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A00286 Summary:

BILL NOA00286
 
SAME ASSAME AS S02629
 
SPONSORPaulin
 
COSPNSRSimon
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Add §408-c, amd §§2801-a, 2814 & 3602, Ed L
 
Enacts the safe schools by design act; directs the use of professional design services for school security and safety improvements.
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A00286 Memo:

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.
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A00286 Text:



 
                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

        A. 286                              2
 
     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:

        A. 286                              3
 
     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.
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