(Albany, NY) Assemblyman Patrick Chludzinski, (R,C – Cheektowaga) announced his co-sponsorship of a bill that would require the commissioners of the New York State Departments of Health and Education, in concert with the state’s Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, to establish a school-based teen dating violence prevention program.

“Teen dating violence is a serious public health concern as 10 percent of high school students report being victims of physical violence and 11 percent report experiencing sexual violence from a dating partner this past year,” said Chludzinski. “The traumatic effects of teen dating violence can be severe and long lasting, and I believe education and prevention can go a long way in improving the health, safety, and wellbeing of our children,” the Assemblyman added.

The legislation specifies that the prevention program includes age-appropriate curriculum, lesson plans, and best practices for students, parents, and school personnel to promote teen dating violence prevention. The model curriculum would contain instructional resources on healthy relationship behaviors, recognizing the warning signs of teen dating violence, and local community resources available to teens in abusive relationships.

During his career with the Cheektowaga Police Department, Chludzinski served as a School Resource Officer in the Maryvale School District. He said that experience taught him that the high school prom season, upcoming summer breaks, and graduations are all events in the lives of young people that can change their perspectives and their behaviors, making teen dating violence prevention and education, and passage of this bill, even more timely and necessary.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a number of other federal agencies recommend education and prevention programs in schools as an effective way to reduce dating violence and foster healthy relationships,” Chludzinski stated. “Several states have passed legislation to include teen dating violence in the health curriculum of public schools. I hope New York State can soon follow suit,” he concluded.