Senate Bill S8020

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S8020

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the education law, in relation to
enacting "Jacobe's law"

 PURPOSE :

To ensure a "good faith effort" is made by school administrators to
notify parents or guardians when there are reported instances or
concerns related to their children being bullied in school.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

The education law is amended by adding a new section 15-a to read as
follows: § 15-a. Reporting by school administrators.

1. School administrators, as defined by subdivision six of section
eleven hundred twenty-five of the education law, shall make a good
faith effort to contact the parent or guardian of a student
immediately following a report of bullying or Harassment or a
reasonable cause to suspect an incident of bullying or Harassment of
the student as defined in this article.

2. The school administrator shall contact the parent or guardian by
telephone, electronic mail, regular mail or other means.

              

 JUSTIFICATION :

The education law is amended by adding a new section 15-a to read as
follows: § 15-a. Reporting by school administrators.

1. School administrators, as defined by subdivision six of section
eleven hundred twenty-five of the education law, shall make a good
faith effort to contact the parent or guardian of a student
immediately following a report of bullying or Harassment or a
reasonable cause to suspect an incident of bullying or Harassment of
the student as defined in this article.

2. The school administrator shall contact the parent or guardian by
telephone, electronic mail, regular mail or other means.

 JUSTIFICATION :

In April 2015, 13-year-old Jacobe Taras tragically took his own life
after having been subjected to bullying and harassing behavior.
Sadly, this tragedy is not an isolated incident as bullying continues
to negatively impact hundreds of thousands of students on a daily
basis in schools across New York State and throughout our nation. As
noted on the American Society for the Positive Care of
Children's(SPCC) website, approximately 28 percent of students ages
12-18 reported being bullied at school during the school year,
according to the Indicators of School Crime and Safety:  2013 report,
by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and National Center for Education
Statistics Institute of Education Sciences. The majority of bullying
still takes place at school and 1-in-3 U.S. students say they have
been bullied at school, according to the Department of Health and
Human Services.

Furthermore, as indicated on the American SPCCC's website, it was
reported in the CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance 2013 report,
that, on average across 39 states surveyed, 7.2 percent of students
admitted to not going to school due to personal safety concerns. Many
dread the physical and verbal aggression of their peers and many more
attend school in a chronic state of anxiety and depression. It was
further reported on the American SPCC website that 70.6 percent of
young people say they have seen bullying in their schools. In
addition, according to findings from the United States Department of
Justice, 160,000 kids per day do not attend school for fear of being
bullied.

Bullying can result in reluctance to go to school, while truancy,
headaches and stomach pains, reduced appetite, shame, anxiety,
irritability, aggression and depression are also frequent effects, as
stated on the American SPCC website.

Without question, there must be a continued, coordinated, holistic
emphasis on preventing, identifying and stopping bullying behavior to
prevent future tragedies. Comprehensive bullying prevention will
better protect children and ensure every student can learn in an
environment that is safe and secure from bullying and any form of
harassing or threatening behavior.

While the "Dignity for All Students Act" was signed into law in 2010
to establish and streamline the protocol schools must follow when it
comes to bullying and harassment, parental notification provisions
must be strengthened.

"Jacobe's Law" would require schools to make a good faith effort to
notify a parent or guardian of a child who reports to school officials
that they fear they are a target of bullies or situations where school
officials suspect bullying is taking place, and potentially avert
future tragedies.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New Bill

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.