Dignity for All Students Act signed into law! by Andy Peters

The need for better policies and training to prevent anti-LGBT harassment in schools has been self-evident to those of us who are LGBT. In 2000, PFY surveyed Nassau County students and found that 1 in 10 had been physically harassed due to their perceived sexual orientation. Nearly all of them reported that derogatory words like “faggot” and “dyke” get spouted from the mouths of classmates (and even teachers) on a regular basis. So it’s great progress that Governor Patterson recently signed into law the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA). Advocacy groups have been pushing for this legislation for ten years, and PFY has been a critical part of the effort. In annual trips to Albany, in-district meetings with elected officials, and through personal letters, young people and staff have kept the issue alive year in, year out. Many times, we wonder if our voices make a difference. DASA is evidence that the answer most definitely is YES! DASA establishes a consistent set of standards for preventing discrimination and harassment in schools—those motivated by anti-LGBT attitudes or other prejudices—and, quite significantly the law includes gender identity/expression as a protected category. Here’s a summary of the law from Empire State Pride Agenda. After ten years of hard work, the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) will prohibit harassment against students in school, including harassment based on real or perceived race, Color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and expression and sex. 40 states have anti-bullying laws and now New York will join those states. New York is also one of the 14 states that include sexual orientation and gender identity/expression in its anti-bullying protections. DASA makes history marking the first time that gender identity and expression are explicitly protected under New York State law. This is an incredible victory for our community and was made possible by the tireless advocacy of so many organizations statewide including Pride For Youth. DASA will specifically require schools to: -Adopt policies to make schools harassment- and discrimination-free environments; -Inform students and parents of anti-discrimination and harassment policies; -Develop guidelines to be used in school training programs for teachers, administrators and other school employees to discourage the development of discrimination and harassment among staff and students; -Create guidelines relating to the development of nondiscriminatory instruction and counseling’ -Incorporate discrimination and harassment awareness and sensitivity into civility, citizenship and character education curricula; -Provide a staff member trained in human-relations counseling; and -Report on incidents of discrimination and bias harassment to the State Education Department.