The NYCDOE is committed to maintaining a safe and supportive learning environment that is free from harassment, intimidation and/or bullying, sexual harassment, and discrimination on account of actual or perceived race, color, age, creed, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship/immigration status, religion, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, or weight.
The NYCDOE Respect for All (RFA) program was launched in 2007 to build the capacity of staff and students to actively promote a community of inclusion in each of our schools. The importance of promoting respect for diversity in our daily practice is vital to creating and sustaining an inclusive school climate and culture in each of our schools so that all students feel valued, supported and safe.
Pictured above: See how our schools celebrated Respect for All Week this year!
Respect for All Week
During Respect for All Week, February 12 -16, 2024, schools across the city had the opportunity to highlight and build upon ongoing programs to help students, staff, and communities gain a better understanding of diversity. Schools also started new initiatives that promote respect for diversity and focus on preventing bullying, intimidation, and bias-based harassment. Your child’s school was also encouraged to promote acceptance and understanding through theme-based lessons and activities. Suggested themes included:
- Celebrating Kindness/Be an Ally
- Anti-Bullying/ Cyberbullying
- Respect for Diversity, Disability, Religious Acceptance and Racial Diversity
- Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation and LGBTQ Pride and Acceptance
- Friday, February 16, 2024 - National No One Eats Alone Day
Educator resources are on the Employee InfoHub (sign in required).
Respect for All is our system-wide response to bullying and harassment. We are committed to keeping our schools safe, supportive, and free from discrimination.
This Frequently Asked Questions and Respect For All flyer are resources 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.
You can also submit a handwritten report of sexual harassment or bullying complaints by turning the form in to your school:
What You Can Do About Bullying…
…If Your Child is the Target
- Report the incident to your school's Respect for All (RFA) liaison(s) and/or school administration.
- Ask for the incident number from school administration for follow up. This is also known as Online Occurrence Reporting System (OORS) number.
- The school will investigate and must tell the parent or guardian of the target what they find. If needed, the child may be referred for support services.
- If the investigation finds that a student—or students—have been bullying or harassing your child, the school will follow the process described in the Discipline Code.
You can also report bullying concerns by:
- Submitting an online form
- Calling 718-935-2288
- Emailing the Office of Safety and Youth Development (OSYD) at RespectforAll@schools.nyc.gov
- Contacting the United Federation of Teachers Hotline at 212-709-3222, Monday through Friday, from 2:30-9:30PM
- If your issue involves sexual or gender-based harassment, contact our Title IX coordinator:
Title IX Coordinator
110 William Street, 15th Floor
New York, NY 10038
718-935-4987
Title_IX_Inquiries@schools.nyc.gov
You can learn more about the procedures for filing complaints of bullying or harassment and the DOE policy in Chancellor’s Regulation A-831 and A-832.
Escalation Assistance
You may seek assistance from escalation staff to coordinate the completion of an open investigation of a complaint of student-to-student harassment, discrimination, intimidation and/or bullying (A-832 Complaint), including sexual harassment (A-831 Complaint) if:
- You believe school staff retaliated against you or your child for making a prior A-831 or A-832 Complaint at the same school; or
- Your child has been the victim of two or more A-831 or A-832 Complaints in the same school year that were determined to be material incidents (i.e., violations of Chancellor’s Regulations A-831 or A-832); or
- You did not receive a Notice of Determination from the school within 10 school days of the school’s receipt of the open A-831 or A-832 Complaint.
- Your child as the victim, accused, and/or witness need additional help accessing supports and interventions regarding an A-831 or A-832 Complaint reported to the school.
Please complete this form below and email it to the Family Support Coordinator for the superintendent that oversees your school:
The list of superintendents and their Family Support Coordinators can be found on the Superintendents page of the DOE website. You can also find your Family Support Coordinator on your school’s webpage, which can be located with the Find A School tool.
...If Your Child is Bullying
Involve your child in making amends or repairing the situation. The goal is to help them see how their actions affect others. For example, your child can:
- Write a letter apologizing to the student who was bullied.
- Do a good deed for the person who was bullied or for others in your community.
- Clean up, repair, or pay for any property they damaged.
- Speak with their school counselor or administrator.
Work with your child’s school if you think additional referrals or resources are needed.
Sometimes children bully to fit in. Your child can benefit from participating in positive activities. Involvement in sports and clubs can enable him/her to take leadership roles and make friends without feeling the need to bully.
