S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7977
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              April 16, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. TORRES -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Education
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  education  law,  in  relation  to strengthening
   protections against discrimination, harassment, and bullying based  on
   actual  or perceived immigration status, and to improve implementation
   and oversight under the Dignity for All Students Act
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
 the "End Bullying and  Discrimination  in  Schools  Everywhere  (BEACON)
 Act".
   § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 10-a to read
 as follows:
   §  10-A. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.  THE LEGISLATURE FINDS THAT DESPITE THE
 CLEAR STATUTORY MANDATES OF THE DIGNITY FOR ALL STUDENTS ACT,  IMPLEMEN-
 TATION ACROSS SCHOOL DISTRICTS REMAINS INCONSISTENT. STUDENTS FROM IMMI-
 GRANT  AND  MIXED-STATUS  FAMILIES ARE ESPECIALLY VULNERABLE TO BULLYING
 AND HARASSMENT AND FREQUENTLY LACK MEANINGFUL RECOURSE. THIS LEGISLATION
 IS INTENDED NOT ONLY TO EXTEND PROTECTIONS  TO  THESE  STUDENTS  BUT  TO
 ENHANCE  THE  OVERSIGHT,  TRANSPARENCY,  AND ACCOUNTABILITY NECESSARY TO
 FULLY REALIZE THE PROMISE OF THE DIGNITY FOR ALL STUDENTS ACT.
   § 3. Section 10 of the education law, as added by chapter 482  of  the
 laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
   § 10. Legislative intent. The legislature finds that students' ability
 to  learn and to meet high academic standards, and a school's ability to
 educate its students, are compromised by incidents of discrimination  or
 harassment  including  bullying,  taunting or intimidation. It is hereby
 declared to be the policy of the state to afford all students in  public
 schools  an  environment  free  of  discrimination  and  harassment. The
 purpose of this article is to foster civility in public schools  and  to
 prevent  and  prohibit  conduct  which  is  inconsistent with a school's
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11605-02-5
              

 A. 7977                             2
 
 educational mission. SUCH PROHIBITED CONDUCT SHALL INCLUDE ACTS BASED ON
 A STUDENT'S ACTUAL OR PERCEIVED IMMIGRATION STATUS  OR  THE  IMMIGRATION
 STATUSES OF A STUDENT'S FAMILY MEMBERS.
   §  4.  Section  11  of  the  education law, is amended by adding a new
 subdivision 11 to read as follows:
   11. "IMMIGRATION STATUS" SHALL MEAN A  PERSON'S  ACTUAL  OR  PERCEIVED
 CITIZENSHIP  OR  RESIDENCY  STATUS,  INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO UNITED
 STATES  CITIZENSHIP,  LAWFUL  PERMANENT  RESIDENCY,  REFUGEE  OR  ASYLUM
 STATUS,  TEMPORARY  PROTECTED  STATUS,  DEFERRED  ACTION  FOR  CHILDHOOD
 ARRIVALS (DACA) STATUS,  OR  LACK  OF  LAWFUL  IMMIGRATION  STATUS.  FOR
 PURPOSES  OF THIS ARTICLE, PROTECTIONS BASED ON IMMIGRATION STATUS SHALL
 ALSO EXTEND TO STUDENTS FROM MIXED-STATUS FAMILIES, MEANING FAMILIES  IN
 WHICH ONE OR MORE MEMBERS HAVE DIFFERENT IMMIGRATION STATUSES, INCLUDING
 UNDOCUMENTED OR NONCITIZEN STATUSES.
   §  5.  Subdivision 7 of section 11 of the education law, as amended by
 chapter 102 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
   7. "Harassment" and "bullying" shall mean the creation  of  a  hostile
 environment  by  conduct or by threats, intimidation or abuse, including
 cyberbullying, that (a) has or would have the effect of unreasonably and
 substantially interfering  with  a  student's  educational  performance,
 opportunities  or benefits, or mental, emotional or physical well-being;
 or (b) reasonably causes or would reasonably  be  expected  to  cause  a
 student  to  fear for [his or her] THEIR physical safety; or (c) reason-
 ably causes or would reasonably be expected to cause physical injury  or
 emotional  harm  to  a  student;  or  (d) occurs off school property and
 creates or would foreseeably create a  risk  of  substantial  disruption
 within the school environment, where it is foreseeable that the conduct,
 threats,  intimidation  or  abuse  might  reach school property. Acts of
 harassment and bullying shall include, but not be limited to, those acts
 based on a person's actual or perceived race,  color,  weight,  national
 origin,  ethnic group, IMMIGRATION STATUS, religion, religious practice,
 disability, sexual orientation, gender or sex. For the purposes of  this
 definition  the  term  "threats,  intimidation  or  abuse" shall include
 verbal and non-verbal actions.
   § 6. Subdivision 1 of section 12 of the education law, as  amended  by
 chapter 102 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  No student shall be subjected to harassment or bullying by employ-
 ees or students on school property or at a school  function;  nor  shall
 any student be subjected to discrimination based on a person's actual or
 perceived  race,  color,  weight,  national  origin, ethnic group, IMMI-
 GRATION STATUS, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual  orien-
 tation, gender, or sex by school employees or students on school proper-
 ty  or  at  a  school  function.  Nothing  in  this subdivision shall be
 construed to prohibit a denial of admission into, or exclusion  from,  a
 course of instruction based on a person's gender that would be permissi-
 ble  under section thirty-two hundred one-a or paragraph (a) of subdivi-
 sion two of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-four of this chapter  and
 title  IX  of  the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. section 1681,
 et. seq.), or  to  prohibit,  as  discrimination  based  on  disability,
 actions  that  would  be  permissible under section 504 of the Rehabili-
 tation Act of 1973.
   § 7. Subdivision 3 of section 13 of the education law, as  amended  by
 chapter 102 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
   3.   Guidelines  relating  to  the  development  of  nondiscriminatory
 instructional and counseling methods, and requiring that  at  least  one
 staff  member  at  every  school  be  thoroughly trained to handle human
 A. 7977                             3
 
