BILL NUMBER: S369

SPONSOR: HOYLMAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring the board of
education and the trustees or sole trustee of every school district to
establish policies and procedures regarding the treatment of transgender
or gender non-conforming students

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To ensure that New York's public school districts have procedures in
place to implement the anti-discrimination requirements of the Dignity
for All Students Act, as they pertain to transgender and gender non-con-
forming students.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends section 13 of the education law by adding a
new subdivision 6. The new subdivision requires school districts to
              

develop policies and procedures to:

-Ensure that schools and school employees treat students consistently
with their gender identity or expression, including using pronouns and
names consistent with the student's gender identity or expression.

-Allow students to participate in sex-segregated activities and access
sex-segregated facilities in manner consistent with the student's gender
identity or expression.

-Protect students' privacy related to their transgender or gender
nonconforming status.

Section 2 sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

New York's Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) was signed into law in
2010 and first implemented in 2012. DASA seeks to provide New York
State's public schools with a safe and supportive environment free from
discrimination, intimidation, taunting, harassment, and bullying on
school property or at school functions. Notably, DASA seeks to prevent
discrimination on the basis of a student's gender identity or
expression, among other characteristics including race, color, weight,
national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability,
sexual orientation, or sex.

DASA's protection of transgender and gender non-conforming students is
especially important considering the experiences of LGBTQ youth in
schools. According to the 2015 National School Climate Survey by GLSEN,
the overwhelming majority of LGBTQ students routinely hear anti-LGBT
language and experience victimization and discrimination at school,
including:

-Nationally, 43.3% of LGBTQ students reported' feeling unsafe at school
because of their gender expression.


-Half of New York LGBTQ students experienced verbal harassment at school
based on their sexual orientation or gender expression

-16% of New York LGBTQ students reported being physically harassed and
6% reported being physically assaulted due to their gender expression

-85% of New York LGBTQ students heard negative remarks about gender
expression at school, with 30% of New York students reporting such
remarks from teachers or other school staff

-46% of New York transgender students had been prevented by their school
from using their preferred name or pronoun, and 66% had been required to
use a bathroom or locker room of their sex assigned at birth

The victimization and discrimination of LGBTQ students has devastating
effects. Transgender and gender non-conforming students experiencing
victimization due to their gender expression were almost three times as
likely to have missed school in a given month, had lower GPAs than
students who experienced less harassment, experienced lower self-esteem
and higher incidences of depression and suicidal ideation. As the
results of the GLSEN survey demonstrate, many transgender and gender
non-conforming students here in New York continue to face discrimination
and hostility while at school, from fellow students, teachers, and
administrative policies alike. This legislation would help ensure that
the implementation of DASA, particularly as the law pertains to trans-
gender and gender nonconforming students, is as effective and tailored
to the unique needs of these students as possible.

By codifying a requirement that school districts have procedures and
policies in place to ensure that they treat students consistently with
their gender identity or expression, allow students to access sex-segre-
gated facilities and activities consistent with their gender identity or
expression, and protect the privacy of data related to students' trans-
gender or gender nonconforming status, this legislation will help guide
school districts towards best practices for creating a safe, healthy
learning environment for all students.

The policies specified in this bill are consistent with Title IX guid-
ance provided in a "Dear Colleague" memo issued by the U.S.  Department
of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education on May 13, 2016, as well
as a July 2015 memo entitled "Guidance to School Districts for Creating
a Safe and Supportive School Environment For Transgender and Gender
Nonconforming Students" issued by the New York State Education Depart-
ment. In the wake of the Trump administration's February 2017 decision
to rescind the May 2016 federal guidance, this legislation will provide
New York's public schools with clarity on the policies that they'll need
to implement to be compliant with the anti-discrimination requirements
of Title IX and DASA.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S.1857 of 2019-2020 (Hoylman): Died in Education
A.1592 of 2019-2020 (Gottfried): Died in Education
S.4843 of 2017-2018 (Hoylman): Died in Education
A.10659 of 2018 (Gottfried): Died in Education

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.