What's happening
This bill requires New York schools to implement hate crime awareness curriculum, including education on discrimination and religious intolerance.
Why it matters
Mandates tailored, age-appropriate hate crime education. The bill ensures that curriculum content can be adjusted for different grade levels and local community needs, making the instruction more relevant and effective for students of varying ages and backgrounds.
Expands focus beyond general discrimination. By explicitly including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, the legislation addresses specific, prevalent forms of religious intolerance, potentially fostering greater understanding and empathy among students.
Encourages proactive student engagement. The curriculum is designed not only to raise awareness of hate crimes but also to equip students with positive actions they can take to promote acceptance, inclusion, and community diversity—aiming for real behavioral change rather than passive learning.
Provides flexibility for school implementation. Schools are allowed to integrate this material into social studies or any other area they see fit, which may help with smoother adoption and ensure the curriculum aligns with existing educational frameworks.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Teach Hate Crime Awareness
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Print number 9532a
- Amend and recommit to education
- Referred to education
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Teach Hate Crime Awareness
In Senate Committee · Education · Sponsor Anna Kaplan
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
9532--A
IN ASSEMBLY
January 24, 2020
Introduced by M. of A. EICHENSTEIN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring hate crime awareness curriculum or instruction for school districts
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 804-e to read as follows:
§ 804-e. Hate crime awareness curriculum or instruction. 1. The commissioner, in consultation with the division of human rights and any other appropriate agency, shall establish hate crime awareness curriculum or instruction for school districts, including, but not limited to, instruction on what discrimination and religious intolerance, including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, might look like as well as the positive actions students can take to promote acceptance, inclusion, and the diversity of their communities. The content of such curriculum or instruction may be varied to meet the needs of particular school districts, or portions thereof, and need not be uniform throughout the state. The content of such curriculum or instruction shall be age appropriate and shall be developed according to the needs and abilities of pupils at successive grade levels in order to provide skills, information, and guidance to aid in hate crime awareness.
2. Schools may include the curriculum or instruction required by this section as a component of its social studies curriculum or in any other manner the school deems appropriate.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding the date upon 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.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14685-07-0
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.