US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

 
    * § 10-137. Prevention of harassment on school premises.
    a.  Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms
  shall have the following meanings:
    1. "Department" shall mean the New York city department of education.
    2. "Gender" shall mean actual or perceived sex and shall also  include
  a   person's   gender  identity,  self-image,  appearance,  behavior  or
  expression, whether or not that gender identity, self-image, appearance,
  behavior or expression is different from that  traditionally  associated
  with the legal sex assigned to that person at birth.
    3.  "Harassment"  shall mean the creation of a hostile environment by,
  in whole or in part, conduct or verbal threats,  taunting,  intimidation
  or  abuse,  including conduct, verbal threats, intimidation or abuse for
  any reason,  including,  but  not  limited  to,  a  person's  actual  or
  perceived   race,   color,  national  origin,  ethnic  group,  religion,
  religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender, sex,  family
  composition    or    circumstance,   economic   circumstance,   physical
  characteristic, medical  condition,  school  performance  or  any  other
  characteristic or reason that has or would reasonably have the effect of
  substantially  interfering  with  a  student's  educational performance,
  opportunities or benefits, or a student's mental, emotional or  physical
  well-being, or that reasonably causes or would reasonably be expected to
  cause a student or other person to fear for his or her physical safety.
    4.  "Retaliatory action" shall mean, but not be limited to, dismissal,
  demotion,  suspension,   disciplinary   action,   negative   performance
  evaluation, any action resulting in loss of staff, compensation or other
  benefit,  failure  to  hire,  failure to appoint, failure to promote, or
  transfer or assignment or failure to  transfer  or  assign  against  the
  wishes of the affected person.
    5.  "School"  shall  mean  each school within the New York city public
  school system that provides educational instruction to  students  at  or
  below the twelfth grade level.
    6.  "School  function"  shall mean a school-sponsored extra-curricular
  event or activity or any event that takes place on school premises.
    7. "School premises" shall mean the buildings, grounds or  facilities,
  or  any  portion  thereof,  owned,  occupied by, or under the custody or
  control of the department or of a school, used for the  primary  purpose
  of providing educational instruction to students at or below the twelfth
  grade  level, and any vehicles owned, operated or leased by or on behalf
  of such institutions that are used to transport  such  students  or  the
  personnel  of  such  institutions.  School  premises  shall also include
  public transportation, such as subways, buses and ferries, when students
  use such public transportation to attend school or a school function.
    b. Prohibition of harassment. No person shall subject  another  person
  to harassment on school premises or at a school function.
    c.  Policies  and  guidelines.  1.  The  chancellor of the city public
  school system shall create policies and guidelines, in  accordance  with
  the procedures set forth in subdivision three of section 2801 of the New
  York  state  education  law,  designed to create an environment for each
  school that is free from harassment. Such policies and guidelines  shall
  include,  but  not be limited to, penalties or disciplinary measures for
  those found to have violated such policies  and  guidelines,  and  shall
  indicate   when   incidents  of  harassment  must  be  reported  to  law
  enforcement authorities. Such policies and guidelines shall also specify
  that harassment is a basis for  granting  to  a  student  who  has  been
  harassed  a  transfer  to  another  school,  commonly  called  a "safety
  transfer," and that harassment is a basis for disciplining  any  student
  who engages or has engaged in the harassment of others.

