
New York anti-bullying laws require schools to regularly report data and trends related to harassment, bullying, and discrimination to the superintendent. New York anti-bullying laws also require the State to create a procedure for reporting incidents of harassment, bullying, and discrimination on an annual basis.
Yes. New York anti-bullying laws prohibit acts of harassment and bullying that include, but are not limited to, acts based on a person’s actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender, or sex.
New York schools that receive federal funding are required by federal law to address discrimination based on certain personal characteristics. Find out when bullying may be a civil rights violation.
Yes. New York school district policies must include a school strategy to prevent harassment, bullying, and discrimination. New York school districts may provide students in grades kindergarten through twelve instruction designed to promote the proper and safe use of the internet and must implement school safety plans that include strategies for improving communication among staff and students concerned with bullying. New York school districts must also include content addressing awareness and sensitivity to harassment, bullying, and discrimination in instructional programs on civility, citizenship, and character education.
Yes. New York school district policies must include guidelines to be used in school training programs to discourage the development of harassment, bullying, and discrimination, and to make school employees aware of the effects of harassment, bullying, cyberbullying, and discrimination on students. Training programs must be designed:
a. to raise the awareness and sensitivity of school employees to potential harassment, bullying, and discrimination, and
b. to enable employees to prevent and respond to harassment, bullying, and discrimination.
Yes. New York school district policies require that when an investigation reveals any verified harassment, bullying, or discrimination, schools must take prompt actions reasonably calculated to end the harassment, bullying, or discrimination, eliminate any hostile environment, create a more positive school culture and climate, prevent recurrence of the behavior, and ensure the safety of the student or students against whom such harassment, bullying, or discrimination was directed. New York school district policies must also include guidelines relating to the development of nondiscriminatory instructional and counseling methods and require that at least one staff member at every school be thoroughly trained to handle human relations in the areas of race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender, and sex.
No. New York anti-bullying laws do not create expectations for parent involvement in addressing bullying.
Visit the New York State Education Department’s “The Dignity for All Students Act” webpage and/or view the New York state model policy on bullying and harassment.
The key component framework used in the analysis of state laws is based on the review of legislation presented in the “Analysis of State Bullying Laws and Policies – December 2011” (U.S. Department of Education).