New York now joins 43 other states with anti-bullying laws, with Governor Paterson’s signing of the Dignity for All Students Act. Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo (D-Endwell) was one of the sponsors of the bill that aims to help protect students from harassment, discrimination and bullying.

“It’s important that we do all we can to prevent harassment, discrimination and bullying in our schools,” said Lupardo, one of the sponsors of the bill and a member of the Assembly Mental Health Committee. “Many of our local schools do a good job at this already, but it’s by no means uniform across the state.”

Bullying in schools is a major issue for educators, parents and students, as incidents of physical violence can put kids at risk of injury. Victims of bullying can also suffer from depression and social withdrawal, as well as lowered grades.

The Dignity for All Students Act is intended to help reduce the incidences of bullying and work towards eliminating the many negative consequences bullying can have on victims. Under the new law, all school districts will be required to:

• Revise their codes of conduct and adopt policies intended to create a school environment free from harassment and discrimination;
• Adopt guidelines to be used in school training programs to raise awareness and sensitivity of school employees to these issues and to enable them to respond appropriately; and
• Designate at least one staff member in each school to be trained in non-discriminatory instructional and counseling methods and handling human relations.

The new law defines "harassment" in terms of creating a hostile environment that unreasonably and substantially interferes with a student's educational performance, opportunities or benefits, or mental, emotional or physical well-being, or conduct, verbal threats, intimidation or abuse that reasonably causes or would reasonably be expected to cause a student to fear for his or her physical safety. The law explicitly prohibits harassment, as well as discrimination of students with respect to their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, race, color, weight, national origin, ethnicity, religion or disability.

“While incidences of bullying typically occur out of the sight of teachers, state laws like the Dignity for All Students Act can help to clarify school districts’ response to bullying and ensure the safety of all students,” said Lupardo. “Additionally, clearly defined anti-bullying policies will help students identify bullying when it occurs and understand its consequences. Teachers, parents and students should all be aware of school policies and state laws regarding bullying in order to effectively prevent bullying.”

Earlier this year, Massachusetts and Wisconsin enacted anti-bullying laws. Of the 44 states with anti-bullying laws now on the books, fifteen of these states (including New York) and the District of Columbia provide inclusive protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.

The Dignity for All Students Act will go into effect on July 1, 2012. This will provide school districts and the New York State Department of Education with enough time set up new policies and implement them.