Amd Ed L, generally; add SS240.33, 240.34 & 70.31, Pen L; add S168-b, Exec L; add S98-d, St Fin L
Establishes the "anti-bullying bill of rights act"; establishes the bullying prevention fund; establishes the crimes of aggravated harassment of teachers and school personnel and bias intimidation and establishes the New York state commission on bullying in schools.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5447
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 18, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. McDONOUGH -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, the penal law, the executive law and
the state finance law, in relation to establishing the "anti-bullying
bill of rights act" and establishes the New York state commission on
bullying in schools; and providing for the repeal of certain
provisions upon expiration thereof
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 "anti-bullying bill of rights act".
3 § 2. Legislative intent. In recent years, the state legislature has
4 taken several steps to ensure that school pupils, teachers and other
5 personnel are provided with a safe and secure learning environment on
6 all school property. Through the enactment of provisions requiring the
7 fingerprinting of a school district's prospective employees and the
8 enactment of the safe schools against violence in education act, the
9 legislature has ensured the increased safety of our schools. However, to
10 address concerns that harassment of pupils and school personnel through
11 acts of harassment, intimidation or bullying can be both disruptive to
12 the learning process and harmful, mentally and/or physically to intended
13 victims, the legislature finds that enactment of this legislation to
14 prohibit bullying on school property is necessary and appropriate to
15 further ensure that New York state's public schools be made as safe as
16 possible.
17 § 3. Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding four new
18 subdivision 42, 43, 44 and 45 to read as follows:
19 42. (a) The commissioner, in consultation with recognized experts in
20 school bullying from a cross section of academia, child advocacy organ-
21 izations, nonprofit organizations, professional associations, and
22 government agencies, shall establish in-service workshops and training
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08959-01-1
A. 5447 2
1 programs to train selected public school employees to act as district
2 anti-bullying specialists in accordance with this chapter. The commis-
3 sioner shall seek to make the workshops and training programs available
4 and administered online through the department's website or other exist-
5 ing online resources. The commissioner shall evaluate the effectiveness
6 of the consulting group on an annual basis. The in-service training
7 programs may utilize any office, institution, agency or person deemed
8 appropriate by the commissioner. Each board of education shall provide
9 time for the in-service training during the usual school schedule in
10 order to ensure that appropriate personnel are prepared to act in the
11 district as anti-bullying coordinators and school anti-bullying special-
12 ists.
13 (b) Upon completion on the initial in-service training program, the
14 commissioner shall ensure that programs and workshops that reflect the
15 most current information on harassment, intimidation and bullying in
16 schools are prepared and made available to district anti-bullying coor-
17 dinators and school anti-bullying specialists at regular intervals.
18 43. The commissioner shall make available on the department's website,
19 an online tutorial on harassment, intimidation and bullying. Such online
20 tutorial shall, at a minimum, include best practices in the prevention
21 of harassment, intimidation, and bullying, applicable laws, and other
22 such information that the commissioner determines appropriate. Such
23 online tutorial shall be accompanied by a test to assess a person's
24 understanding of the information provided in the tutorial.
25 44. The commissioner shall develop a guidance document to be used by
26 parents, students and school districts to assist in resolving complaints
27 regarding harassment, intimidation or bullying behaviors and concerning
28 the implementation by school districts of statutory requirements.
29 45. The commissioner shall establish a formal protocol to be used by
30 superintendents of school districts in investigating complaints that
31 such school districts are not adhering to the provisions of law govern-
32 ing harassment, intimidation or bullying in schools.
33 § 4. The education law is amended by adding a new section 361 to read
34 as follows:
35 § 361. Policy on the prevention of harassment, intimidation and bully-
36 ing. The board of trustees of the state university of New York shall
37 adopt rules requiring that each institution of the state university, on
38 or before July first, two thousand twelve, adopt and implement a policy
39 on the prevention of harassment, intimidation and bullying.
40 § 5. Section 801-a of the education law, as amended by chapter 482 of
41 the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
42 § 801-a. Instruction in civility, citizenship and character education.
