The New York Association for Pupil Transportation announced at its annual convention that state Assembly Member Daniel O’Connell and state Sen. Thomas Duane were named Legislators of the Year.
The lawmakers sponsored The Dignity for All Students Act, which was signed into law in 2010 but took effect on July 1. NYAPT said they selected the two lawmakers to bring more attention to the benefits and protections the Dignity Act brings to New York’s youth, including those who ride on school buses.
The Dignity Act seeks to provide the state’s public school students with a safe and supportive environment free from discrimination, intimidation, taunting, harassment and bullying on school property, a school bus and/or at a school function. A March amendment added language to the act specifying that character education will cover harassment and discrimination based on race and ethnicity, religion, mental or physical abilities, sexual orientation, gender and weight.
While accepting his award, Assembly Member O’Connell told the roughly 200 NYAPT members in attendance the importance of keeping kids safe during the entire school day.
“We need to remember that the school day begins for our children the moment they set foot on their school bus,” said O’Connell.
NYAPT is committed to creating a safe and positive environment on school buses as a means of reducing bullying aboard the bus. The association’s spotlight on The Dignity Act follows the recent media blitz surrounding Karen Klein, a New York school bus monitor whose harsh verbal harassment by middle school students went viral on YouTube. The grandmotherly bus monitor was taunted because of her weight, her clothes, her age and her hearing aids. The Greece Central School District in Rochester, N.Y., handed down a one-year suspension to the four boys involved.
NYAPT also said it is committed to providing drivers and attendants with the training and preparation they need to do an effective job and will work in the coming year on improving the communication and cooperation between school bus drivers and school building administrators in addressing bullying and student behavior.
