Respect for All in NYC Public Schools
Each student and staff member brings to our public school community the richness of our city’s cultural diversity and the desire for respect.
It is the policy of the Department to maintain a safe and supportive learning environment that is free from harassment, intimidation and/or bullying and from discrimination on account of actual or perceived race, color, citizenship/immigration status, religion, creed, national origin, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation or weight. The policy prohibits such behavior by students against other students and by staff against students.
Respect: esteem for or sense of worth or excellence of a person; proper acceptance or courtesy; regard for the dignity of another’s character; acknowledgment; the condition of being esteemed or honored; to show regard or consideration for another.
Such discrimination, harassment, intimidation and/or bullying is prohibited in school, during school hours, before or after school, while on school property, at school sponsored events, or while traveling on vehicles funded by the Department of Education.
It is also prohibited on other than school property when such behavior disrupts or would foreseeably disrupt the educational process or endangers or would foreseeably endanger the health, safety, morality or welfare of the school community.
This Frequently Asked Questions is a resource for students and parents about how to report incidents, the investigation process, and supports and interventions to prevent and address student-to-student sexual harassment and student-to-student gender-based harassment, bullying, intimidation, and/or discrimination.
Please visit the Respect for All Handouts webpage which explains DOE policies and procedures for preventing and addressing student-to-student sexual harassment, gender-based harassment, bullying, intimidation, and/or discrimination. These materials also include contact information for supports and reporting instructions for parents, if the school fails to address their complaint or retaliates against them for making a complaint.
Additionally, Chancellor’s Regulations A-831 (Student-to-Student Sexual Harassment) and A-832 (Student-to-Student Discrimination, Harassment, Intimidation, and/or Bullying) are readily available at school; parents and students are provided hard-copies, if requested, if they do not have a way to access to the electronic versions.
The hard copies of A-831 and A-832 should also be paired with the family-facing Respect For All and FAQ (scroll down for translations) handouts, so that relevant resources and procedures are available when communicating with parents and students about an alleged incident, should an alleged incident arise.
For questions, email Respectforall@schools.nyc.gov.