43 The regents shall ensure that the course of instruction in grades
44 kindergarten through twelve includes a component on civility, citizen-
45 ship and character education. Such component shall instruct students on
46 the principles of honesty, tolerance, personal responsibility, respect
47 for others, observance of laws and rules, courtesy, dignity and other
48 traits which will enhance the quality of their experiences in, and
49 contributions to, the community. Such component shall also address
50 methods of discouraging acts of harassment, intimidation or bullying, as
51 defined in subdivision one of section twenty-eight hundred three of this
52 chapter, against fellow students. The regents shall determine how to
53 incorporate such component in existing curricula and the commissioner
54 shall promulgate any regulations needed to carry out such determination
55 of the regents. For the purposes of this section, "tolerance," "respect
56 for others" and "dignity" shall include awareness and sensitivity to
A. 5447 3
1 discrimination or harassment and civility in the relations of people of
2 different races, weights, national origins, ethnic groups, religions,
3 religious practices, mental or physical abilities, sexual orientations,
4 genders, and sexes.
5 § 6. The education law is amended by adding a new section 1504-a to
6 read as follows:
7 § 1504-a. School safety teams. 1. All school districts are hereby
8 authorized and directed to establish a school safety team in each school
9 in the district to develop, foster and maintain a positive school
10 climate by focusing on the on-going, systemic process and practices in
11 the school and to address school climate issues such as harassment,
12 intimidation or bullying. Such team shall meet at least two times per
13 school year.
14 2. Such team shall consist of the principal or his or her designee,
15 and he or she shall appoint a teacher in the school, a school anti-bul-
16 lying specialist, a parent of a student in the school, and other members
17 deemed appropriate by the principal.
18 3. The school anti-bullying specialist shall act as the chair of the
19 school safety team.
20 4. Such team shall:
21 (a) receive any complaints of harassment, intimidation, or bullying of
22 students that have been reported to the principal;
23 (b) receive copies of any report prepared after an investigation of an
24 incident of harassment, intimidation, or bullying;
25 (c) identify and address patterns of harassment, intimidation, or
26 bullying of students in the school;
27 (d) review and strengthen school climate and the policies of the
28 school in order to prevent and address harassment, intimidation, or
29 bullying of students;
30 (e) educate the community, including students, teachers, administra-
31 tive staff, and parents, to prevent and address harassment, intim-
32 idation, or bullying of students;
33 (f) participate in the training required pursuant to the provisions of
34 P.L. 2002, C.83 (C.18A:37-13 et seq.) and other training which the prin-
35 cipal or the district anti-bullying coordinator may request;
36 (g) collaborate with the district anti-bullying coordinator in the
37 collection of district-wide data and in the development of district
38 policies to prevent and address harassment, intimidation, or bullying of
39 students; and
40 (h) execute such other duties related to harassment, intimidation, and
41 bullying as requested by the principal or district anti-bullying coordi-
42 nator.
43 5. The members of such team shall be provided professional development
44 opportunities that address effective practices of successful school
45 climate programs.
46 § 7. The education law is amended by adding a new section 1504-b to
47 read as follows:
48 § 1504-b. Anti-bullying coordinator. 1. All school district super-
49 intendents shall appoint a district anti-bullying coordinator, and to
50 the extent possible, such position shall be filled by an existing
51 district employee.
52 2. The district anti-bullying coordinator shall:
53 (a) be responsible for coordinating and strengthening the school
54 district's polices to prevent, identify and address harassment, intim-
55 idation and bullying of students;
A. 5447 4
1 (b) collaborate with school anti-bullying specialists in the district,
2 the board of education, and the superintendent of schools to prevent,
3 identify, and respond to harassment, intimidation, and bullying of
4 students in the district;
5 (c) provide data, in collaboration with the school district super-
6 intendent, to the commissioner, regarding harassment, intimidation and
7 bullying of students; and
8 (d) execute such other duties related to school harassment, intim-
9 idation, and bullying as requested by the superintendent of schools.
10 3. The district anti-bullying coordinator shall meet at least twice
11 during the school year, with anti-bullying specialists in the district
12 to discuss and strengthen procedures and policies to prevent, identify
13 and address harassment, intimidation and bullying in the district.
