All public elementary and secondary students have the right to attend school in a safe, welcoming, considerate and caring environment. New York State’s Dignity for All Students Act seeks to provide all 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.

The goal of DASA is to create a safe and supportive school climate where students can learn and focus, rather than fear being discriminated against and/or verbally and/or physically harassed.

The Dignity Act states that no student shall be subjected to harassment or discrimination by employees or students on school property or at a school function based on their actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity or expression.

Report an Incident

If you believe you, or someone else, has been the target of harassment, bullying, cyber bullying, or discrimination, please use the complaint form. You may also use SchoolMessenger Quick Tip on your computing device or the app on your cell phone. See our FAQs here.

DASA Highlights

Who is protected by DASA?
All public elementary and secondary school students are protected.

What does DASA prohibit?
The Dignity Act prohibits the harassment and discrimination of students by students and school personnel, including bullying and hazing.

What physical spaces are covered by DASA?
The Dignity Act applies to behavior on school property (including athletic fields, playgrounds and parking lots), in school buildings, on a school bus/vehicle, as well as at school-sponsored events or activities. The Dignity Act of 2013 was expanded to include cyberbullying defined as harassment by any form of electronic communication and include incidents occurring off school property that create or would foreseeably create a risk of substantial disruption within the school environment.

How does DASA relate to the school’s Code of Conduct?
The Code of Conduct has been amended to reflect the prohibition of discrimination and harassment of students by students and staff in age-appropriate plain language.

The district Code of Conduct includes the requirements of the Dignity for All Students Act. To this end, the district condemns and strictly prohibits all forms of discrimination and harassment including bullying, taunting or intimidation, against students by students and/or employees on school property, which includes school buses, school-sponsored events such as extracurricular events or activities and, in certain circumstances, off-school-property/off school campus conduct, such as cyber-bullying, that is based on but not limited to a student’s actual or perceived race, weight, national origin, ethnicity, religion or religious practices, mental or physical abilities, sex, sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

To review the complete Code of Conduct, click here. For a printed copy, call the District Office at 845-292-6990.