Add §209-vv, amd §209-v, Gen Muni L; amd §2.10, CP L
Authorizes the trustees or board of education of any school district to employ retired former members of police or sheriff's departments as special security officers for such school district upon approval by the department of education; grants such officers peace officer status.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A4554
SPONSOR: Miller TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general municipal law and the criminal procedure
law, in relation to employment of retired police officers by school
districts
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Authorizes board of educations, with approval from the State Education
Department, to employ retired former members of police or sheriffs
departments, or the division of State Police as special security offi-
cers.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends the general municipal law by adding section 209-vv,
which authorizes the board of education or trustees of any school
district, with approval from the State. Education Department, to employ
retired former members of police or sheriffs departments, or the divi-
sion of state police as special security officers. For a board of educa-
tion to be authorized to employ such persons, the board of education
must submit an application to the State Education Department, which sets
forth: the current security arrangements, including the staff providing
security, scheduled hours, and duties; the school violence measures
undertaken by the school district, including all school codes and safety
plans; and the security needs which would be addressed by the presence
of special security officers.
The board of education is required to submit the annual Uniform Violent
Incident Reporting System report, required by Section 2802 of the educa-
tion law, during the length of the authorization. Failure to submit such
reports on Lime results in this authorization being suspended pending
submission of the report.
Special security officers may carry a firearm during the hours of
his/her employment subject to prior approval of the school district and
appropriate licensing pursuant to section 400.00 of the penal law. The
board of education is authorized to the compensation of special security
officers. Such compensation is to be an annual or per diem rate and not
subject to the provisions of section 212 of the retirement and social
security, law. Also, such compensation shall not exceed the difference
between the amount of his/her pension (excluding the amount of any
supplementation thereto) and the amount of his/her final salary as
defined by Section 210 of the retirement and social security law.
JUSTIFICATION:
In the wake of horrific events such as the shootings at Sandy Hook
Elementary in December 2012, and Columbine High School in April 1999,
and all the victims injured/killed throughout the years on school
grounds, schools are requesting more security for their students, teach-
ers, and staff. Allowing retired police offers to be employed as special
security officers for school districts, who are allowed to carry a
firearm while on duty, will hopefully deter students from turning to
violence or limit causalities of violent acts committed on school
grounds.
While the School Resource Officer Program (SRO) helped school districts
increase protection for their students, New York cut the funding in
2010, thereby eliminating many SROs in schools across the state. These
school districts should have the opportunity to hire retired police
officers as special security officers to replace the lost SROs.
Additionally, by excluding compensation from section 212 of the retire-
ment and social security law, school districts will be able to find
qualified retired police officers to work as security officers, because
the amount of compensation they would receive would not interfere
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2020 referred to codes
2020 held for consideration in codes
2021 referred to codes
2022 referred to codes
2022: A4852; held for consideration in codes
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4554
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 16, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. MILLER -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Codes
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law and the criminal procedure
law, in relation to employment of retired police officers by school
districts
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The general municipal law is amended by adding a new
2 section 209-vv to read as follows:
3 § 209-vv. Employment of retired police officers as special security
4 officers for school districts. 1. Notwithstanding any other law, rule or
5 regulation, the trustees or board of education of any school district
6 approved pursuant to subdivision two of this section are authorized to
7 employ retired former members of police or sheriff's departments, or the
8 division of state police for the purpose of providing special security
9 officers in the schools of such school district, in order to protect the
10 property or persons on such premises. The trustees or board of educa-
11 tion of any school district so authorized shall timely submit the annual
12 report set out in subdivision three of section twenty-eight hundred two
13 of the education law during the length of the authorization.
14 2. (a) To be authorized pursuant to subdivision one of this section,
15 the trustees or board of education of a school district must submit an
16 application to the state department of education which sets forth:
17 (i) the current security arrangements in such district, including the
18 staff providing security, scheduled hours, and duties;
19 (ii) the school violence measures undertaken by the school district,
20 including all school codes and school safety plans required by sections
21 twenty-eight hundred one and twenty-eight hundred one-a of the education
22 law; and
23 (iii) the security needs which would be addressed by the presence of
24 special security officers in the school or schools in the district.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07174-01-3
A. 4554 2
1 (b) The department of education shall review the application and have
2 sole authority to approve or deny the application. No application shall
3 be approved where the school district has not timely submitted the annu-
4 al report set out in subdivision three of section twenty-eight hundred
5 two of the education law.
6 (c) Such authorization shall be valid for no longer than four years.
7 If, at any time, the trustees or board of education of a school district
8 so authorized fail to timely submit the annual report set out in subdi-
9 vision three of section twenty-eight hundred two of the education law,
10 such authorization shall be suspended pending submission.
11 (d) A special security officer may carry a firearm during the hours of
12 his or her employment subject to prior approval of the school district
13 and appropriate licensing pursuant to section 400.00 of the penal law.
14 3. The trustees or board of education of a school district shall have
15 the power to fix the compensation of persons so employed, either at
16 annual or per diem rates in the manner provided for in this subdivision.
17 Employments provided for in this section shall not be subject to the
18 provisions of section two hundred twelve of the retirement and social
19 security law. The compensation for persons employed by a school
20 district under this section shall not exceed the difference between the
21 amount of his or her pension (excluding the amount of any supplementa-
22 tion thereto) and the amount of his or her final salary as defined by
23 section two hundred ten of the retirement and social security law.
24 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 209-v of the general municipal law, as
25 amended by chapter 843 of the laws of 1980, is amended to read as
26 follows:
27 1. Notwithstanding any general, local or special law or charter
28 provision, the governing board of any political subdivision may author-
29 ize any police or law enforcement agency of such political subdivision
30 to employ retired former members of police or sheriff's departments, or
31 the division of state police, or retired former correction, parole or
32 probation officers for the purpose of providing special [patrolmen]
33 security officers in publicly owned property within such political
34 subdivision[, including property of a school district,] in order to
35 protect the property or persons on such premises.
36 § 3. Section 2.10 of the criminal procedure law is amended by adding a
37 new subdivision 86 to read as follows:
38 86. Special security officers employed by a school district pursuant
39 to section two hundred nine-vv of the general municipal law, when acting
40 pursuant to their duties as such, and such authority being limited to
41 the school grounds, as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision fourteen
42 of section 220.00 of the penal law, to which they are assigned and
43 limited to the hours of their employment during which classes are in
44 session and during which a school sponsored extracurricular activity is
45 occurring on such school grounds; provided, however, that nothing in
46 this subdivision shall be deemed to authorize such officer to carry,
47 possess, repair or dispose of a firearm unless prior approval has been
48 given by the school district and the appropriate license has been issued
49 pursuant to section 400.00 of the penal law.
50 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