14 § 8. Subdivision 1 of section 2102-a of the education law is amended
15 by adding a new paragraph b-1 to read as follows:
16 b-1. Beginning with the two thousand eleven--two thousand twelve
17 school year, in addition to the training required by paragraphs a and b
18 of this subdivision, every trustee or voting member of a board of educa-
19 tion of a school district or a board of cooperative educational
20 services, elected or appointed for a first term beginning on or after
21 the first of July next succeeding the effective date of this paragraph,
22 shall, within the first year of his or her term, complete a training
23 course on harassment, intimidation and bullying in schools, provided
24 however, such trustee or member shall be required to take such course
25 only once. Such training course shall be subject to the approval of the
26 commissioner.
27 § 9. Subdivision 2 of section 2801 of the education law is amended by
28 adding two new paragraphs a-1 and f-1 to read as follows:
29 a-1. provisions prohibiting harassment, intimidation or bullying on
30 school property, school bus or school bus stop including a school func-
31 tion, pursuant to section twenty-eight hundred three of this article,
32 provided however, such school district shall annually conduct a re-eval-
33 uation, reassessment, and review of such provisions, making any neces-
34 sary revisions and additions. The first revised policy following the
35 effective date of this paragraph shall be transmitted to the commission-
36 er no later than September first, two thousand twelve. Notice of the
37 school district's provisions regarding the prohibition of harassment,
38 intimidation or bullying shall appear in any publication of the school
39 district that sets forth the comprehensive rules, procedures and stand-
40 ards of conduct for schools within the school district and in any
41 student handbook;
42 f-1. (i) when any school employee having reasonable cause to suspect
43 that a student has committed an act of harassment, intimidation or
44 bullying, as defined in section twenty-eight hundred three of this arti-
45 cle, the school employee shall verbally report such incident on the same
46 day when such employee witnessed or received information regarding such
47 incident, to the principal, or designee thereof, who in turn shall
48 report such incident to the superintendent, upon a determination by the
49 principal, or designee thereof, that there is a reasonable suspicion
50 that the act occurred. Failure of an employee to make a report pursuant
51 to this paragraph may not be the basis for any disciplinary action or
52 professional misconduct charge against the employee, provided however,
53 the principal, or designee thereof, who receives a report of harassment,
54 intimidation, or bullying from a school employee, who fails to initiate
55 or conduct an investigation, or who should have known of an incident of
56 harassment, intimidation, or bullying and fails to take sufficient
A. 5447 5
1 action to minimize or eliminate the harassment, intimidation, or bully-
2 ing, may be subject to disciplinary action;
3 (ii) the principal shall inform the parents or guardians of all
4 students involved in the alleged incident, and may discuss, as appropri-
5 ate, the availability of counseling and other intervention services. All
6 acts of harassment, intimidation, or bullying shall be reported in writ-
7 ing to the school principal within two school days of when the school
8 employee witnessed or received reliable information that a student had
9 been subject to harassment, intimidation, or bullying. In cases in which
10 an incident of harassment, intimidation, or bullying occurs exclusively
11 among or between special education students or students with develop-
12 mental disabilities, the school employee who witnesses such an incident
13 of harassment, intimidation, or bullying shall have discretion to deter-
14 mine whether the incident is necessary to report or whether the incident
15 may have been affected by the condition of the students and thereby
16 warrants an alternative approach more appropriate in the special educa-
17 tion context;
18 (iii) a procedure for prompt investigation of reports of violations
19 and complaints, which shall at a minimum provide that:
20 (A) an investigation shall be initiated by the principal or the prin-
21 cipal's designee within one school day of the report of the incident and
22 shall be conducted by a school anti-bullying specialist designated by
23 the principal. The principal may appoint additional personnel to assist
24 in the investigation. The investigation shall be completed as soon as
25 possible, but not later than ten school days from the date of the report
26 of the incident of harassment, intimidation, or bullying;
27 (B) the results of the investigation shall be reported to the super-
28 intendent of schools within two school days of the completion of the
29 investigation, and the superintendent may decide to provide intervention
30 services, establish training programs to reduce harassment, intim-
31 idation, or bullying and enhance school climate, impose discipline, or
32 order counseling as a result of the findings of the investigation;
33 (C) the results of each investigation shall be reported to the board
34 of education no later than the date of the board of education meeting
