Federal and State Policies

These are notes that were prepared for a Policy Committee meeting.

Federal

• Federal discrimination regulations,

“At a minimum, the district's policy should cover harassment based on race, color, national origin, sex, and disability, because these types of harassment are forbidden by federal laws prohibiting discrimination by school districts receiving federal financial assistance. The district's policy should also cover other kinds of harassment, such as harassment based on sexual orientation or religion, as prohibited by state or local laws. The state department of education, the state attorney general, and municipal and county officials can provide information on state and local requirements.” Protecting Students from Harassment and Hate Crime - A Guide for Schools. U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, and the National Association of Attorneys General. January, 1999.

• For instance, Sexual Harassment,

“Hostile environment [sexual] harassment occurs when unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature by another student, a school employee, or a third party are sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive to limit a student’s ability to participate in or benefit from an educational program or activity or to create a hostile or abusive educational environment.”

• However,

“However, nonsexual harassing behavior directed at a student because of the student's sexual orientation does not constitute sexual harassment under the federal discrimination laws enforced by OCR. For example, heckling comments made to students because of their sexual orientation, such as ‘gay students are not welcome here,’ does not constitute sexual harassment under Title IX.”

• Much is left to state and local laws and regulations.

NYS – Violent Incident Reporting

• NYSED Part 100 Regulations
  • 100.2 General school requirements
    • (gg) Violent Incident Reporting Uniform violent incident reporting system. School districts, boards of cooperative educational services and county vocational education and extension boards shall submit to the commissioner annual reports of violent or disruptive incidents that occurred in the prior school year, commencing with the 2001-2002 school year, in accordance with Education Law section 2802 and this subdivision.
      • (1) Definitions: For the purposes of this subdivision:
        • d) Personal injury and intimidation. Any of the following acts:
          • (2) Criminal harassment. Intentionally striking, shoving or kicking another person or subjecting another person to unwanted physical contact, or threatening to do the foregoing; following a person in or about a public place; or otherwise engaging in a course of conduct which alarms or seriously annoys another person; where such behavior, under the district's code of conduct, is of sufficient seriousness to warrant the suspension or removal of a student or the referral of a student to the juvenile justice system, or disciplinary action against or dismissal of a school employee, or notification of law enforcement of the commission of a crime;
          • (3) Intimidation or bullying. Threatening, stalking or seeking to coerce or compel a person to do something; engaging in verbal or physical conduct that threatens another with harm, including intimidation through the use of epithets or slurs involving race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, religious practices, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability that substantially disrupts the educational process.
          • (4) Menacing. Intentionally placing or attempting to place another person in fear of imminent physical injury; or

NYS – Code of Conduct

Education Law – Chapter 16, Title II, ARTICLE 55, § 2801. Codes of conduct on school property

2. The board of education [...] of every school district within the state [...] shall adopt and amend, as appropriate, a code of conduct for the maintenance of order on school property [...] which shall govern the conduct of students, teachers and other school personnel as well as visitors and shall provide for the enforcement thereof. [...] Such code of conduct shall include, at a minimum:

a. provisions regarding conduct, dress and language deemed appropriate and acceptable on school property, including a school function, and conduct, dress and language deemed unacceptable and inappropriate on school property, including a school function, and provisions regarding acceptable civil and respectful treatment of teachers, school administrators, other school personnel, students and visitors on school property, including a school function, including the appropriate range of disciplinary measures which may be imposed for violation of such code, and the roles of teachers, administrators, other school personnel, the board of education and parents;

[...]

NYS – SAVE Guidelines

“Creating and maintaining safe learning environments is everybody’s business. While schools remain among the safest places for our students, one incident of violence or disruption of learning is one too many. Teachers, school administrators and members of the general school community are becoming increasingly concerned about school safety and the potential for violence that exists in every community. Elementary, middle, junior high schools, and high schools in urban, suburban and rural communities throughout the State are seeking ways to ensure the safety of students in school. While media attention has focused on the most traumatic incidents of school violence, the impact of other violent acts that impair education also need to be given attention. These acts include bullying, threats or intimidation, disruptive behavior in class, carrying of weapons, fighting, physical assaults and other behaviors that impede learning.”

Project SAVE Safe Schools Against Violence in Education - Guidance Document for School Safety Plans. The University of the State of New York and The State Education Department. April 2001

Conclusions

• Very little appears to be required, except for
  • Protected classes and hate crimes (Federal),
  • Conduct that “substantially disrupts” or is criminal (NY Reporting or §2801).
• §2801 requires spelling out acceptable and unacceptable treatement of students.
  • This could be interpreted as setting guidelines on harassment, bullying, etc.
• SAVE Guidelines,
  • Point that school safety starts needs to include dealing with “bullying, threats or intimidation”
  • Include (some) suggestions for addressing these.