Anti-bullying bill could boost Race to the Top odds, NYCLU says

Most of the attention surrounding New York’s Race to the Top application has focused on proposed structural changes like lifting the charter school cap and tying teacher evaluations to student test scores.

But a civil liberties group says stopping bullying could also help the state snag the federal grant dollars.

The New York Civil Liberties Union is arguing that the state could improve its final Race to the Top score by 7 to 15 points by passing an anti-bullying bill that has languished in the legislature for years. States’ applications are judged on a 500-point scale. In the first round of competition, New York placed 15th of 16 finalists with a score of 408 points.

Here is a letter NYCLU is sending to Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch and State Education Commissioner David Steiner calling for the passage of the Dignity for All Students Act: