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Governor Andrew M. Cuomo called for full passage this legislative session of his proposal last Friday to extend New York's Human Rights Law protections to all public school students after reports of persistent anti-Semitism in the Pine Bush Central School District. This reform, which the Governor proposed in his Executive Budget and has already been passed by the Assembly, would prohibit discrimination in public schools and provide the New York State Division of Human Rights enforcement authority.

"I am disgusted by reports of persistent anti-Semitism in Pine Bush Central School District, despite the district's legal commitment to tackle discrimination in its schools," Cuomo said. "The scourge of anti-Semitism in Pine Bush schools is another disturbing reminder of the urgent need to extend our nation-leading Human Rights Law protections to public school students. I call on the Legislature to immediately pass this reform that I have repeatedly proposed and ensure that all students in the State of New York have the right to pursue an education free from discrimination."

In 2015, Pine Bush Central School District reached a $4.48 million settlement over a lawsuit brought by Jewish students who said they were subjected to harassment and bullying. As part of the settlement, the district changed its curriculum, conducted anti-bias training, and began tracking its progress with surveys. But according to recent surveys, 766 students still report seeing or hearing anti-Semitic incidents.

New York was the first state in the nation to enshrine its values of equality and fairness into statute as a Human Rights Law, affording every New Yorker "an equal opportunity to enjoy a full and productive life" over seventy years ago. Today, this law prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, credit, and other jurisdictions including some education institutions, based on age, race, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, military status, and other specified classes, and is enforced by the New York State Division of Human Rights.

However, in a 2012 decision, the New York State Court of Appeals found that public schools were not covered education institutions under the Human Rights Law, and the State Division of Human Rights lost its ability to investigate reports of bullying, harassment, or other forms of discrimination by public school students.

This decision was made even though the Division had asserted jurisdiction over public schools for nearly three decades and was forced to dismiss over 70 open complaints filed against public schools at the time. Moreover, the federal government has begun reneging on its commitment to fully enforce federal civil rights protections for students, such as Title IX and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, leaving students with even fewer protections and fewer places to turn if they face harassment or discrimination in public school.

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