Requires dating violence education and dating violence policies in school districts, board of cooperative educational services and county vocational education and extension boards; "dating violence" means a pattern of behavior where one person uses threats of, or actually uses, physical, sexual, verbal or emotional abuse to control his or her dating partner and includes threats made by cell phone, text message, internet, and other electronic means; requires the department, in conjunction with, to assist schools in developing a policy for dating violence incidents; education to be taught to students regarding dating violence in the annual health curriculum framework for students in grades 7 through 12, and requires respect and self-esteem education be incorporated into the curriculum for students in grades k-6.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4596
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 4, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CUSICK, TITONE, CASTRO, WRIGHT, GABRYSZAK,
N. RIVERA, P. RIVERA, SIMOTAS -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. McENE-
NY, PERRY, PHEFFER, TOBACCO, WEISENBERG -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to providing dating
violence education and dating violence policies in school districts,
boards of cooperative educational services and county vocational
education and extension boards
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "Jessica Tush act".
3 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 815 to read
4 as follows:
5 § 815. Dating violence education. 1. Each school district shall
6 incorporate dating violence education that is age-appropriate into the
7 annual curriculum framework for students in grades seven through twelve
8 and which shall be incorporated into various class subjects, including
9 health.
10 (a) Dating violence education shall include, but not be limited to,
11 defining dating violence, recognizing dating violence warning signs and
12 the role of cell phones, text messages, internet and other electronic
13 means in connection with dating violence and characteristics of healthy
14 relationships. Additionally, students shall be provided with the school
15 district's dating violence policy as provided in section twenty-eight
16 hundred three of this chapter.
17 (b) For the purposes of this section:
18 (i) "Dating violence" means a pattern of behavior where one person
19 uses threats of, or actually uses, physical, sexual, verbal or emotional
20 abuse to control his or her dating partner and includes threats made by
21 cell phone, text message, internet or other electronic means.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00574-01-1
A. 4596 2
1 (ii) "Dating partner" means any person involved in an intimate associ-
2 ation with another primarily characterized by the expectation of affec-
3 tionate involvement whether casual, serious or long-term.
4 (iii) "At school" means in a classroom, on or immediately adjacent to
5 such school premises, on a school bus or other school-related vehicle,
6 at an official school bus stop, or at any school-sponsored activity or
7 event whether or not it is on school grounds.
8 (c) To assist school districts in developing a dating violence educa-
9 tion program, the department shall review and approve the grade level
10 topics relating to dating violence and healthy relationships.
11 2. Upon written request to the school principal, a parent or legal
12 guardian of a pupil less than eighteen years of age, within a reasonable
13 period of time after the request is made, shall be permitted to examine
14 the dating violence education program instruction materials at the
15 school in which his or her child is enrolled.
16 § 3. The education law is amended by adding a new section 2803 to read
17 as follows:
18 § 2803. Dating violence policy. 1. As used in this section:
19 (a) "Dating violence" means a pattern of behavior where one person
20 uses threats of, or actually uses, physical, sexual, verbal or emotional
21 abuse to control his or her dating partner and includes threats made by
22 cell phone, text message, internet or other electronic means.
23 (b) "Dating partner" means any person, regardless of gender, involved
24 in an intimate relationship with another primarily characterized by the
25 expectation of affectionate involvement whether casual, serious or long-
26 term.
27 (c) "At school" means in a classroom, on or immediately adjacent to
28 school premises, on a school bus or other school-related vehicle, at an
29 official school bus stop, or at any school-sponsored activity or event
30 whether or not it is on school grounds.
31 2. The department, in conjunction with the office for the prevention
32 of domestic violence, shall develop a model dating violence policy to
33 assist school districts, boards of cooperative educational services and
34 county vocational education and extension boards in developing policies
35 for dating violence reporting and response. The model policy shall be
36 issued on or before April first, two thousand twelve.
37 3. Each school district, board of cooperative educational services and
38 county vocational education and extension board shall establish a
39 specific policy to address incidents of dating violence involving
40 students at school by December first, two thousand twelve. Each school
41 district, board of cooperative educational services and county voca-
42 tional education and extension board shall verify compliance with the
43 department on an annual basis through the school district report cards
44 or board of cooperative educational services report card required by
45 this chapter.
46 (a) Such policy shall include, but not be limited to, a statement that
47 dating violence will not be tolerated, dating violence reporting proce-
48 dures, guidelines to responding to at-school incidents of dating
49 violence and discipline procedures specific to such incidents. Such
50 policy shall further authorize a student who is a victim of dating
51 violence to request that the perpetrator of the violence be transferred
52 to another school.
53 (b) To ensure notice of the school district's, board of cooperative
54 educational services' and county vocational education and extension
55 board's dating violence policy, the policy shall be published in any
56 school district, board of cooperative educational services and county
A. 4596 3
1 vocational education and extension board policy and handbook that sets
2 forth the comprehensive rules, procedures and standards of conduct for
3 students at school.
4 4. Each school district, board of cooperative educational services and
5 county vocational education and extension board shall provide dating
6 violence training to all administrators, teachers, nurses and mental
7 health staff at the middle and high school levels. Upon the recommenda-
8 tion of the administrator, other staff may be included or may attend the
9 training on a volunteer basis. The dating violence training shall
10 include, but not be limited to, basic principles of dating violence,
11 warning signs of dating violence and the role of cell phones, text
12 messages, internet, and other electronic means in connection with dating
13 violence and the school district's dating violence policy, to ensure
14 that they are able to appropriately respond to incidents of dating
15 violence at school. Thereafter, this training shall be provided yearly
16 to all newly hired staff deemed appropriate to receive the training by
17 the school's administration.
18 5. Each school district, board of cooperative educational services and
19 county vocational education and extension board shall inform the
20 students' parents or legal guardians of the dating violence policy. If
21 requested, the school district, board of cooperative educational
22 services or county vocational education and extension board shall
23 provide the parents or legal guardians with the school district's dating
24 violence policy and relevant information.
25 6. Each school district, board of cooperative educational services and
26 county vocational education and extension board shall provide parent
27 awareness dating violence training to educate parents on signs of dating
28 violence and ways to prevent teen dating violence to all parents of
29 children at the middle and high school levels. The parent awareness
30 dating violence training shall include, but not be limited to, basic
31 principles of dating violence, warning signs of dating violence and the
32 role of cell phones, text messages, internet, and other electronic means
33 in connection with dating violence and the school district's dating
34 violence policy, to ensure that they are able to recognize incidents of
35 dating violence and to advise parents what they can do if they suspect
36 their child is a victim or perpetrator of dating violence. Parent aware-
37 ness dating violence training shall be provided yearly.
38 7. This section does not prevent a victim from seeking redress under
39 any other available law, either civil or criminal. This section does not
40 create or alter any tort liability.
41 § 4. The education law is amended by adding a new section 816 to read
42 as follows:
43 § 816. Respect and self-esteem education. 1. (a) Each school district
44 shall incorporate respect and self-esteem education that is age-appro-
45 priate into the annual curriculum framework for students in grades
46 kindergarten through six.
47 (b) To assist school districts in developing a respect and self-esteem
48 education program, the department shall review and approve the grade
49 level topics relating to respect and self-esteem.
50 2. Upon written request to the school principal, a parent or legal
51 guardian of a pupil less than eighteen years of age, within a reasonable
52 period of time after the request is made, shall be permitted to examine
53 the respect and self-esteem education program instruction materials at
54 the school in which his or her child is enrolled.
55 § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
56 it shall have become a law.
