State Audit: Some N.Y. School Districts Not Complying With Anti-Bullying Act

ALBANY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Five years after New York state lawmakers passed a law addressing bullying in schools, the state Comptroller's office said many school districts around the state are not fully complying.

As WCBS 880's Myles Miller reported, the Dignity for All Students Act requires was approved in 2012. It requires school districts to report material incidents of discrimination and harassment – including cyberbullying – to the New York State Department of Education.

Read The Comptroller's Office Report

An audit by the Comptroller's office on compliance with the law was limited to school districts outside New York City.

The audit found that most schools had implemented some of the act's key requirements, such as those relating to anti-bullying instruction and designating Dignity Act Coordinators. But some schools failed to provide training to non-instructional personnel, the audit said.

The audit further found that the certain schools might not be accurately reporting incidents of bullying and harassment – and might not even be reporting them at all.

The audit found that 31 percent of public schools in the state outside New York City – or a total of 678 – reported zero incidents of bullying or harassment between the 2013-14 and 2015-16 school years.

An audit on compliance with the law draws from publicly available data for schools outside New York City, and it shows that 31 public schools recorded zero incidents of harassment for three straight years.

Statewide minus New York City, schools reported less than one incident per 1,000 students of harassment over race, ethnicity, weight, religion, or sexual orientation, according to the audit.