Prohibits discrimination against and harassment or bullying of students by employees or students on private, religious or denominational school property or at a school function; provides immunity from civil liability for a person making a good faith report of discrimination, harassment or bullying to authorities.
This bill creates a new article in the Education Law called the “Nonpublic Dignity for All Students Act.” It declares state policy that students in nonpublic schools should be free from discrimination and harassment, and it sets out rules prohibiting bullying, harassment, and discrimination by students or employees on nonpublic school property or at nonpublic school functions. The bill defines key terms such as school property, school function, harassment, bullying, cyberbullying, race, gender, sexual orientation, and protective hairstyles, and it extends the harassment definition to conduct that occurs off campus if it foreseeably disrupts the school environment.
The bill also protects people who in good faith report suspected harassment, bullying, or discrimination to school officials or law enforcement, or who participate in related proceedings. Those reporters would receive immunity from civil liability, and nonpublic schools and employees would be barred from retaliating against them. The bill includes severability language, a liberal-construction clause, and a statement that it should not be read to abridge First Amendment rights. It would take effect on July 1 after becoming law.
The bill would add a new statutory framework to the Education Law governing student conduct in nonpublic elementary and secondary schools, including private, religious, and denominational schools. It would impose anti-discrimination and anti-harassment obligations on school employees and students, create reporting protections and anti-retaliation rules, and incorporate definitions that mirror or track existing state civil rights concepts, including protections tied to race, religion, disability, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, and protective hairstyles. It also expressly preserves certain admissions or course-exclusion practices that are permissible under Title IX and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and it states that course instruction in nonpublic schools is not covered by the harassment and discrimination provisions.
The bill appears to be framed positively as a student-safety and dignity measure, with its stated purpose focused on civility, preventing harassment, and protecting students in nonpublic schools. The bill text and caption suggest broad support for anti-bullying and anti-discrimination protections, especially for students who may face bias based on race, religion, disability, sex, gender, or sexual orientation. No committee transcript or vote record was provided, so there is no documented recorded debate or vote sentiment in the supplied materials.
The main potential points of contention are the bill’s application to private, religious, and denominational schools and the scope of its anti-discrimination rules. Some stakeholders may be concerned about how the law would interact with school autonomy, religious doctrine, discipline policies, and First Amendment protections, particularly because it regulates conduct by both students and employees and reaches some off-campus conduct that could affect the school environment. The bill attempts to address these concerns by excluding course instruction from the harassment definition, preserving certain Title IX and disability-law exceptions, and stating that it should not abridge constitutional rights.