New York Governor Signs Legislation Requiring Colleges to Improve Hate Crime Policies

New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) on Tuesday signed legislation requiring colleges and universities to improve procedures for investigating hate crimes and supporting their victims in exchange for continued taxpayer support.

“I am so proud to be signing a piece of legislation…to strengthen our hate crime reporting and investigations on college campuses,” Hochul said during a signing ceremony on Tuesday.

She added, “When you are an institution that recognizes that all is not perfect, that you’re willing to call it out, whether it is sexual assault or whether it’s bias or hate crimes, that should say to prospective students and their parents, ‘That’s where I want to go. This is an institution that acknowledges this exists and is willing to do something about it.'”

According to the governor’s office, the measure, S. 2060-A/A.3694-A, directs campus security committees to review efforts to educate students about hate, how to prevent and report it, and the ways they will be helped should they become victims. It also requires campuses to share statistics on campus crime with students, and specifically, to publish hate crime statistics on their websites. Additionally, colleges must create a plan for investigating hate crimes and will be obligated to report them to local law enforcement.

The new law comes amid a surge antisemitic incidents on college campuses across the US. In March, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said they increased by 41 percent in 2022.

In a statement on the legislation, City University of New York (CUNY) Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez, whose tenure has been dogged by allegations that CUNY campuses are hotbeds of antisemitism, said, “This important action by Governor Hochul and our state legislative leaders will provide another antidote to counter the uptick in antisemitism and other forms of hate that we are seeing across our city, state, and nation, and we look forward to incorporating its requirements into our policies.”

“SUNY is committed to ensuring the security and sense of belonging of all members of the campus community,” said Chancellor John B. King, Jr. of State University of New York (SUNY).

The university is currently being investigated by the federal government because of allegations that administrators at its New Paltz campus refused to intervene when a Jewish student was bullied into leaving a sexual assault group she founded.

Hochul on Tuesday also signed a bill appropriating $50 million — reportedly the largest in the state’s history — to organizations, which need to apply for the money at NY.gov, at risk of being targeted for hate crimes.

“Hate has absolutely no place in our state, and we will continue to do whatever it takes to make sure every New Yorker is safe from baseless violence that stems from prejudice,” Hochul said. “This is a historic investment in the communities that need our help the most, and with these funds, New York’s most at risk organizations will be able to invest in security measures they need to stay safe.”

Incidents of antisemitic harassment, vandalism, and assault in the US in 2022 all spiked by double digits, according to the ADL. New York had the most, with 580 incidents, one of which resulted in a fatality. The problem is acute in New York City, where antisemitic hate crimes increased by 41 percent in 2022, according to an analysis of crime data conducted by The Algemeiner. More were averted when the FBI thwarted a plan to attack a synagogue in Manhattan, arresting the suspect before he could act.

Governor Hochul has made addressing antisemitism in New York a priority. Last August, she signed legislation improving Holocaust education and support for survivors. One of the bills, Senate Bill S121B, directed the New York State Education Department to assess whether schools are meeting standards on Holocaust education established by previous legislation passed in 1994. Another, Senate Bill 117A, mandated that museums label pieces of art stolen from Jewish families during the Holocaust with a notice explaining their provenance.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

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