NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A286
SPONSOR: Paulin TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to enacting the "safe
schools by design act"; directing the use of certain professional design
services for school security and safety improvements
PURPOSE:
To allow programmatic aid to be given to school districts that use
passive security design features to improve school safety and add
licensed design professionals to school safety teams.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one provides the title "Safe Schools Act by Design" and section
two states the legislative intent of the act.
Section three amends the education law by adding section 408-c which
states that a five year capital facilities plan pursuant to paragraph d
of subdivision two of section four hundred nine-d of this article, shall
consider the incorporation of elements and strategies as part of a
comprehensive approach to providing a secure and safe school environ-
ment.
Section four amends subdivision 4 of section 2801-a of the education law
to include licensed design professionals on school safety teams.
Section five amends paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 2814 of
the education law to include programs which facilitate and promote
community involvement in school facility planning.
Section six amends subparagraph 1 of paragraph (a) of subdivision 6 of
section 3602 of the education law to include health and wellness offices
and de-escalation rooms to the list of spaces that shall be included
when assigning capacity ratings.
Section seven states this act shall take effect immediately.
JUSTIFICATION:
New York has been pursuing measures to enhance school safety through the
use of school resource officers, social workers, and community outreach
programs. While these measures help, a design centric approach should be
used in addition to these programs. Incorporating safety measures into
the design or rehabilitation of schools can better provide safe learning
environments for students and teachers.
Combining the ideas of district-wide safety teams, licensed design
professionals, engineers, and architects will ensure that valuable
school safety measures are incorporated into school districts, and will
help not only teachers and students, but also administrators and public
safety officials as well.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-2022: A.823 amended and referred to education /S.6338 referred to
education
2019-2020: A.10014, referred to education
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
286
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 4, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, SIMON -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to enacting the "safe
schools by design act"; directing the use of certain professional
design services for school security and safety improvements
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "safe schools by design act".
3 § 2. Legislative intent. The legislature acknowledges that measures
4 taken to enhance school safety through investments in facility harden-
5 ing, violence intervention services, and school resource officers
6 contribute to a broader strategy to mitigate and prevent violent acts on
7 school grounds.
8 The legislature further acknowledges that schools are intended to be
9 communities and should be planned without sacrificing the inherent posi-
10 tive qualities of school environments we all desire for our children,
11 and that design solutions can help address social, psychological,
12 economic, environmental, and safety factors while maintaining a healthy
13 and productive learning environment.
14 The legislature intends to provide school districts with the flexibil-
15 ity to adapt to differing and evolving community concerns, support
16 student health and safety, and create productive learning environments.
17 § 3. The education law is amended by adding a new section 408-c to
18 read as follows:
19 § 408-c. School safety design and planning. A five year capital facil-
20 ities plan, as required pursuant to paragraph (d) of subdivision two of
21 section four hundred nine-d of this article, shall consider the incorpo-
22 ration of design elements and strategies as part of a comprehensive
23 approach to provide a secure and safe school environment. On or before
24 July first, two thousand twenty-four, the commissioner shall issue guid-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00492-01-3
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1 ance on the use of design elements and strategies by schools and school
2 districts to provide a secure and safe environment.
3 § 4. Subdivision 4 of section 2801-a of the education law, as amended
4 by chapter 525 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
5 4. Each district-wide school safety team shall be appointed by the
6 board of education, or the chancellor in the case of the city school
7 district of the city of New York, and shall include but not be limited
8 to representatives of the school board, teacher, administrator, and
9 parent organizations, school safety personnel, and other school person-
10 nel including bus drivers and monitors. At the discretion of the board
11 of education, or the chancellor in the case of the city of New York, a
12 student may be allowed to participate on the safety team, provided
13 however, that no portion of a confidential building-level emergency
14 response plan shall be shared with such student nor shall such student
15 be present where details of a confidential building-level emergency
16 response plan or confidential portions of a district-wide emergency
17 response strategy are discussed. Each building-level emergency response
18 team shall be appointed by the building principal, in accordance with
19 regulations or guidelines prescribed by the board of education, chancel-
20 lor or other governing body. Such building-level teams shall include but
21 not be limited to representatives of teacher, administrator, and parent
22 organizations, school safety personnel and other school personnel
23 including bus drivers and monitors, community members, law enforcement
24 officials, fire officials or other emergency response agencies, design
25 professionals licensed pursuant to article one hundred forty-five, one
26 hundred forty-seven, or one hundred forty-eight of this chapter, and any
27 other representatives the board of education, chancellor or other
28 governing body deems appropriate.
