S 6610: Relates to preventing and reporting acts of harassment at schools.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6610 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE March 18, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SANDERS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to preventing and report- ing acts of harassment at schools The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 13 of the education law is amended 2 by adding four new paragraphs m, n, o and p to read as follows: 3 m. include penalties or disciplinary measures for individuals found to 4 have violated the policies and guidelines created pursuant to this 5 section; 6 n. specify that harassment is a basis for granting to a student who 7 has been harassed a transfer to another school, commonly called a "safe- 8 ty transfer"; 9 o. specify that harassment is a basis for disciplining any student who 10 engages or has engaged in the harassment of others; 11 p. require each school to post copies of the school district's poli- 12 cies and guidelines created pursuant to this section in prominent places 13 within each school and require such copies to be translated and made 14 available in the ten most common languages spoken in the school district 15 and in any other language spoken by more than ten percent of the parents 16 or guardians of children attending any individual school; 17 § 2. The opening paragraph of subdivision 2 of section 13 of the 18 education law, as amended by chapter 102 of the laws of 2012, is amended 19 and three new subdivisions 6, 7 and 8 are added to read as follows: 20 Guidelines to be used in school training programs, such training 21 programs to be given on a regular basis to all pedagogical staff and 22 school safety officers, to discourage the development of harassment, 23 bullying and discrimination, and to make school employees aware of the 24 effects of harassment, bullying, cyberbullying and discrimination on 25 students and that are designed: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD09862-01-5 
 S. 6610 2 1 6. Guidelines to be used in presentations to be given to students 2 about conduct and harassment issues; such guidelines shall be designed 3 to discourage the development of harassment by: 4 a. raising the awareness and sensitivity of pupils regarding potential 5 harassment, and 6 b. fostering empathy and empathetic conduct among students. 7 7. The principal of each school shall be the person responsible for 8 ensuring the dissemination of the anti-harassment policies and guide- 9 lines to all staff of each school, all school safety officers, all 10 members of the school safety committee, and to all students and their 11 parents or guardians, and for providing training to pedagogical staff 12 and school safety officers. Such principal shall also ensure that the 13 name and contact information of a school employee who can provide copies 14 of such policies and guidelines is made available to all students, 15 parents, guardians, staff and to the school safety committee. Such prin- 16 cipal may designate a subordinate to assume the responsibilities 17 required by this subdivision. 18 8. The policies and guidelines created pursuant to this section shall 19 be included in the school district's code of conduct adopted pursuant to 20 section twenty-eight hundred one of this chapter. 21 § 3. Section 15 of the education law, as amended by chapter 102 of the 22 laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows: 23 § 15. Reporting [by commissioner]. 1. The principal of each school 24 shall be the enforcement officer responsible for ensuring the enforce- 25 ment of the anti-harassment policies and guidelines established pursuant 26 to section thirteen of this article and to whom reports of incidents of 27 harassment on school premises or at a school function may be made. Each 28 such principal may designate a subordinate to assume these responsibil- 29 ities. The superintendent of each district within such superintendent's 30 jurisdiction, or the designee of such superintendent, shall be the 31 person to whom reports of incidents of harassment on school premises or 32 at a school function may be made when such report concerns the principal 33 or other person appointed or designated as the enforcement officer of a 34 school. 35 2. The commissioner shall create procedures under which incidents of 36 harassment on school premises or at school functions are tracked 37 centrally for record keeping purposes, and procedures under which such 38 incidents of harassment are reported promptly to the principal or such 39 principal's designee, or the superintendent or such superintendent's 40 designee, who must complete, for each such incident, an incident report 41 indicating information about the incident, including, but not limited 42 to, the parties, the location where such incident took place, the date 43 and time such incident occurred and type of harassment involved. 44 3. The commissioner shall create a procedure under which material 45 incidents of harassment, bullying and discrimination on school grounds 46 or at a school function are reported to the department at least on an 47 annual basis. Such procedure shall provide that such reports shall, 48 wherever possible, also delineate the specific nature of such incidents 49 of harassment, bullying and discrimination, provided that the commis- 50 sioner may comply with the requirements of this section through use of 51 the existing uniform violent incident reporting system. In addition the 52 department may conduct research or undertake studies to determine 53 compliance throughout the state with the provisions of this article. 54 4. By no later than July thirtieth of each year, the department shall 55 publish a statistical summary of all incidents of harassment that 56 occurred on school premises or at a school function during the preceding 
 S. 6610 3 1 school year. Such summary report shall indicate, at a minimum, the 2 number and nature of incidents of harassment broken down by school, 3 school district, region, borough and grade level, and shall be published 4 on the department's website and by such other means as, in the commis- 5 sioner's discretion, are reasonably determined to best disseminate such 6 information to the public. 7 5. The department shall also include, on each school's annual report 8 card or any similar document that the department creates, summary infor- 9 mation about incidents of harassment at such school, which information 10 shall include: 11 a. a comparison of all incidents of harassment at such school with all 12 incidents of harassment in all similar schools, as determined by the 13 department; and 14 b. the number of safety transfers that were granted from such school 15 to another school during the preceding school year. 16 § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 17 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend- 18 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen- 19 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 20 completed on or before such effective date.