Fire Island is committed to providing a safe and effective learning environment for all students, free of discrimination, bullying, harassment, or privacy infringement, in accordance with state and federal laws. Below are descriptions of student protections under the law: The Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) – Bullying and Harassment of Students In effect since 2012, this is a New York State law requiring all school employees to report alleged incidents of bullying and harassment of students to supervisors and/or a DASA Coordinator. Parents or students may also report alleged incidents. The school is required to investigate incidents and take measures to protect and prevent students against bullying and harassment. Fire Island’s Dignity Act Coordinator is Philip Tamberino, and students are annually educated about ways to prevent or report bullying. Find more information about DASA, including the complaint form, here. Title IX (of the Education Amendments of 1972) – Sex-Based Discrimination and Harassment of Students or Employees Similar to DASA, but more specific, this federal law requires schools to protect students (and employees) specifically from sex-based discrimination and harassment. It requires specific processes to be followed in the resolution of formal complaints. Such incidents are required to be reported to the district’s Title IX Coordinator, Philip Tamberino. The Coordinator’s training materials are available here. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) – Privacy of Student Education Records This 1974 federal law, updated in 2012, requires schools to protect the privacy of student education records and personally identifiable information (PII). Schools may disclose, without consent, "directory" information such as a student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. However, schools must tell parents and eligible students about directory information and allow parents and eligible students a reasonable amount of time to request that the school not disclose directory information about them. Information about FERPA is distributed to parents annually in the Woodhull Flyer (September back-to-school packet). New York State Education Law Section 2d – Student Data Privacy
See Data Privacy and Security Page.