 relations in the areas of race, color, weight, national  origin,  ethnic
 group,  IMMIGRATION  STATUS,  religion,  religious practice, disability,
 sexual orientation, gender, and sex; and
   § 8. Section 13 of the education law is amended by adding a new subdi-
 vision 6 to read as follows:
   6. EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT SHALL DESIGNATE A DIGNITY ACT COMPLIANCE COOR-
 DINATOR OR TEAM RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
 POLICIES AND PROCEDURES REQUIRED UNDER THIS ARTICLE. SUCH COORDINATOR OR
 TEAM  SHALL  MONITOR,  AND  REVIEW  REPORTS OF HARASSMENT, BULLYING, AND
 DISCRIMINATION DISAGGREGATED BY PROTECTED CLASS,  INCLUDING  IMMIGRATION
 STATUS,  AND  SHALL REPORT SUCH FINDINGS ANNUALLY TO THE BOARD OF EDUCA-
 TION. SUCH REPORT SHALL INCLUDE DATA, SUMMARIES OF  RESPONSIVE  ACTIONS,
 AND ANY RELEVANT POLICY UPDATES.
   § 9. Section 14 of the education law is amended by adding a new subdi-
 vision 6 to read as follows:
   6.  THE  COMMISSIONER  SHALL  DEVELOP  AND  MAKE  AVAILABLE  TO SCHOOL
 DISTRICTS GUIDANCE ON PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO HARASSMENT,  BULLYING
 AND DISCRIMINATION BASED ON IMMIGRATION STATUS, INCLUDING SPECIFIC GUID-
 ANCE ON ADDRESSING CYBERBULLYING INCIDENTS TARGETING IMMIGRANT STUDENTS.
 SUCH  GUIDANCE  SHALL  INCLUDE  MODEL  POLICIES  FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO
 INCORPORATE INTO THEIR CODES OF CONDUCT AND BEST PRACTICES FOR  TRAINING
 SCHOOL  PERSONNEL  AND  EDUCATING STUDENTS AND FAMILIES ON THE RIGHTS OF
 STUDENTS UNDER THIS ARTICLE. THIS GUIDANCE SHALL FURTHER  RECOGNIZE  THE
 UNIQUE VULNERABILITIES OF STUDENTS FROM MIXED-STATUS FAMILIES.
   §  10.  Section  15 of the education law, as amended by chapter 102 of
 the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
   § 15. Reporting by  commissioner.  The  commissioner  shall  create  a
 procedure  under  which  material  incidents of harassment, bullying and
 discrimination on school grounds or at a school function are reported to
 the department at least on an annual basis. Such procedure shall provide
 that such reports shall, wherever possible, also delineate the  specific
 nature  of  such  incidents  of harassment, bullying and discrimination,
 [provided that the] DISAGGREGATED BY PROTECTED CATEGORY, INCLUDING IMMI-
 GRATION STATUS, AND  SHALL  BE  MADE  PUBLICLY  AVAILABLE  IN  A  MANNER
 CONSISTENT WITH STUDENT PRIVACY PROTECTIONS. THE commissioner may comply
 with  the  requirements  of  this  section  through  use of the existing
 uniform violent incident reporting system. In  addition  the  department
 may  conduct  research  or  undertake  studies  to  determine compliance
 throughout the state with the provisions of this article.
   § 11. This act shall take effect on the first of July next  succeeding
 the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the
 addition,  amendment  and/or  repeal of any rule or regulation necessary
 for the implementation of this act on its effective date are  authorized
 to be made and completed on or before such effective date.