1. New York State Board of Regents
Proposed Amendments to Commissioner’s Regulation §100.2(KK) re: Reports of Incidents of Harassment, Bullying and/or Discrimination Pursuant to the Dignity for All Students Act
Renee
Hello everyone - we are pleased to present to you proposed amendments to Section of Commissioner’s Regulations, specifically subdivision kk that talks about reporting of incidents related to the Dignity Act for All Students, I am joined here by my esteemed colleague, our General Counsel, Alison Bianchi, who has been instrumental in guiding this work which is all aimed at protecting all students from bullying, harassment and discrimination. Thank you for being here!
New York State Board of Regents
May 7, 2018

2. AGENDA
Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) Overview and Implementation Timeline
Statistics related to Bullying, Harassment, and Discrimination of Students in New York State schools
Recent Changes in Federal Requirements and Guidance
NYSED Partnership with the New York State Office of the Attorney General including Joint Memos to the Field
Proposed Amendments to Commissioner’s Regulation §100.2(kk) related to Reports of Incidents of Bullying, Harassment, and/or Discrimination Pursuant to the Dignity for All Students Act
Renee
Today we will talk about the Dignity for All Students Act - you’ll hear it referred to s DASA and also the Dignity Act. We now have some NYS specific statistics on Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination that we will share as well as some scenarios so you get a full picture of why the Department recommends amending Commissioner’s Regulations specific to reporting of DASA incidents
It is also important to note that there have been recent changes in federal requirements and the department has issued specific guidance to the field in support of students who would be most affected by these federal changes – and that, oftentimes, would be our transgender student
We have teamed up with the New York State Office of the Attorney General, as you know, to issue joint memos that make it clear that schools administrators have obligations to protect our students
Lastly, we will explain the proposed amendments to Commissioner’s regulations

3. New York State’s Dignity for All Students Act (The Dignity Act or DASA)
The Dignity Act seeks to provide the State’s public elementary and secondary school students with a safe and supportive environment free from bullying, harassment and discrimination on school property, a school bus and/or at a school function.
Boards of Education must include language addressing The Dignity Act in their codes of conduct, and identify at least one employee in each school as the Dignity Act Coordinator.
School employees who witness bullying, harassment, and/or discrimination or receive a report of such conduct must notify the principal, superintendent, or their designee of such report. Upon receipt of a report of bullying, harassment, and/or discrimination, the principal, superintendent, or their designee must conduct a thorough investigation.
Schools must collect and report data regarding material incidents of bullying, harassment, and discrimination.
Dignity Act Categories: actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender, or sex.
Renee
Dignity for All Students Act is referred to as the Dignity Act or DASA and here are the key highlights of the law - the second bullet is going to be the focus of our discussion today

4. Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) Implementation and Guidance
TIMELINE
ACTIONS
September 13, 2010
Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) Signed into Law
July 1, 2012
DASA Law Becomes Effective
December 2012
Guidance Document Released: Promising Practices Guide for School Administrators and Faculty
July 1, 2013
Effective Date of Amendment to DASA to Include Cyberbullying
December 2013
Guidance Document Released: Promising Practices Guide for School Administrators and Faculty 2.0;
updated again in December 2015 and December 2017
July 2015
Guidance Document Released: Creating Safe and Supportive School Environments for Transgender Students
May 2018
Proposed Amendments to Commissioner’s Regulations on Reporting Incidents related to DASA
Renee
In September 2010 – DASA was signed into law; The Department then established the Dignity Act Task Force to help guide the Department with implementation of the Dignity Act. July 1, 2012 it becomes effective; December 2012 the Department releases the Promising Practices Guide; effective July 1, 2013, DASA was amended to include Cyberbullying; We then updated the Guidance Document in December 2013 and a few times after that. What is not here is that in the fall of 2014, the advocates representing Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming youth requested a meeting to discuss ways in which we could better address the specific issues facing transgender and gender non-conforming students. We met with the advocates several times over the next few months and, in July 2015, the Department issued a guidance document on these issues in July It was well received across the State and actually across the nation. We received national recognition and the Obama administration called to ask if they could use our document in their guidance as a best practices model for other states, and we said yes!