29 § 5. Paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section 2814 of the education
30 law, as added by chapter 181 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as
31 follows:
32 a. School safety activities. Programs eligible for funding pursuant to
33 this section may include, but not be limited to: (i) safe corridors
34 programs; (ii) diversity programs; (iii) collaborative school safety
35 programs with law enforcement agencies or community-based organizations;
36 (iv) metal detectors, intercom and other intra-school communication
37 devices and other devices to increase school security and the safety of
38 school personnel and students; (v) programs which facilitate and promote
39 community involvement in school facility planning; and (vi) other
40 programs including comprehensive school-based intervention models,
41 approved by the commissioner, that reduce violence and improve school
42 safety. Comprehensive school based intervention models shall coordinate
43 with and collaborate with other services currently being provided in the
44 school district, incorporate appropriate school violence prevention and
45 intervention services, and coordinate appropriate funding sources to
46 ensure the efficient delivery of services. Such comprehensive school-
47 based intervention models shall also include provisions for the involve-
48 ment of teachers, parents, school administrators in the development and
49 implementation of the program, a detailed statement identifying specific
50 performance goals, a proposed timetable for implementation and achieve-
51 ment of such goals and specific assessment methods which will be used to
52 measure student and school progress.
53 § 6. Subparagraph 1 of paragraph a of subdivision 6 of section 3602 of
54 the education law, as amended by section 5 of part A of chapter 60 of
55 the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
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1 (1) For new construction and the purchase of existing structures, the
2 cost allowances shall be based upon the rated capacity of the building
3 or addition and a basic per pupil allowance of up to six thousand three
4 hundred seventy-five dollars adjusted monthly by a statewide index
5 reflecting changes in the cost of labor and materials since July first,
6 nineteen hundred ninety-two, established by the commissioner of labor,
7 modified by an annual county or multi-county labor market composite wage
8 rate, established by the commissioner of labor in consultation with the
9 commissioner, for July first of the base year, commencing July first,
10 nineteen hundred ninety-seven for general construction contracts awarded
11 on or after July first, nineteen hundred ninety-eight, indexed to the
12 median of such county or multi-county rates, but not less than one.
13 Such base allowance shall apply to a building or an addition housing
14 grades prekindergarten through six and shall be adjusted for a building
15 or an addition housing grades seven through nine by a factor of one and
16 four-tenths, for a building or an addition housing grades seven through
17 twelve by a factor of one and five-tenths, for a building or addition
18 housing special education programs by a factor of two, except that where
19 such building or addition is connected to, or such space is located
20 within, a public school facility housing programs for nondisabled
21 pupils, as approved by the commissioner, a factor of three shall be
22 used. Rated capacity of a building or an addition shall be determined by
23 the commissioner based on space standards and other requirements for
24 building construction specified by the commissioner. Such assigned
25 capacity ratings shall include, in addition to those spaces used for the
26 instruction of pupils, those spaces which are used for elementary and
27 secondary school libraries, cafeterias, prekindergarten instructional
28 rooms, teachers' conference rooms, gymnasiums [and], auditoriums, health
29 and wellness offices, and de-escalation rooms. For new construction
30 projects approved on or after July first, two thousand, by the voters of
31 the school district or by the board of education of a city school
32 district in a city with more than one hundred twenty-five thousand
33 inhabitants, and/or the chancellor in a city school district in a city
34 having a population of one million or more, such rated capacity for new
35 buildings and additions constructed to replace existing buildings that,
36 in the judgment of the commissioner, have not been adequately maintained
37 and have not reached their projected useful life shall be reduced by the
38 commissioner by an amount proportional to the remaining unused portion
39 of the useful life of the existing buildings, provided however that the
40 commissioner may waive such requirement upon a finding that replacement
41 of the existing building is necessary to protect the health and safety
42 of students or staff, that reconstruction and modernization of the
43 existing building would not adequately address such health and safety
44 problems, and that the need to replace the building was not caused by
45 failure to adequately maintain the building. If the commissioner of
46 labor resets the statewide index reflecting changes in the costs of
47 labor and materials since July first, nineteen hundred ninety-two, the
48 commissioner shall adopt regulations to supersede the basic per pupil
49 allowance of up to six thousand three hundred seventy-five dollars to
50 the imputed allowance in effect at that time.
51 § 7. This act shall take effect immediately.
