New York: A group of five civic and community advocacy organizations have released a white paper and report card showing that the New York City Department of Education (DOE) is falling short on its duty to protect public school students from bias-based harassment and bullying.   

"Dignity Now: The Campaign to Stop Bullying and Bias-Harassment in New York City Schools," a white paper by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and the New York City Bar Association's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Committee, uses legal analysis and students' first-hand accounts to conclude that though Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the DOE have made strides toward ending the problem of bullying and biased-based harassment in the schools, more effort is necessary.  

"Bias-based Harassment in New York City Public Schools: A Report Card on the Department of Education's Implementation of Chancellor's Regulation A-832," produced by the Sikh Coalition, the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF) and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), assesses the DOE's progress enforcing Chancellor's Regulation A-832, which was issued last year to address student-to-student bullying and bias-based harassment.  

In June 2004, the City Council recognized the urgent need to protect students by passing the Dignity in All Schools Act (DASA), legislation that prohibits harassment and discrimination in the schools; requires regular anti-harassment training for staff and teachers; and requires regular reporting and tracking of incidents bullying and harassment. Mayor Bloomberg and the DOE, however, refused to enforce DASA.   

Four years later, following a pair of high-profile attacks against Sikh students in the city schools, the DOE issued Chancellor's Regulation A-832 last September, a step toward addressing bias-based harassment, intimidation and bullying.  

The regulation, which came about after massive protests by the Sikh community following a spate of attacks on Sikh children in schools, was intended to make New York City's efforts to combat bullying and harassment based on ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and other factors, among the most rigorous in the country.  

The new regulation, which builds on the City's "Respect for All" initiative, requires schools to make standards clear to students and staff, track and monitor all bias incidents, investigate complaints promptly, and take follow-up steps to ensure that schools are safe, supportive, and respectful learning environments for all students.  

Mayor Michael Bloomberg had supported the initiative and was present at the DOE headquarters when the announcement was made, last year.

"Bullying and harassment impede our students' ability to learn. When students are victims of bullying because of race, sexual orientation, or other factors, they simply cannot focus on learning, and we cannot allow that," said Bloomberg then.

Chancellor Joel Klein also spoke at the meeting, and gave his commitment to make the program a success.

The regulation details a process for reporting and investigating incidents of bias-based harassment, intimidation, and bullying. It mandates that every principal designate a staff member to whom students can report incidents – and it establishes a new e-mail address, RespectForAll@schools.nyc.gov, where students subjected to harassment who do not feel comfortable reporting incidents to their school can seek help.

The regulation also requires each school to create an annual plan to ensure that it has a safe and supportive learning environment and it establishes that schools must train students in the new regulations, so that they understand what behaviors constitute bias-based harassment and where to go for help if they believe they have been subjected to prohibited behavior by bullies.

Under the regulation, schools are to report all complaints of harassment, intimidation, or bullying within 24 hours and are to conduct full investigations, including interviews and written statements. In addition, the regulation requires school staff members who either witness or are told about incidents to report them. Schools must contact the families of accused students and the DOE is to work with schools to take appropriate follow-up steps after incidents.

But the report card, based on a survey of more than 1,100 students and educators in the city's public schools, demonstrates that the regulation is not being fully implemented.    

"We are concerned that the Chancellor's Regulation is a promise that is not being fulfilled, a piece of paper that is having little impact on city schools," said Sonny Singh, a community organizer for the Sikh Coalition. "While the regulation was a strong step in the right direction, it is not yet being fully implemented and not yet making a difference for the average Sikh, immigrant or gay student."        

"Harassment and bullying in the schools is a huge problem and the Chancellor's Regulation was a good step. But it outlines an incomplete, voluntary training and monitoring system that is not adequate to prevent harassment," said Donna Lieberman, NY Civil Liberties Union executive director. "Unless the regulation is strengthened and fully enforced, it will leave too many students at the mercy of bullies."   

Though cases have been identified specifically against Sikh children, the organizations do not elaborate on how many more ethnicities are being subjected to such attacks, or the ethnicity of the perpetrators. 

"The findings of this white paper and the accompanying report card make clear that the Department of Education needs to do more to protect New York City's youth," said Carmelyn P. Malalis, chair of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Rights Committee at the New York City Bar. "A voluntary training and monitoring system does not stop or prevent harassment. More must be done."  

The DOE's School Environment Survey Report for 2006-07 reflects widespread harassment and bullying in the city's schools. According to the survey, 76 percent of sixth to 12th grade students reported seeing students "threaten or bully other students at school." Nearly half the students surveyed said bullying happened "some of the time," and an additional 29 percent say it happens most or all of the time.  

"Sikhs kids have a really tough time at my school," said Gurnam Singh, 13, a seventh grader at M.S. 72 in Queens. "Other students have threatened to cut my hair and have tried to pull my turban off. Two weeks ago another student cut me with a hair clip and threatened to 'smack my turban off.' I told a teacher about it but nothing was done."  

Gurnam Singh was among dozens of Sikh students from Richmond Hill who rode on a bus into Manhattan to attend the press conference in front of DOE headquarters, where the reports were released.   

"I have experienced harassment from the day I started at M.S. 72 because I'm a different religion than others… I would love it if the DOE would listen to people like me more often instead of ignoring me," said Singh.   

In between speakers from Queens and Brooklyn schools and organizations such as the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM), and Make the Road NY, Sikh youth spontaneously led the crowd in chants like, "What do we want? Safe schools! When do we want them? Now!"   

The Sikh Coalition says that pervasive harassment and bullying make schools hostile places, undermining students' ability to flourish. Students who are routinely harassed and bullied often struggle to develop the self-confidence and social skills needed to succeed in life.

Among the report card's key findings: seventy-six percent of students do not know they can report bias-based harassment anonymously by emailing respectforall@schools.nyc.gov; 80 percent of students have not attended a training or presentation to discourage harassment; 16 percent of students who reported experiencing bias-based harassment said the harasser was a teacher, staff member, or security agent.  

"The DOE must do more to educate students and parents about Chancellor's Regulation A-832," said Margaret Fung, executive director of AALDEF. "Without greater awareness, adequate funding, and public reporting, this regulation will not have its intended effects of reducing racial harassment in schools."   

Recommendations in the white paper and report card to the DOE include: full implementation of the Chancellor's Regulation A-832; expansion of the regulation to include harassment perpetrated by school safety agents, teacher and staff; clarification and expansion of student and staff training requirements; implementation of a process of transparency, accountability and public reporting.  

The Sikh Coalition says that pervasive harassment and bullying make schools hostile places, undermining students' ability to flourish. Students who are routinely harassed and bullied often struggle to develop the self-confidence and social skills needed to succeed in life.

This article was written as part of an education reporting fellowship granted by New York Community Media Alliance.