New York State’s Dignity for All Students Act (The Dignity Act) seeks to provide the State’s public elementary and secondary school students with a safe and supportive environment free from discrimination, intimidation, taunting, harassment, and bullying on school property, a school bus and/or at a school function.
Here at the New York School for the Deaf, we continue to be proactive in educating students about making the right choices whether it would be through online, physical interactions, or indirect social behavior. At NYSD, we emphasize the importance of educating our students through Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS), Character Education, Student Engagement, Group Dynamic Empowerment, and Social Justice. We also provide support and opportunity for our staff, parents and the community to get involved to ensure that students feel safe inside and outside of the classroom. It is important that we work together to prevent conflicts in the first place and to allow our students to learn the importance of respect.
Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-aged children that involves real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose.
Cyberbullying is bullying or harassment that takes place through communication using electronic technology and communication tools such as social media, text messaging, chat, and websites. Cyberbullying may be directed toward both students and staff members.
For more information about DASA, please see the link below.