Protects children in N.Y. city from child abuse and maltreatment in educational settings

Title of bill

An act to amend the education law, in relation to including pupils from school districts within a city having a population of one million or more within the definition of child for the purposes of their protection from abuse and maltreatment in educational settings

Purpose of bill

This bill would amend the education law to extend protection to children in school districts throughout the state without having to adhere to population restrictions.

Summary of provisions

§ 1 of this bill amends subdivision 2 of section 1125 of the education laws of 2000 to define "Child" to mean a person under the age of twenty-one years enrolled in a school district in this state.

Justification

On May 2, 2001 a teacher employed at Public School 78 in the Bronx was charged with sodomizing a 9-year old boy. Previously, in 1998, the accused teacher had been under internal investigation for exposing himself to a student.

It is unacceptable that the incident was not reported to the authorities, opening the door for that teacher to engage in the behavior at the center of the 2001 incident. Allegations of such a nature should not be handled internally.

Protecting our children is one of parents' most heartfelt concerns. In order to secure the safety of our children, schools around the state were required to adhere to a stricter standard of reporting incidents of child abuse and maltreatment. However, New York City was exempted from that stricter standard.

A study done by the American Association of University Women in 2001 states that over "4.5 million students are sexually harassed or abused by an employee of a school sometime between kindergarten and 12th grade." (See, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/ 1094835/posts)

Based upon data collected for the National Incident-Based Reporting System between 1991 and 2002, 67 percent of victims of sexual assault were juveniles under the age of 18, and 34 percent were victims under the age of 12. (see, http://www.prevent-abuse-now.com/ stats.htm Links). A number of studies suggest that sexual misconduct can happen anywhere from 13 to 34 percent for females and 7 to 16 percent for males. (see, http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/misconductre view/report.pdf).

Sexual abuse is a serious crime which can adversely effect a child's life. The result of being sexually abused can have psychological consequences that can result in anger, eating disorders, self mutilation, and a loss of self esteem. (see, http://www.ncvc.org/ ncvc/main.aspx?dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=32369 3).

In order to properly protect our children, the law needs to cover all school districts, which requires that the exemption for cities over one million in population be eliminated.

Legislative history

A.8872 of the 2001-2002 Sessions, Passed Assembly; S.5720, Died in Children and Families; A.8914 of the 2003-2004 Sessions, Died in Codes; A.4410 of the 2005-2006 Sessions, Died in Codes; A.6636 of the 2007-2008 Sessions, Passed Assembly; A.4234 of the 2009-2010 Sessions, Passed Assembly; S.7003.

Fiscal implications

Minimal fiscal implications.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.