Resolution acknowledging January 15-19 as No Name-Calling Week in New York City schools.

Res. No. 61

Resolution acknowledging January 15-19 as No Name-Calling Week in New York City schools.

By Council Members Levin and Brannan

Whereas, Bullying, name-calling and harassment are serious issues in schools and impact millions of students nationwide; and

Whereas, The National Center for Education Statistics reported that 13 million students are impacted by bullying each year, and according to the New York City Department of Education (DOE) 2016-17 School Survey, 43% of DOE students reported that students harass, bully or intimidate other students at their school some or most of the time; and

Whereas, Being a victim of bullying can hinder a student’s academic achievement, and according to the National Voices for Education and Enlightenment approximately 160,000 children do not go to school every day because of bullying; and

Whereas, A National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) study of private, public, and parochial school students in grades 6 through 10 found that almost a third of these students, 5.7 million children nationwide, have experienced some sort of bullying; and

Whereas, Numerous researchers have indicated that victims of bullying have an increased risk of experiencing difficulties with depression, anxiety and sleep; and

Whereas, In addition, students who bully others are more likely to drink alcohol, smoke and carry a weapon; and

Whereas, While any student can be victimized by bullying and name-calling, students of marginalized groups are disproportionally victimized; and

Whereas, A parent survey by the Interactive Autism Network found that 63 percent of 1,167 children with autism spectrum disorder, aged 6 to 15, had been bullied; and

Whereas, Research published by the Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities discovered that students with disabilities worried about their safety in schools more often than their peers; and

Whereas, Additionally, there has been a recent increase of reported bullying and name-calling directed toward Muslim students in the United States; and

Whereas, According to the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, 55 percent of Muslim students were victimized by at least one form of religious-based bullying, which is double the national average of students who report bullying; and

Whereas, Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students are also disproportionately victims of bullying; and

Whereas, According to a national report released by the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN), 70.8 percent of LGBTQ students reported that they were verbally harassed at school because of their sexual orientation and 54.5 percent reported being verbally harassed because of their gender expression; and

Whereas, In 2015, 27 percent of LGBTQ students reported being physically harassed because of their sexual orientation and 20.3 percent reported being physically harassed because of their gender expression; and

Whereas, Bullying and name-calling disrupts tolerance, inclusion and respect, which are important values stressed by the DOE; and

Whereas, School is supposed to be a safe place, and no student should be subjected to bullying and name-calling while trying to pursue an education; and

Whereas, GLSEN’s No Name-Calling Week, scheduled for January 15-19, 2018, is an important project that many coalitions of education and youth services organizations that work to end bullying in schools participate in; and

Whereas, No Name-Calling Week is a week in which thousands of schools celebrate kindness and help counteract bullying; and                    

Whereas, It is imperative that schools continue to promote kindness throughout the school year given the high prevalence of bullying and name-calling in schools and the negative impact such actions have on students; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York acknowledges January 15-19 as No Name-Calling Week in New York City schools. 

LS #9944/Res. 1354-2017

LS 782

JP/KJ

12/26/17