Bill Text: NY A04012 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Requires school districts to have diversity, equity and inclusion officers to develop methods to diversify the personnel of the school district and to recommend changes to district policies and practices to reduce racial disparities in hiring school district employees, particularly teachers; requires boards of education to annually report information regarding such policies and practices to the department of education; requires the department of education to annually report such information to the legislature.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 15-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-26 - print number 4012a [A04012 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A04012-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4012--A 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 8, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. RAMOS, BICHOTTE HERMELYN, JEAN-PIERRE, SIMON, SEAWRIGHT, HYNDMAN, MEEKS, KELLES, WALKER, EPSTEIN, GIBBS, SIMONE, CUNNINGHAM, REYES, DARLING -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education -- recommitted to the Committee on Education in accord- ance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit- tee AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to school district diver- sity, equity and inclusion officers The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 2101 of the education law, as 2 amended by chapter 107 of the laws of 1976, is amended to read as 3 follows: 4 1. Each common school district shall have one or three trustees as the 5 district determines, a collector except in first class towns and except 6 as may be otherwise provided by law, a diversity, equity and inclusion 7 officer, and if the district so decides a treasurer. 8 § 2. Section 2102 of the education law, as amended by chapter 737 of 9 the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows: 10 § 2102. Qualifications of officers. Every school district officer 11 must be able to read and write and must be a qualified voter of the 12 district; and each member of a board of education of a union free school 13 district, common school district or a central school district shall have 14 been a resident of the school district, or in the case of a person qual- 15 ified by subdivision three of section twenty hundred twelve of this 16 chapter to vote in a district election, a resident of the district or 17 reservation, for at least one year prior to the election. Notwithstand- 18 ing the provisions of any other general or special law to the contrary, 19 a school district treasurer, collector, diversity, equity and inclusion EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD08285-02-4A. 4012--A 2 1 officer or clerk need not be a resident of the school district to hold 2 such office in such district. 3 § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 2103 of the education law is amended to 4 read as follows: 5 1. No district superintendent or supervisor is eligible to the office 6 of trustee or member of a board of education, and no trustee or member 7 of a board of education can hold the office of district clerk, collec- 8 tor, diversity, equity and inclusion officer, treasurer or librarian, 9 except as otherwise provided by section twenty-one hundred thirty. 10 § 4. Section 2103 of the education law is amended by adding a new 11 subdivision 5 to read as follows: 12 5. An administrative employee of the school district shall be 13 appointed as the school district diversity, equity and inclusion offi- 14 cer. 15 § 5. The part heading of part 2 of article 43 of the education law is 16 amended to read as follows: 17 DISTRICT CLERK; TREASURER; DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION 18 OFFICER; COLLECTOR 19 § 6. The education law is amended by adding a new section 2131 to 20 read as follows: 21 § 2131. Duties of diversity, equity and inclusion officer. It shall 22 be the duty of the diversity, equity and inclusion officer of each 23 school district to develop methods to diversify the personnel of the 24 school district, with an emphasis on diversifying teaching staff. The 25 diversity, equity and inclusion officer shall annually review racial and 26 ethnic disparities within the school district and shall encourage and 27 assist in the recruitment and retention of a more racially and 28 ethnically diverse staff. The diversity, equity and inclusion officer 29 shall also review school district policies and practices and recommend 30 changes to such policies and practices to reduce racial and ethnic 31 disparities in hiring school district employees, particularly teachers. 32 The diversity, equity and inclusion officer shall publish an annual 33 report on the school district's plans, processes and progress in hiring 34 and retaining educators of color. Such report shall be presented to the 35 local board of education and shall be available to the public. 36 § 7. Section 1709 of the education law is amended by adding a new 37 subdivision 44 to read as follows: 38 44. To prepare a report in response to the annual report presented to 39 the board of education by the diversity, equity and inclusion officer 40 pursuant to section twenty-one hundred thirty-one of this title relating 41 to the school district's plans, processes and progress in hiring and 42 retaining educators of color and to submit such report to the depart- 43 ment. 44 § 8. Section 1804 of the education law is amended by adding a new 45 subdivision 13 to read as follows: 46 13. The board shall prepare a report in response to the annual report 47 presented to the board of education by the diversity, equity and inclu- 48 sion officer pursuant to section twenty-one hundred thirty-one of this 49 title relating to the school district's plans, processes and progress in 50 hiring and retaining educators of color and to submit such report to the 51 department. 52 § 9. Section 2503 of the education law is amended by adding a new 53 subdivision 22 to read as follows: 54 22. Shall prepare a report in response to the annual report presented 55 to the board of education by the diversity, equity and inclusion officer 56 pursuant to section twenty-one hundred thirty-one of this title relatingA. 4012--A 3 1 to the school district's plans, processes and progress in hiring and 2 retaining educators of color and to submit such report to the depart- 3 ment. 4 § 10. Section 2554 of the education law is amended by adding a new 5 subdivision 29 to read as follows: 6 29. To prepare a report in response to the annual report presented to 7 the board of education by the diversity, equity and inclusion officer 8 pursuant to section twenty-one hundred thirty-one of this title relating 9 to the school district's plans, processes and progress in hiring and 10 retaining educators of color and to submit such report to the depart- 11 ment. 12 § 11. Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding a new 13 subdivision 61 to read as follows: 14 61. The commissioner shall prepare an annual report based on the 15 reports submitted to the department by local boards of education on 16 school districts' plans, processes and progress in hiring and retaining 17 educators of color and shall submit such report to the legislature annu- 18 ally. 19 § 12. This act shall take effect immediately.
