"The Dignity Act (Education Law §11[7]) defines "harassment" in terms of creating a hostile environment that unreasonably sustainably interferes with a student's educational performance, opportunities or benefits, or mental, emotional or physical well-being or conduct, verbal threats, intimidation or abuse that reasonably causes or would reasonably be expected to cause a student to fear for his or her physical safety.

"[2] All schools must partake in a professional training seminar on these issues in order to implement an effective harassment, bullying and discrimination prevention and intervention program.

[4] Teachers work together to acknowledge what is wrong with their school's climate, prioritize these concerns, enforce new policies and reevaluate this process as often as possible.

NYSED states, "Social and emotional learning helps students develop fundamental and effective life skills, including: recognizing and managing emotions; developing caring and concern for others; establishing positive relationships; making responsible decisions; and handling challenging situations constructively and ethically.

"Rather it is recommended that strategies such as prevention, intervention, and graduated/progressive discipline be considered in addressing and correcting inappropriate behavior, while re-enforcing pro-social values among student.

The Dignity Act explains, "Whether himself / herself or they have witnessed another student being bullied, s/he needs to feel empowered, comfortable, and safe reporting such an incident to school faculty/ staff.

[4] "On June 18, 2012, the New York State Senate and Assembly passed Governor Cuomo’s Program Bill #43 to amend the education law in relation to prohibiting bullying and cyber-bullying in public schools.

Additionally, in July 2015, the New York State Education Department stated that under Title IX, "discrimination based on a person’s gender identity, a person’s transgender status, or a person’s nonconformity to sex stereotypes constitutes discrimination based on sex" and asserted a significant interest in ensuring that all students, including transgender students, have the opportunity to learn in an environment free of sex discrimination in public schools.

"[5] The protocol that DASA outlines when a student is subjected to any form of harassment, is that first an oral report is required to be submitted to the principal of the school, and the superintendent of the district within one day of the incident.