Many New York schools fall short when it comes to protecting students from harassment and discrimination based on gender, race, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity, according to an audit released in Rochester today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.
The audit released today examined New York state schools’ compliance with the Dignity for All Students Act. On Sept. 25, DiNapoli engaged a similar audit focused on New York City schools.
“The Dignity for All Students Act is an effective vehicle in creating a safe and productive environment for students when it is well implemented and when schools are in compliance,” said Assemblymember Daniel J. O’Donnell, sponsor of the Dignity for All Students Act. “Unfortunately, the audit shows that DASA is not being actively implemented—highlighted by deficient reporting by schools and
“No matter who you are, what you look like or where you come from, we all deserve full equality and the chance to succeed, especially within our public education system,” said Assemblymember Harry Bronson. “We must do our best to teach students the importance of dignity and respect and to protect them from harassment and discrimination. I look forward to working with Comptroller DiNapoli and the State Education Department to help our schools meet DASA guidelines and reporting requirements.”
“The Dignity Act was crafted to help provide students a safe and supportive learning environment. School is formative,” said Scott Fearing, executive director of the OUT Alliance in Rochester, which hosted DiNapoli’s announcement. “A nurturing school can improve the opportunities available to youth as they grow and mature. We hope and expect Comptroller DiNapoli’s audit will assist school districts as they work to uphold the Dignity Act and the security it promises students.”
The audit found that despite guidance from the State Education Department, many schools had not implemented some critical requirements, such as ensuring that key contact information is widely accessible. Several schools lacked training and others made significant errors when it came to reporting incidents under DASA.
- Some schools underreported incidents or failed to report them at all, including one case in which a school failed to report cyberbullying despite the fact that police were involved;
- Another school failed to report a pattern of bullying that had persisted since the victim’s prior attendance at another school;
- Some incident reports were so short on important details — one report only referred to “name calling,” for example — that it was impossible to determine if they were reportable under DASA;
- Seventeen of the schools said they struggle with interpreting or implementing DASA guidance and reporting requirements;
- At one school the person responsible for electronically entering DASA incident information was unable to demonstrate how to enter a DASA incident;
- Schools said they continue to have difficulty identifying what comprises a material incident that needs to be reported and they struggle with differing conceptions of what constitutes “bullying,”
- Several schools did not train non-educational staff on DASA, creating a risk that bullying incidents that these staff witness or learn about may not be addressed appropriately, if at all; and
- Although each school has a Dignity Act Coordinator trained to mediate incidents in areas of race, religion, gender, and sexual orientation, most of the schools did not provide the Coordinator’s name and contact information to staff, students and parents.
Read the report, or visit osc.state.ny.us/audits/
Background
DASA seeks to provide students in New York with a secure environment free from discrimination. Research shows that students who are bullied or harassed are more likely to miss days of school, experience higher rates of depression, and have lower academic achievement and aspirations. Provisions of Article 2 of the Education Law, effective July 1, 2012, include curriculum and annual reporting requirements and require schools to designate a trained Dignity Act Coordinator. An amendment effective July 1, 2013 defined cyberbullying and added other requirements for investigating and reporting alleged incidents. SED provides guidance to assist school districts in complying with DASA requirements and makes annual school incident data available to the public on its website.
In September 2016, SED and members of the New York State Safe Schools Task Force proposed a method of reframing existing incident reporting requirements in an effort to simplify school incident reporting and better identify student safety issues. The new regulations were approved by the Board of Regents in December 2016 and took effect July 1, 2017.
For access to state and local government spending, public authority financial data and information on 140,000 state contracts, visit Open Book New York. The easy-to-use website was created to promote transparency in government and provide taxpayers with better access to financial data.