Dear Rockland Central Parents and Guardians:
Over the past several years, many states, including New York, have passed laws with the intent of increasing personal safety awareness and the roles of schools to include certain topics in the curriculum. You may have heard of this legislation under its more common name, Erin's Law, in honor of Erin Merryn, a brave young woman who has crossed the country advocating for laws that will increase awareness of this crime against children. New York State’s Erin’s Law Curriculum Benchmarks were approved in December 2020, with implementation required during 2021-2022 school year. For more information about the NYS Erin’s Law Curriculum Benchmarks, please visit the Erin's Law page on the NYSED website.
One of the requirements of this law is that schools provide an age-appropriate curriculum to all students in grades K-8. The purpose of the lessons is to provide students with the tools needed for personal safety and to provide a nurturing and caring environment open for disclosure of any incidents. Lessons may include a variety of discussions, activities and videos. Erin’s Law is the yearly presentation to help bring sexual abuse/sexual assault prevention awareness to all public-school students. Part of the presentation will include information on safe touch/unsafe touch, safe/unsafe secrets and who to tell if it happens to you or to someone you know.
During the 2025-2026 school year, students will be presented with lessons in their classrooms to meet the requirements of Erin’s Law through the SEL program taught by school counselors.
The personal safety and wellbeing of our students is a top priority for our district as well as compliance with this law.
If you have any questions about Erin’s Law curriculum in our schools, please contact your building administration.
Sincerely,
Meagan O’Sullivan and Nicole Bishop
School Counselors