Other times kids act out because something else—issues at home, abuse, stress—is going on in their lives. They also may have been bullied. These kids may be in need of additional support, such as mental health services.
Resources
This is a non-exhaustive list. For more information, talk with your school’s Respect for All Liaison
General
Cyberbullying
Anti-Defamation League
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CommonSense Media
stopbullying.gov
Disabilities
Immigration Status
Bridging Refugee Youth and Children’s Services
Race/Ethnicity and Religion
- Challenging Biased Language: Strategies and resources for everyone to help challenge bigoted and offensive remarks to ensure dignity and respect for all people.
- Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF): Educate Asian Pacific American parents in their preferred languages on their rights, responsibilities, and opportunities to attain services within the school system; and referrals to other organizations for support.
- Muslim Community Network Develops the capacity of Muslim New Yorkers and their allies to fully participate in the social and political landscape of New York City.
- Sikh Coalition A: community-based organization that works towards the realization of civil and human rights for all people.
- Teaching Tolerance: Offers webinars with guidance and great ideas, from their highly experienced teaching and learning specialists and from other educators in the Teaching Tolerance community.
- Unity Productions Foundation: UPF can work with Islamic centers, Mosques, and even educational institutions to host screenings and events dedicated to fighting Islamophobia.
- Lesson Plan on Antisemitism from the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust: This lesson plan defines antisemitism and examines anti-Jewish discrimination in Nazi Germany, emphasizing how Jews responded to this discrimination. This historical background leads into how antisemitism affects Jewish communities today.
- The Jewish Museum offers free admission to the exhibition Auschwitz Not long ago Not far away as well as our other exhibitions to all NYC public school students and up to three members of their families at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in Lower Manhattan. More information at mjhnyc.org/doefamilies.
Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI)-Focused Resources
- Stop AAPI Hate: Reporting center that “tracks and responds to incidents of hate, violence, harassment, discrimination, shunning, and child bullying against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.” Their 5-pronged approach is to:
- Serve as the leading aggregator of anti-Asian and anti-Pacific Islander hate incidents
- Offer multilingual resources for impacted community members
- Provide technical assistance from rapid response to preventative measures
- Support community-based safety measures and restorative justice efforts
- Asian Americans Advancing Justice: Civil rights-focused organization that offers hate crime reporting services and community resources such as bystander intervention training.
- Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund: litigates cases that have major impacts on the Asian American community; provides legal resources for community-based organizations and facilitates grassroots community organizing efforts; conducts free, multilingual legal advice clinics for low-income Asian Americans and new immigrants; educates Asian Americans about their legal rights; comments on proposed legislation and governmental policies, and trains students in public interest law and encourages them to use their legal skills to serve the community.
Black-Focused Resources
- Call BlackLine: The purpose of the BlackLine is to provide people with an anonymous and confidential avenue to report negative, physical, and inappropriate contact with police and vigilantes. BlackLine is also a 24/7 national crisis support hotline and texting service. Support offered: peer support and counseling, reporting of mistreatment, affirming listening services for Black, Brown, and Indigenous folks. This organization is run with a Black LGBTQ and Black Femme lens.
- PBS Learning’s Confronting Anti-Black Racism Resources: Materials for educators and students to help understand the long history of anti-Black racism in the United States and think about ways to address it in their own communities.
- African Services Committee: “Our programs address the needs of newcomers affected by war, persecution, poverty, and global health inequalities. We provide health, housing, legal, educational, and social services to more than 6,500 people each year. Staff representing more than 20 countries and speaking over 25 languages provide culturally and linguistically relevant support to this diverse and growing community.”
- Project NIA: founded and directed by Mariame Kaba, Project NIA supports incarcerated youth as well as those victimized by violence and crime through community-based alternatives to the criminal legal process.
Hispanic/Latino/Latinx-Focused Resources
- Make the Road/Se Hace Camino NY: program offerings include Adult Literacy, Civic Engagement, Community Organizing, Health Access, Leadership Development, Legal Services, and Youth/School Programs.
- UnidosUs Resources for Navigating Your Public Schools: Includes general resources on welcoming immigrant students and families, student and family resources, supporting undocumented students, and educator resources with a focus on supporting Hispanic/Latino/Latinx communities.
- United We Dream Toolkits and Resources: United We Dream resources include supports that include tools for combating Hispanic/Latino/Latinx dissemination and driving local impact in communities to ensure protections and inclusivity for immigrant communities.