35 next following the completion of the investigation, along with informa-
36 tion on any services provided, training established, or discipline
37 imposed or recommended by the superintendent;
38 (D) parents or guardians of the students who are parties to the inves-
39 tigation shall be entitled to receive information about the investi-
40 gation, in accordance with federal and state law and regulation, includ-
41 ing the nature of the investigation, whether the district found evidence
42 of harassment, intimidation, or bullying, or whether discipline was
43 imposed or services provided to address the incident of harassment,
44 intimidation, or bullying. This information shall be provided in writing
45 within five school days after the results of the investigation are
46 reported to the board of education. A parent or guardian may request a
47 hearing before the board of education after receiving the information,
48 and the hearing shall be held within ten days of the request. The board
49 of education shall protect the confidentiality of the students during
50 the hearing. At the hearing the board of education may hear from the
51 school anti-bullying specialist about the incident, recommendations for
52 discipline or services, and any programs instituted to reduce such inci-
53 dents;
54 (E) at the next board of education meeting following its receipt of
55 the report, the board of education shall issue a decision, in writing,
56 to affirm, reject, or modify the superintendent's decision. The board of
A. 5447 6
1 education's decision may be appealed to the commissioner, in accordance
2 with the procedures set forth in law and regulation, no later than nine-
3 ty days after the issuance of the board of education's decision;
4 (iv) the range of ways in which a school will respond once an incident
5 of harassment, intimidation or bullying is identified, shall be defined
6 by the principal in conjunction with the school anti-bullying special-
7 ist, but shall include an appropriate combination of counseling, support
8 services, intervention services, and other programs, as defined by the
9 commissioner;
10 (v) a statement that prohibits reprisal or retaliation against any
11 person who reports an act of harassment, intimidation or bullying and
12 the consequence and appropriate remedial action for a person who engages
13 in reprisal or retaliation;
14 (vi) consequences and appropriate remedial action for a person found
15 to have falsely accused another as a means of retaliation or as a means
16 of harassment, intimidation or bullying;
17 (vii) a statement of how the policy is to be publicized, including
18 notice that the policy applies to participation in school-sponsored
19 functions;
20 (viii) a requirement that a link to the policy be prominently posted
21 on the homepage of the school district's website and distributed annual-
22 ly to parents and guardians who have children enrolled in a school in
23 the school district; and
24 (ix) a requirement that the name, phone number, address and email
25 address of the district anti-bullying coordinator be listed on the home-
26 page of the school district's website and that on the homepage of each
27 school's website the name, phone number, address and email address of
28 the school anti-bullying specialist and the district anti-bullying coor-
29 dinator be listed. The information concerning the district anti-bullying
30 coordinator and the school anti-bullying specialists shall also be main-
31 tained on the department's website.
32 § 10. The education law is amended by adding a new section 2801-b to
33 read as follows:
34 § 2801-b. Assessment of harassment, intimidation and bullying
35 prevention programs or approaches. 1. Schools and school districts shall
36 annually establish, implement, document, and assess harassment, intim-
37 idation and bullying prevention programs or approaches, and other initi-
38 atives involving school staff, students, administrators, volunteers,
39 parents, law enforcement and community members. The programs or
40 approaches shall be designed to create schoolwide conditions to prevent
41 and address harassment, intimidation, and bullying.
42 2. A school district may apply to the department for a grant to be
43 used for programs or approaches established pursuant to this chapter, to
44 the extent funds are appropriated for these purposes or funds are made
45 available through the bullying prevention fund established pursuant to
46 section ninety-eight-d of the state finance law.
47 3. A school district shall:
48 a. provide training on the school district's harassment, intimidation,
49 or bullying policies to school employees and volunteers who have signif-
50 icant contact with students;
51 b. ensure that the training includes instruction on preventing harass-
52 ment, intimidation and bullying on the basis of protected categories and
53 other distinguishing characteristics that may incite incidents of
54 discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying; and
55 c. information regarding the school district's policy against harass-
56 ment, intimidation or bullying shall be provided to full-time and part-
A. 5447 7
1 time staff, volunteers who have significant contact with students, and
2 those persons contracted by the district to provide services to the
3 students.
