- Fort Edward Union Free School District
- Dignity For All Students Act
Dignity For All Students Act
-
Bullying/DASA
Dignity for All Students - Anti-Bullying Information and Resources
FEUFSD believes that all students deserve and have the right to be educated in a safe, nurturing, and supportive school environment that accepts them for who they are.
The goal of the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA), which took effect July 1, is to provide students with a safe, supportive educational environment that is free from discrimination, intimidation, taunting, harassment and bullying. Some of the law requirements include updating and/or establishing anti-harassment and discrimination policies and regulations, creating school training programs and incorporating or embedding civility, citizenship and character education into the curriculum for every grade level.
Fort Edward School already meets the DASA standards in many respects. From in-school character education sessions led by teachers and counselors to after school clubs, students at all grade levels are exposed to the ideas of tolerance, compassion and respect.
Resources for Parents
What is Bullying? A government website titled Stop Bullying Now defines it as:
Bullying happens when someone hurts or scares another person on purpose and the person being bullied has a hard time defending himself or herself. Usually, bullying happens over and over.
- Punching, shoving, and other acts that hurt people physically
- Spreading bad rumors about people
- Keeping certain people out of a "group"
- Teasing people in a mean way
- Getting certain people to "gang up" on others
Bullying also can happen online or electronically. Cyberbullying is when children or teens bully each other using the Internet, mobile phones or other cyber technology. This can include:
- Sending mean text, email, or instant messages
- Posting nasty pictures or messages about others in blogs or on Web sites
- Using someone else's user name to spread rumors or lies about someone
Each school has a Dignity Act Coordinator. In the Elementary School it is Mrs. LeBarron (747-4529 ext 3115, dlebarron@fortedward.org) and in the MS/HS it is Mrs. Scotch (747-4529 ext 3123, jscotch@fortedward.org).
Related Files
Plain Language Explanation to Students (PDF)
Dignity for All Students Act Plain Language
Incident Reporting Form (PDF)
Parents, students, or other concerned individuals who feel they need to make a report of a bullying incident that occurred within the Fort Edward School are asked to fill out the incident reporting form attached below, providing as much information as possible, and submit it to the appropriate administrator as soon as possible after the incident has occurred. The administrator will conduct an investigation and notify the reporter of the findings of the investigation as quickly as possible thereafter. If the reporter of the incident disagrees with the findings of the investigation, he or she has the right to appeal this decision, by filling out the appeal form (also below) within one week of the close of the investigation.Disciplinary Decision Appeal Form (PDF)
Please use this form to initiate an appeal to a disciplinary decision.
