NYC Council passes Dignity in All Schools Act

New York City, June 29, 2004 – The NYC Council overwhelmingly passed the Dignity in All Schools Act (DASA), a bill aimed at making the city’s public schools safer by addressing bullying and harassment motivated by bias. The vote was 45-3.

Empire State Pride Agenda, New York’s statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization and a member of a coalition of groups advocating for the bill’s passage, praised yesterday’s action.

“We thank the New York City Council for passing this important bill and recognizing the indisputable link between bias and violence in schools,” said Pride Agenda Executive Director Alan Van Capelle. “We especially thank
Councilmember Alan Gerson, the bill’s sponsor who worked hard to build support for DASA among his colleagues on the Council and Speaker Gifford Miller who allowed it to come up for a vote and supported it.”

“We also want to recognize the hard work of the DASA coalition leaders — Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays/New York City (P-FLAG/NYC) and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). They remind us all of how difficult it is for students to learn in school while being targeted for bullying and often violence just because someone does not like who they are.”