4 § 11. The education law is amended by adding a new section 2803 to
5 read as follows:
6 § 2803. Harassment, intimidation and bullying prohibited. 1. For
7 purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following
8 meanings:
9 a. "Public school" means:
10 (i) a public elementary or secondary school, kindergarten or pre-kin-
11 dergarten program, adult or continuing education program or other educa-
12 tional program operated by a school district, charter school, board of
13 cooperative educational services, county vocational education and exten-
14 sion boards; and
15 (ii) a school or educational program that serves students in any of
16 grades kindergarten through twelve and is operated by the department, or
17 is operated or supervised by another state agency or a political subdi-
18 vision and is subject to the provisions of section one hundred twelve of
19 this chapter.
20 b. "Publicly funded special education program" means an approved
21 provider of special education programs and services under section
22 forty-four hundred ten of this chapter, an approved private residential
23 or non-residential school for the provision of special services or
24 programs pursuant to subdivision two of section forty-four hundred one
25 of this chapter, a state-supported school subject to the provisions of
26 article eighty-five of this chapter or any other agency or entity that
27 provides special education programs or services pursuant to the
28 provisions of article eighty-one or eighty-nine of this chapter.
29 c. "School property" means on or within any building, structure,
30 athletic playing field, playground, parking lot or land contained within
31 the real property boundary line of a public school or a publicly funded
32 special education program; or in or on a school bus or school bus stop,
33 as defined in section one hundred forty-two of the vehicle and traffic
34 law; and a "school function" means a school sponsored extra-curricular
35 event or activity.
36 d. "Harassment, intimidation or bullying" means any gesture, written,
37 verbal or physical act, or any electronic communication, including
38 threats, stalking and intimidation, the use of epithets or slurs, that
39 is reasonably perceived as being motivated either by any actual or
40 perceived characteristic, such as race, color, religion, religious prac-
41 tices, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender
42 identity and expression, or a mental, physical or sensory handicap, or
43 by any other distinguishing characteristic, that takes place on school
44 property, at any school-sponsored function or on a school bus or school
45 bus stop and that:
46 (i) a reasonable person should know, under the circumstances, will
47 have the effect of physically or emotionally harming a student or damag-
48 ing a student's property, or placing a student in reasonable fear of
49 harm to his or her person or damage to his or her property;
50 (ii) has the effect of insulting or demeaning any student or group of
51 students in such a way as to cause disruption in, or interference with,
52 the orderly operation of the school;
53 (iii) creates a hostile environment at school for the student; or
54 (iv) infringes on the rights of the student at school.
55 e. "Electronic communication" means a communication transmitted by
56 means of an electronic device, including, but not limited to, a tele-
A. 5447 8
1 phone, cellular phone, computer, hand-held electronic communication
2 device or pager.
3 2. No student shall be subject to harassment, intimidation or bullying
4 by any student of a public school or publicly funded special education
5 program.
6 3. a. Any person found to be in violation of subdivision two of this
7 section in a public school or on school property, school bus or school
8 bus stop shall be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the
9 district's code of conduct adopted pursuant to section twenty-eight
10 hundred one of this article and the discipline procedures applicable to
11 students or employees of the public school. Any person found to be in
12 violation of subdivision two of this section in a publicly funded
13 special education program shall be subject to discipline under the poli-
14 cies and procedures of such program governing student conduct or employ-
15 ee discipline.
16 b. Nothing in this section shall be construed to create a private
17 cause of action.
18 4. Nothing in this section shall apply, or be construed to apply, to
19 private, religious or denominational educational institutions. Nor shall
20 this section preclude or limit, or be perceived to preclude or limit,
21 any right or cause of action provided under any local, state or federal
22 ordinance, law, rule or regulation.
23 5. A plain-language, age-appropriate description of the policies
24 outlined in subdivision two of this section shall be distributed to
25 employees, students and parents of each public school or publicly-funded
26 special education program on at least an annual basis. In the case of
27 public schools, such requirement shall be met by including such
28 description in the summary of the code of conduct provided to each
29 student and mailed to parents pursuant to subdivision four of section
30 twenty-eight hundred one of this article.
31 6. The provisions of this section shall be severable, and if any court
32 of competent jurisdiction declares any phrase, clause, sentence or
33 provision of this article to be invalid, or its applicability to any
34 government agency, person or circumstance, is declared invalid, the
35 remainder of this article and its relevant applicability shall not be
36 affected.