    2.  Such  policies  and  guidelines  required  by  paragraph 1 of this
  subdivision shall also: (i) include guidelines to be  used  in  employee
  training  programs,  which training shall be given on a regular basis to
  all pedagogical staff and  school  safety  officers  to  discourage  the
  development  of  harassment by (a) raising the awareness and sensitivity
  of school employees to potential harassment, and (b) enabling  employees
  to prevent and respond to harassment;
    (ii)  include guidelines to be used in presentations given to students
  about conduct and harassment issues; such guidelines shall  be  designed
  to discourage the development of harassment by (a) raising the awareness
  and  sensitivity  of  pupils  regarding  potential  harassment,  and (b)
  fostering empathy and empathetic conduct among students;
    (iii) be included in the code  of  conduct  which  the  chancellor  is
  required  to disseminate pursuant to subdivision four of section 2801 of
  the New York state education law;
    (iv) be included in mail to parents or guardians of students  at  each
  school  at  the  beginning  of  each school year, be posted in prominent
  places within each school and be translated and made  available  in  the
  ten  most  common  languages  spoken  in  New York city and in any other
  language spoken by more than ten percent of the parents or guardians  of
  children attending any individual school; and
    (v) be distributed to all staff, school safety officers and members of
  school safety committees.
    3.  The  chancellor of the city public school system shall appoint the
  principal of each school as the  person  responsible  for  ensuring  the
  dissemination  of  the  anti-harassment  policies  and guidelines to all
  staff of each school, all school safety officers,  all  members  of  the
  school  safety  committee,  and  to  all  students  and their parents or
  guardians, and for providing training to pedagogical  staff  and  school
  safety  officers.  Such  principal  shall  also ensure that the name and
  contact information of a school employee who can provide copies of  such
  policies  and  guidelines  is  made  available to all students, parents,
  guardians, staff and to the school safety committee. Such principal  may
  designate  a subordinate to assume the responsibilities required by this
  paragraph.
    d. Reporting. 1. The chancellor of the city public school system shall
  appoint  the  principal  of  each  school  as  the  enforcement  officer
  responsible for ensuring the enforcement of the anti-harassment policies
  and guidelines established pursuant to subdivision c of this section and
  to  whom  reports  of incidents of harassment on school premises or at a
  school function may  be  made.  Each  such  principal  may  designate  a
  subordinate  to assume these responsibilities. The chancellor shall also
  appoint the superintendent of each region and/or district within his  or
  her  jurisdiction, or the designee of such superintendent, as the person
  to whom reports of incidents of harassment on school premises  or  at  a
  school  function  may be made when such report concerns the principal or
  other person appointed or designated as the  enforcement  officer  of  a
  school.
    2.  The  chancellor  shall  create procedures under which incidents of
  harassment on  school  premises  or  at  school  functions  are  tracked
  centrally  for  record keeping purposes, and procedures under which such
  incidents of harassment are reported promptly to the principal or his or
  her designee, or the superintendent of each region  and/or  district  or
  his  or  her  designee,  who  must  complete, for each such incident, an
  incident report indicating information about  the  incident,  including,
  but  not  limited to, the parties, the location where such incident took
  place, the date and time such incident occurred and type  of  harassment
  involved.

    3. By no later than July 30 of each year, the department shall publish
  a  statistical  summary  of all incidents of harassment that occurred on
  school premises or at a school  function  during  the  preceding  school
  year.  Such  summary report shall indicate, at a minimum, the number and
  nature  of  incidents  of  harassment  broken  down  by  school,  school
  district, region, borough and grade level, and shall be published on the
  department's website and by such other means  as,  in  the  chancellor's
  discretion,   are   reasonably   determined  to  best  disseminate  such
  information to the public.
    4. The department shall also include, on each school's  annual  report
  card  or  any  similar  document  that  the  department creates, summary
  information  about  incidents  of  harassment  at  such  school,   which
  information   shall  include  (i)  a  comparison  of  all  incidents  of
  harassment at such school  with  all  incidents  of  harassment  in  all
  similar  schools, as determined by the department and (ii) the number of
  safety transfers that were granted from such school  to  another  school
  during the preceding school year.
    e. Protection of people who report incidents of harassment. Any person
  subjected  to  harassment  or  having  reasonable  cause to suspect that
  another person has been subjected to harassment on school premises or at
  a school function, who reasonably and in good faith either reports  such
  information  to  appropriate  school  officials  or  to  law enforcement
  authorities, or who initiates, testifies, participates or assists in any
  formal or informal proceedings pursuant to this section,  shall  not  be
  liable  for  civil damages that may arise from the making of such report
  or from initiating,  testifying,  participating  or  assisting  in  such
  formal or informal proceedings, and no school official or employee shall
  take,  request or cause a retaliatory action against any such person who
  either makes such a report  or  initiates,  testifies,  participates  or
  assists in such formal or informal proceeding.
    * NB There are 2 § 10-137's