Requires the board of education and the trustees or sole trustee of every school district to establish policies and procedures regarding the treatment of transgender or gender non-conforming students.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A4576
SPONSOR: Simone TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring the board of
education and the trustees or sole trustee of every school district to
establish policies and procedures regarding the treatment of transgender
or gender non-conforming students
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To ensure that New York's public school districts have procedures in
place to implement the anti-discrimination requirements of the Dignity
for All Students Act, as they pertain to transgender and gender non-con-
forming students.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends section 13 of the education law by adding
a new subdivision 6. The new subdivision requires school districts to
develop policies and procedures to: Ensure that schools and school
employees treat students consistently with their gender identity or
expression, including using pronouns and names consistent with the
student's gender identity or expression; Allow students to participate
in sex-segregated activities and access sex-segregated facilities in
manner consistent with the student's gender identity or expression;
protect students' privacy related to their transgender or gender noncon-
forming status.
Section 2 sets the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
New York's Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) was signed into law in
2010 and first implemented in 2012. DASA seeks to provide New York
State's public schools with a safe and supportive environment free from
discrimination, intimidation, taunting, harassment, and bullying on
school property or at school functions. Notably, DASA seeks to prevent
discrimination on the basis of a student's gender identity or
expression, among other characteristics including race, color, weight,
national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability,
sexual orientation, or sex. DASA's protection of transgender and gender
non-conforming students is especially important considering the experi-
ences of LGBTQ youth in schools. According to the 2015 National School
Climate Survey by GLSEN, the overwhelming majority of LGBTQ students
routinely hear anti-LGBT language and experience victimization and
discrimination at school, including: Nationally, 43.3% of LGBTQ students
reported feeling unsafe at school because of their gender expression.
Half of New York LGBTQ students experienced verbal harassment at school
based on their sexual orientation or gender expression-16% of New York
LGBTQ students reported being physically harassed and 6% reported being
physically assaulted due to their gender expression-85% of New York
LGBTQ students heard negative remarks about gender expression at school,
with 30% of New York students reporting such remarks from teachers or
other school staff-46% of New York transgender students had been
prevented by their school from using their preferred name or pronoun,
and 66% had been required to use a bathroom or locker room of their sex
assigned at birth. The victimization and discrimination of LGBTQ
students has devastating effects. Transgender and gender non-conforming
students experiencing victimization due to their gender expression were
almost three times as likely to have missed school in a given month, had
lower GPAs than students who experienced less harassment, experienced
lower self-esteem and higher incidences of depression and suicidal idea-
tion. As the results of the GLSEN survey demonstrate,
many transgender and gender nonconforming students here in New York
continue to face discrimination and hostility while at school, from
fellow students, teachers, and administrative policies alike. This
legislation would help ensure that the implementation of DASA, partic-
ularly as the law pertains to transgender and gender nonconforming
students, is as effective and tailored to the unique needs of these
students as possible. By codifying a requirement that school districts
have procedures and policies in place to ensure that they treat students
consistently with their gender identity or expression, allow students to
access sex-segregated facilities and activities consistent with their
gender identity or expression, and protect the privacy of data related
to students' transgender or gender nonconforming status, this legis-
lation will help guide school districts towards best practices for
creating a safe, healthy learning environment for all students. The
policies specified in this bill are consistent with Title IX guidance
provided in a "Dear Colleague" memo issued by the U.S. Department of
Justice and the U.S. Department of Education on May 13, 2016, as well
as a July 2015 memo entitled "Guidance to School Districts for Creating
a Safe and Supportive School Environment For Transgender and Gender
Nonconforming Students" issued by the New York State Education Depart-
ment. In the wake of the Trump administration's February 2017 decision
to rescind the May 2016 federal guidance, this legislation will provide
New York's public schools with clarity on the policies that they will
need to implement to be compliant with the anti-discrimination require-
ments of Title IX and DASA.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2017-2018: A.10659 - referred to Education Committee
2019-2020: A.1592 - referred to Education Committee
2021-2022: A.840 - referred to Education Committee
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