37 § 12. The education law is amended by adding a new section 2803-a to
38 read as follows:
39 § 2803-a. Harassment, intimidation and bullying reporting system. 1.
40 The commissioner shall establish a reporting system to report incidents
41 of harassment, intimidation and bullying involving students.
42 2. Each school district, board of cooperative educational services and
43 county vocational education and extension board shall submit to the
44 department, at a public hearing held every six months, a report card
45 which includes data identifying the number and nature of all reports of
46 harassment, intimidation or bullying involving students.
47 3. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations to imple-
48 ment a program to grade schools for the purpose of assessing their
49 efforts to identify harassment, intimidation or bullying.
50 4. Such report card shall be used by the department, to grade schools
51 and districts in their efforts to identify harassment, intimidation or
52 bullying.
53 5. The grade received by the school and the district shall be posted
54 on the homepage of the school's website. The grade for the district and
55 each school of the district shall be posted on the homepage of the
56 district's website. A link to the report shall be available on the
A. 5447 9
1 district's website. Such grades shall be posted within ten days of the
2 receipt of the grade by the school and district.
3 § 13. Section 3004 of the education law is amended by adding a new
4 subdivision 7 to read as follows:
5 7. The commissioner shall prescribe regulations requiring that all
6 persons applying on or after the effective date of this section, for a
7 certificate or license valid for service as a classroom teacher, pupil
8 personnel service professional, school administrator or supervisor or
9 superintendent of schools, shall, in addition to all the other certif-
10 ication or licensing requirements, have completed instruction or train-
11 ing in suicide prevention which shall include information on the
12 relationship between the risk of suicide and incidents of harassment,
13 intimidation, and bullying and information on reducing the risk of
14 suicide in students who are members of communities identified as having
15 members at high risk of suicide. Such instruction or training shall be
16 obtained from an institution or provider which has been approved by the
17 department to provide such instruction or training. Such regulations
18 shall also require that school districts and boards of cooperative
19 educational services include training for teachers and other certified
20 or licensed employees in identifying students at risk of suicide.
21 § 14. Section 3028-c of the education law, as added by chapter 181 of
22 the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
23 § 3028-c. Protection of school employees who report acts of bullying
24 or violence and weapons possession. Any school employee having reason-
25 able cause to suspect that a person has committed an act of bullying as
26 such term is defined in section twenty-eight hundred three of this chap-
27 ter or violence while in or on school property, or having reasonable
28 cause to suspect that a person has committed an act of bullying as such
29 term is defined in section twenty-eight hundred three of this chapter or
30 violence upon a student, school employee or volunteer either upon school
31 grounds or elsewhere, or having reasonable cause to suspect that a
32 person has brought a gun, knife, bomb or other instrument capable of or
33 that appears capable of causing death or physical injury upon school
34 grounds who in good faith reports such information to school officials,
35 to the commissioner, or to law enforcement authorities, shall have immu-
36 nity from any civil liability that may arise from the making of such
37 report, and no school district or school district employee shall take,
38 request or cause a retaliatory action against any such employee who
39 makes such report.
40 § 15. Paragraph a of subdivision 2-a of section 3214 of the education
41 law, as added by chapter 181 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as
42 follows:
43 a. Violent pupil. For the purposes of this section, a violent pupil is
44 an elementary or secondary student under twenty-one years of age who:
45 (1) commits an act of violence upon a teacher, administrator or other
46 school employee;
47 (2) commits, while on school district property, an act of violence
48 upon another student or any other person lawfully upon said property;
49 (3) possesses, while on school district property, a gun, knife,
50 explosive or incendiary bomb, or other dangerous instrument capable of
51 causing physical injury or death;
52 (4) displays, while on school district property, what appears to be a
53 gun, knife, explosive or incendiary bomb or other dangerous instrument
54 capable of causing death or physical injury;
55 (5) threatens, while on school district property, to use any instru-
56 ment that appears capable of causing physical injury or death;
A. 5447 10
1 (6) knowingly and intentionally damages or destroys the personal prop-
2 erty of a teacher, administrator, other school district employee or any
3 person lawfully upon school district property; [or]
4 (7) knowingly and intentionally damages or destroys school district
5 property; or
6 (8) harasses, intimidates or bullies another student, or a teacher,
7 administrator or other school district employee or any person lawfully
8 upon school property.