5. NYS SCHOOL Climate snapshot Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) 2015 National Survey NYS School Climate Snapshot Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) 2015 National Survey
Renee
We have some statistics specific to New York State from this 2015 National Study by GLSEN. Some fact from the study: In the 2015 survey, GLSEN reports that Hostile school climates impact students’ academic success and mental health and that Transgender students face more hostile school climates than other students
In the chart here - you see on the left hand side – DASA categories and the types of harassment and assault, from a study conducted by GLSEN in The Purple represents verbal harassment. For sexual orientation - 65% - 2 out of 3 students are verbally harassed because of sexual orientation; For gender expression 50% - that’s 1 in 2 were verbally harassed and for gender - 42% - that’s 2 out of 5 ; 1 in 5 at 19% for race or ethnicity and the same - 1 in 5 or 21% for a disability. Similarly for physical harassment the gray or blue bar – 1 in 5 were physically harassed for sexual orientation ….
That is some Bottom line - too many people are being verbally harassed, physically harassed and physically assaulted based on these Dignity Act categories
Gender expression: Students express their gender in a way that does not conform to society’s expectations.
Gender identity: Student identifies as a certain sex that is not the sex assigned at birth
Accessed

6. Rates of student Suicide
All Students: More than one in every 10 high school students reported having attempted suicide; nearly 1 in 6 students between the ages of have seriously considered it.
LGBTQ: More than 30% of LGBTQ youth report at least one suicide attempt within the last year.
Transgender Students: More than 50% of Transgender youth will have had at least one suicide attempt by their 20th birthday.
Source: National Suicide Statistics, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2014)
renee

7. Federal Government Rescinds Protections to transgender and gender non-conforming students
February 2017 – US Departments of Education and Justice rescind guidance that clarified protections for transgender and gender non-conforming students under federal statutory law.
February 2018 – US Departments of Education and Justice confirmed that they would no longer investigate civil rights complaints from transgender and gender non- conforming students denied access to bathrooms consistent with their gender identity.
Alison

8. NYSED Collaborative Partnership with the NYS OFFICE OF Attorney General
August 2015: Joint Survey to School Districts to Understand Successes and Challenges of DASA Implementation
August 2016: Joint memo with model materials to assist schools in training staff on DASA implementation.
February 2017: Joint letter reminding schools of obligation to protect transgender students from bullying and harassment in response to federal guidance being rescinded.
February 2018: Joint letter reminding school districts that despite the federal government’s refusal to investigate civil rights facilities-access complaints from transgender students, NYS schools have independent state obligations to protect these students.
Alison

9. Proposed AMENDMENTS
Amend Commissioner’s regulations §100.2(kk)(1) to provide illustrative examples of types of incidents to be reported and investigated as possible violations of DASA:
A report regarding the denial of access to facilities
A report regarding application of a dress code
A report regarding the use of names and pronouns or the pronunciation of names
A report regarding any other form of harassment, bullying and/or discrimination based on a person’s actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender (which includes gender identity and/or expression), or sex.
Alison
For example – one scenario could be - A high school weekend trip to Washington for the graduating seniors. A transgender student being told it would not be possible to attend unless the parent/guardian attended and paid for their hotel costs. This could be an incident to be reported as a violation of DASA (discrimination) based on gender, specifically gender identity.
Another example - If a female student were wearing a hijab, clothing indicative of their cultural and religious background. If students started teasing her about her name or pulling on her clothing and the student turned to an adult in the school for assistance and was told, “if you want to fit in, you should dress like the other girls.” Another reportable incident under DASA (harassment) based on religion or religious practice

10. INITIAL Stakeholder CONVERSATIONS
- Empire Justice Center - New York Civil Liberties Union - New York State Office of the Attorney General - New York State School Boards Association - New York State Council of School Superintendents - New York State Association of School Attorneys - New York State School Administrators Association - BOCES District Superintendents Executive Team
Alison – As we worked on the proposed amendments, we contacted representatives from our stakeholder groups, which are listed here.

11. Recommendations and Next Steps
The Department recommends the Board of Regents approve amendments to Commissioner’s Regulations (kk) as an emergency rule.
Next Steps:
Adopt, as an emergency rule, amendments to Commissioner’s Regulation §100.2 (kk) at the May 2018 meeting.
A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Emergency Adoption will be published in the State Register on May 23, Following a 60-day public comment period, which will end on July 23, it is anticipated that the Board of Regents will approve the proposed amendment at the September 2018 meeting.
If adopted at the September 2018 meeting, the proposed amendment will become effective as a permanent rule on October 3, 2018.
Alison – note that we are posting an updated Regents item on the web today to reflect the fact that the public comment period ends on July 23 and we’ll be coming back in September for permanent adoption. Also will have to come to the Board in July for another emergency action to keep the regulation in place until it can be permanently adopted.

12. For more information about DASA visit our website at:
NYS STUDENTS THANK YOU
For more information about DASA visit our website at: