June 1, 2018

An Open Letter to Governor Cuomo and Assembly Speaker Heastie

From the Parents of Jacobe Taras

On April 13, 2015, our beloved son, Jacobe Taras, took his own life. He was just 13 years-old and in the
seventh grade.

Jacobe was a joy to behold and love. He had exceptional manners and a deep respect for his elders.
Jacobe loved the outdoors, was active in scouting, had a passion for camping, fishing, photography, and
especially loved his trains. Our son’s smile and effervescent personality touched everyone he met!

What we were not aware of was the extent of bullying Jacobe faced day-in and day-out at his middle
school. Bullies savaged our son with anti-gay slurs, and taunts about his weight, repeatedly shoved him,
pushed him into lockers and tossed his books into the shower. Jacobe did not tell us what was going on
at school and how much he was terrorized by bullies. Had we been notified by Jacobe’s school about
what was going on during the day at school and on the school bus, we would have intervened to stop
the harassment and protect our child and we firmly believe he would still be alive with us today. Our
son’s school was recently found negligent by a jury in state Supreme Court. We cannot save Jacobe but
we can help many more children like him. We have a deep heartfelt commitment to do what is right
because that's integrity and we will not fear about what others think!

Our schools continue to urge parents to be more involved in their children’s education. The Dignity for
All Students Act (DASA) requires schools to notify the state Education Department of all incidents of
bullying and harassment. However, due to a loophole in DASA they do not have to provide the same
level of transparency and notification for the most important people in a child’s life: their parents.
That makes no sense. Parents are the keystone to this process!

Over the past three years, we have worked closely with Senator Jim Tedisco to pass legislation in our
son’s memory, “Jacobe’s Law,” to prevent what happed to our family from happening to any other
family in the state of New York. “Jacobe’s Law” (S.1355B/A.8114B) requires that school employees
charged with receiving reports of harassment, bullying or discrimination contact the parents or
guardians of the students involved – both the bullies and victims -- when an incident of bullying or
harassment occurs. It has passed the state Senate unanimously the past two years in a row.

When asked by Senator Tedisco at a hearing earlier this year, New York State Education Commissioner
MaryEllen Elia repeatedly expressed her support for requiring schools to notify parents of children
involved in an incident of bullying.

Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy is sponsoring the “Jacobe’s Law” bill in the Assembly and has been
working to get it passed in that house. Unfortunately, despite Ms. Fahy’s efforts, two people are
blocking the bill from moving forward in that house: Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell and Assembly
Education Chairwoman Catherine Nolan.

In an effort to address a potential stumbling block for “Jacobe’s Law” we recently met with
Assemblyman O’Donnell, who unequivocally told us he would not entertain any type of amendment
to the bill and would actively work to kill the measure, which is currently in the Assembly Education
Committee.

Since our meeting with Assemblyman O’Donnell, Assemblywoman Fahy has amended “Jacobe’s Law” to
address any privacy concerns about children who are being bullied and haven’t come out to their
parents regarding their sexual identity. Assemblywoman Fahy has exceeded our expectations to address
everyone's concerns and see that our children are treated with equal levels of respect and consideration
while providing for improved levels of protection. We need a teamwork approach that is inclusive of
the parents!

Still, Assemblyman O’Donnell and Assemblywoman Nolan refuse to make any type of commitment or
compromise and move the bill forward. Really? These are children we are talking about???

This is not how government’s supposed to work. There are 150 Assembly members and 103 members
of the Assembly Democratic Conference. How can two people have such outsized power that they can
hold up such non-controversial legislation as this which passed the Senate unanimously in a bi-partisan
way?

Governor, when we met with your staff on May 14th, they indicated to me that you have a “zero
tolerance policy” toward bullying.
There are just 11 scheduled days left in this year’s legislative session. If you truly believe there should
be “zero tolerance” toward bullying, we beg you to work with Speaker Heastie to make passage of
“Jacobe’s Law” one of your end-of-session priorities.

Governor Cuomo and Speaker Heastie, as fellow parents we pray that you never have to face the
anguish and heartbreak that we have felt and still feel each and every day. If there could be something
positive to come out of Jacobe’s death, we believe it is to pass this legislation in his memory to stop
bullying and potentially save the lives of children in the future.

How many more children will die as a result of bullying?

How many more of our children will be mentally and physically debilitated as a result of bullying?

How many more parent will suffer severe anguish as a result of this loophole!

The actions we take now will enhance our most precious & valuable resource - OUR CHILDREN! They are
the future.

We urge you not to delay and use your considerable influence to expedite the passage of “Jacobe’s
Law.” A.8114B

Sincerely & Respectfully,

Richard and Christine Taras