9 § 16. The education law is amended by adding new section 6305-a to
10 read as follows:
11 § 6305-a. Policy on the prevention of harassment, intimidation and
12 bullying. The board of trustees of the city university of New York shall
13 adopt rules requiring that each institution of the city university, on
14 or before July first, two thousand twelve, adopt and implement a policy
15 on the prevention of harassment, intimidation and bullying.
16 § 17. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 240.33 to read
17 as follows:
18 § 240.33 Aggravated harassment of teachers and school personnel.
19 A person is guilty of aggravated harassment of teachers and school
20 personnel when, with intent to harass, annoy or alarm a person whom he
21 or she knows or reasonably should know to be a teacher, administrator or
22 other staff member of a public or private elementary, intermediate,
23 junior high, vocational or high school, engaged in the course of his or
24 her employment, he or she strikes, shoves or kicks such teacher, admin-
25 istrator or other staff member, and when such conduct takes place on
26 school property as defined in section twenty-eight hundred one of the
27 education law where such teacher, administrator or other staff member is
28 employed or assigned on the date of such conduct.
29 Aggravated harassment of teachers and school personnel is a class B
30 misdemeanor.
31 § 18. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 240.34 to read
32 as follows:
33 § 240.34 Bias intimidation.
34 1. A person is guilty of the crime of bias intimidation if he or she
35 commits, attempts to commit, conspires with another to commit, or
36 threatens the immediate commission of an offense specified in titles H
37 and I, articles one hundred forty, one hundred forty-five, one hundred
38 fifty, one hundred sixty, two hundred forty-five and two hundred sixty-
39 three, and sections 230.34, 240.25, 240.26, 240.30, 240.31, 265.01,
40 265.02, 265.03, 265.04, 265.05, 265.06, 265.08, 265.09 and 265.35 of
41 this chapter:
42 (a) with a purpose to intimidate an individual or group of individuals
43 because of race, color, religion, gender, disability, sexual orien-
44 tation, gender identity or expression, national origin, or ethnicity; or
45 (b) knowing that the conduct constituting the offense would cause an
46 individual or group of individuals to be intimidated because of race,
47 color, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity
48 or expression, national origin, or ethnicity; or
49 (c) under circumstances that caused any victim of the underlying
50 offense to be intimidated and the victim, considering the manner in
51 which the offense was committed, reasonably believed either that (i) the
52 offense was committed with a purpose to intimidate the victim or any
53 person or entity in whose welfare the victim is interested because of
54 race, color, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender
55 identity or expression, national origin, or ethnicity, or (ii) the
56 victim or the victim's property was selected to be the target of the
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1 offense because of the victim's race, color, religion, gender, disabili-
2 ty, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin,
3 or ethnicity.
4 2. Proof that the target of the underlying offense was selected by the
5 defendant, or by another acting in concert with the defendant, because
6 of race, color, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender
7 identity or expression, national origin, or ethnicity shall give rise to
8 a permissive inference by the trier of fact that the defendant acted
9 with a purpose to intimidate an individual or group of individuals
10 because of race, color, religion, gender, disability, sexual orien-
11 tation, gender identity or expression, national origin, or ethnicity.
12 3. It shall not be a defense to a prosecution for a crime under this
13 section that the defendant was mistaken as to the race, color, religion,
14 gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression,
15 national origin, or ethnicity of the victim.
16 4. A person who violates this section shall be guilty of:
17 (a) A class A-I felony when the most serious underlying offense is a
18 class A-II felony;
19 (b) A class A-II felony when the most serious underlying offense is a
20 class B felony;
21 (c) A class B felony when the most serious underlying offense is a
22 class C felony;
23 (d) A class C felony when the most serious underlying offense is a
24 class D felony;
25 (e) A class E felony when the most serious underlying offense is a
26 class B misdemeanor; and
27 (f) A class A misdemeanor when the most serious offense is a
28 violation.
29 § 19. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 70.31 to read
30 as follows:
31 § 70.31 Additional penalties for bias intimidation.