- ImmSchools Educator Hub: ImmSchools is an immigrant-led nonprofit organization that partners with K-12 educators to transform schools into safe and welcoming spaces for undocumented students and families. Additional resources are available for students and families.
Indigenous, American Indian, and Alaskan Native-focused Resources
- American Indian Community House: American Indian Community House (AICH) was founded in 1969, by Native American volunteers as a community-based organization, mandated to improve the status of Native Americans, and to foster intercultural understanding.
- National Museum of the American Indian and the Smithsonian’s Honoring Original Indigenous Inhabitants: Land Acknowledgement: Resources and guides to help support the practice of land acknowledgment, a traditional custom that dates back centuries in many Native nations and communities to recognize Indigenous Peoples who are the original stewards of the lands on which we now live.
- Native Women's Wilderness: A hiking and outdoor adventure group that brings "Native women together to share our stories, support each other, and learn from one another as we endeavor to explore and celebrate the wilderness and our native lands."
- New York Indian Council: Promotes the well-being of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) people by providing health services that are in tune with AI/AN history, traditions, and philosophies.
- Urban Indigenous Collective (UIC): UIC devotes its advocacy and support of quality accessible and affordable health and wellness services grounded in cultural humility for federal and state-recognized tribal members along with self-identified Urban natives living in the tri-state area.
Jewish-Focused Resources
Middle Eastern North African (MENA)-Focused Resources
- Tarab NYC: Community organization providing support for people who are MENA (Middle Eastern/North African) and LGBTQIA+.
- Arab-American Family Support Center: AAFSC is a non-profit, non-sectarian organization established in 1994 to provide culturally and linguistically competent, trauma-informed, multigenerational social services to immigrants and refugees.
- Arab American Association of New York: To empower the Arab immigrant and Arab American communities by providing free educational, social, mental health, and immigration support services to help immigrants adjust to their new home and to become active, independent, and productive members of society.
Muslim-Focused Resources
- Countering Islamophobia Guide: Created by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, this comprehensive guide serves as a resource to fight the rise of islamophobia.
- Muslim Advocates: Provides reporting services against anti-Muslim discrimination.
- CAIR-New York (Council on American-Islamic Relations): Protects the civil liberties of and empowers American Muslims. CAIR-NY serves Muslim New Yorkers through legal advocacy, education, media relations, civic engagement, and grassroots mobilization.
- #IAMMUSLIM Muslim Rights in NYC: Discrimination Protections: Web page from the city with Human Rights Law protections in a variety of languages.
Sexual Orientation or Gender
GirlsHealth.gov
The Girls Health site offers girls reliable, useful information on health and well-being. We cover hundreds of topics, from getting your period to stopping bullies, and from getting fit to preventing sexually transmitted infections. We make our pages clear and fun, and we make sure to answer key questions girls ask. Girlshealth.gov is committed to empowering girls to create strong, positive relationships and happy, healthy futures.
Hetrick Martin Institute
Hetrick-Martin creates safe and supportive environments for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth between the ages of 13 and 24 and their families.
Friends and Families of Lesbians and Gays of NYC
PFLAG NYC’s mission is to create a better future for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth and adults through a partnership of parents, allies, and LGBT people.
The Trevor Project
The Trevor Project offers support to LGBTQ students.
- The Trevor Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 866-488-7386 is free and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
LGBTQIA+ Focused Resources
- The Anti-Violence Project (AVP): AVP empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and HIV-affected communities and allies to end all forms of violence through organizing and education, and supports survivors through counseling and advocacy. AVP also has violence reporting services.
- Audre Lorde Project: The Audre Lorde Project is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit, Trans, and Gender Non-Conforming People of Color center for community organizing, focusing on the New York City area. Through mobilization, education, and capacity-building, they work for community wellness and progressive social and economic justice.
- Marsha P Johnson Institute: The Marsha P. Johnson Institute (MPJI) protects and defends the human rights of BLACK transgender people. They do this by organizing, advocating, creating an intentional community to heal, developing transformative leadership, and promoting our collective power.
- Intersex Justice Project: An organization that works to #EndIntersexJustice for Intersex liberation
For Students
CommonSense Media
Cyberbullying Research Center
Teens’ Health
Teaching Tolerance
Resources for LGBT Students and their Friends:
Other Resources
- Respect for All Handouts, teachers may post posters or handout brochures in school with tips about Respect For All. The text of those handouts is reprinted here in an easy-to-read way.