Dignity for All Students Act

1. Dignity for All Students Act

2. Being worthy of respect Being worthy of honor Dignity

3. New York State’s Dignity for All Students Act was created to foster positive school climate in public schools. It seeks to provide the state’s public school students with a safe and supportive environment free from discrimination, intimidation, taunting, harassment, and bullying on school property, a school bus and/or at a school function. Dignity Act

4. Dignity Acts Highlights~ • Went into effect July 1, 2012 • Heightened awareness • New information for students, staff and parents • DA does not include staff to staff conflicts In this case Labor Laws apply

5. DA states that NO student shall be subjected to (cyber)bullying, harassment or discrimination by employees or students on school property or at a school function( including on the bus) based on, but not limited to their actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender or sex. Compliance to DA includes instruction on “tolerance”, “respect for others”, and “dignity”. It shall include awareness and sensitivity to discrimination or harassment and civility in the relations of people of different: • race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender or sex. • These are the most common forms of bullying, but others do exist and need to be reported.

6. Harassment • Unfair treatment of a person or group • Based on prejudice (preconceived judgment or opinion) • Behavior that treats people unfairly and unequally because of the group to which they belong. Examples~ • Creation of an unpleasant or hostile situation • Can be verbal or physical • Interferes with students’ academic performance

7. When someone repeatedly and purposefully says or does mean or hurtful things to another person. Bullying

8. Actual or Perceived: • Race/Color • Ethnic Group • National Origin • Religion/Religious Practice • Disability • Weight • Appearance • Sexual Orientation • Gender Identity • Sex No discrimination based on…

9. Cornering Shoving Hitting Pinching Kicking Hair pulling Nuggeting Pantsing and Wedgies Examples: Physical

10. Name calling Putting others down Making threats Spreading rumors “That’s so gay.” “That’s retarded.” Examples: Verbal

11. Excluding/Leaving Someone Out Dirty looks Rude gestures Spreading rumors Examples: Social

12. Empowering the students to feel comfortable to say: “What you are saying is making me uncomfortable” or “You should not say things like that.” • School staff should always be ready to support students to be assertive, involved; an upstander. • We need to educate our students to have the skills and confidence to be upstanders. What can we (staff) do?

13. Unsafe Ashamed Angry Confused Distressed Lonely Depressed Afraid Isolated Powerless Desperate Helpless Uncomfortable Feelings…

14. Report to a trusted adult if bullied Report to a trusted adult if you see it happening to someone else Keep reporting… Treat everyone with respect and dignity What to do now?

15. “Any person having reasonable cause to suspect that a student has been subjected to harassment, bullying, or discrimination, by an employee or student, on school grounds or at a school function”*, may make a report to school officials without fearing retaliatory action, so long as he/she acts reasonably and in good faith. *NYS Dignity Act Reporters are protected

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