32 1. In addition to any fine or term of imprisonment imposed, a court
33 may order a person convicted of bias intimidation pursuant to section
34 240.34 of this chapter, to one or more of the following:
35 (a) complete a class or program on sensitivity to diverse communities,
36 or other similar training in the area of civil rights;
37 (b) complete a counseling program intended to reduce the tendency
38 toward violent and antisocial behavior; and
39 (c) make payments or other compensation to a community-based program
40 or local agency that provides services to victims of bias intimidation.
41 2. As used in this section "gender identity or expression" means
42 having or being perceived as having a gender related identity or
43 expression whether or not stereotypically associated with a person's
44 assigned sex at birth.
45 § 20. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 168-b to
46 read as follows:
47 § 168-b. Designation of weeks of commemoration. 1. A week of commem-
48 oration is a calendar week so designated by this section or a calendar
49 week in any one year so designated by a proclamation of the governor or
50 resolution of the senate and assembly jointly adopted.
51 2. A week of commemoration shall not constitute a holiday or half-ho-
52 liday but shall be a week set aside in recognition and special honor of
53 a person, persons, group ideal or goal.
54 3. The following week shall be a week of commemoration in each year:
55 the week beginning with the first Monday in October, to be known as
56 "week of respect".
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1 § 21. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 98-d to
2 read as follows:
3 § 98-d. Bullying prevention fund. 1. There is hereby established in
4 the joint custody of the state comptroller and the commissioner of taxa-
5 tion and finance a special fund to be known as the "bullying prevention
6 fund".
7 2. Such fund shall consist of all other moneys appropriated, credited
8 or transferred thereto from any other fund or source pursuant to law.
9 3. Moneys of the fund, following appropriation by the legislature,
10 shall be expended only through fund grants to school districts to
11 provide training on harassment, intimidation and bullying prevention and
12 development or other effective means to create a positive school
13 climate. Moneys for such purposes shall be used to the extent that they
14 are available within the fund.
15 4. The moneys of the fund shall be paid out on the audit and warrant
16 of the state comptroller on vouchers certified or approved by the
17 commissioner of education. At the end of each year, any moneys remaining
18 in the fund shall be retained in the fund and shall not revert to the
19 general fund. The interest and income earned on money in the fund, after
20 deducting any applicable charges, shall be credited to the fund.
21 § 22. 1. A temporary state commission, to be known as the "New York
22 state commission on bullying in schools", is hereby created to study the
23 issue of school harassment, intimidation and bullying and to make recom-
24 mendations on how to reduce these activities in our schools.
25 2. The commission shall consist of nine members to be appointed as
26 follows: three members shall be appointed by the governor and shall
27 include, at a minimum, the commissioner of education, and the commis-
28 sioner of the office of children and family services, four members, with
29 two appointments by the temporary present of the senate and two by the
30 speaker of the assembly, shall be mental health professionals, child
31 advocacy organizations and/or academic professionals with experience in
32 treating victims of harassment, intimidation and bullying and suicide
33 prevention, one member shall be appointed by the minority leader of the
34 senate; and one member shall be appointed by the minority leader of the
35 assembly. Any vacancy on such commission shall be filled in the same
36 manner as the original appointment was made. A chairperson and vice-
37 chairperson of such commission shall be elected by the majority of its
38 members, all members being present.
39 3. The members of the commission shall receive no compensation for
40 their services, but shall be allowed their actual and necessary expenses
41 incurred in the performance of their duties pursuant to this act.
42 4. The commission shall make a report of its findings and make any
43 recommendations it may deem necessary and appropriate to the governor,
44 the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly no
45 later than one year after the effective date of this act.
46 § 23. This act shall take effect immediately, provided however that:
47 a. sections three, four, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve,
48 thirteen, fourteen, fifteen and sixteen of this act shall take effect on
49 the first of July next succeeding the date on which it shall have become
50 a law;
51 b. section five of this act shall take effect on the same date and in
52 the same manner as section 3 of chapter 482 of the laws of 2010 takes
53 effect;
54 c. sections seventeen, eighteen and nineteen of this act shall take
55 effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it
56 shall have become a law;
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1 d. section twenty-two of this act shall take effect on the ninetieth
2 day after it shall have become a law and shall expire July 1, 2014, when
3 upon such date the provisions of such section shall be deemed repealed;
4 and
5 e. effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any
6 rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its
7 effective date are authorized and directed to be made and completed on
8 or before such date.
