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        THE DIGNITY FOR ALL STUDENTS ACT: A QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF ONE 
            UPSTATE NEW YORK PUBLIC SCHOOL IMPLEMENTATION  
                            
        
        
                          By 
                            
                      Christopher M. Riddell 
                            
                      A doctoral dissertation 
                            
           Presented to the Graduate Faculty of the Doctor of Law and Policy Program 
                     at Northeastern University 
                            
               In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of 
                     Doctor of Law and Policy 
                  Under the supervision of Dr. Monica Savoy 
                            
                    College of Professional Studies 
                            
                            
                            
                      Northeastern University 
                      Boston, Massachusetts 
                            
                            
                            
                        June 2018 
                    
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                    ©Christopher M. Riddell, 2018 
                    
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                      Acknowledgements 
          Many thanks go to my best friend, Dr. Howard Feldman, without his help not only in 
       proofing many papers but moral support the journey, would have been harder. I would also like 
       to thank my committee members, Dr. Monica Savoy and Dr. Matthew Hawes, I learned from 
       each of them. I would be remised if I did not acknowledge Dr. Pawlyshyn’s guidance, she is a 
       gem. And to my son Justin who knew just what music to play for me after a long day.  
           
                    
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                         Abstract 
       This quantitative study uses a survey to determine how public school teachers perceive the 
       efficacy of the intervention of the Dignity For All Student’s Act on the climate of civility in the 
       classroom at one specific public middle school located in Upstate New York. The intent is to 
       explore the perceived efficacy of the intervention put into place in 2012 to address 
       cyberharassment and to cultivate civility in the classroom. A total of 47 teachers participated in 
       this study. 
       This study provides background on the prevalence of cyberharassment in schools. The results 
       show that the cyberharassment behaviors of sexting, stalking, bullying, spreading rumors, and 
       sending embarassing pictures have occurred with some frequency over the 2017-2018 school 
       year. Sexting was the most witnessed by teachers (38.3 percent) with 36.2 percent indicating a 
       frequency of once a year. The sending of pictures to embarrass was observed by 23.4 percent of 
       the teachers, 12.8 percent observed the frequency of once a month. The spreading sexual rumors 
       was observed by 34.0 percent of the teachers with a frequency of 27.7 percent stating it occurs 
       once a week. 
       The findings further suggest an inconsistency among teachers in addressing online behavior with 
       their students. Some teachers (38 percent) indicated they discuss appropriate online behavior 
       with their students “as needed,” while 29 percent indicate they never do. Additionally, 55.3 
       percent view the Dignity For All Students Act as having an average effect on cultivating civility 
       as a part of the school’s culture. Additionally, 78.7 percent of the respondents believe DASA has 
       had little impact on cyberharassment incidents.  
       Keywords: dignity, cyberharassment, bullying, civility, culture.