Assemblywoman Amy Paulin's Bill to Prohibit Unauthorized Tampering of Official Student Records Maintained by Schools or Colleges Passed by the New York State Legislature

Albany – Assemblywoman Amy Paulin (D-88) is pleased to announce that A.2093-B/S.5273-A, legislation she authored, has passed the New York State Senate and Assembly and will be sent to Governor Andrew Cuomo to be signed into law.

The bill would prohibit unauthorized and false alterations and tampering of any official student records, files, or data maintained by the school or college. Official records maintained by the school or college include identifying data, grades, records of attendance, records of student achievement, assessment results, disciplinary records, and individual education programs.

“We must preserve the integrity of a student’s records,” Paulin said. “Information in these records is provided to colleges and considered as part of the admissions process. Falsifying such records creates a fraudulent representation of the student, and can either hurt their chances of acceptance or give the student with an unfair advantage over other applicants.”

Tuckahoe middle-schooler Jack Doherty provided the genesis for this bill. He tied for second place in Paulin’s 2016 “There Ought To Be A Law” contest for proposing legislation that would protect a student’s records from tampering and alteration.

Patrick Gallivan (S-59) sponsored the bill in the Senate.