Bill Text: NY A04917 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Provides funding for school anti-violence education programs through the omnibus school violence prevention grant program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 27-1)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-17 - print number 4917c [A04917 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A04917-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         4917--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 24, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. ANDERSON, SOLAGES, ZINERMAN, GIBBS, CUNNINGHAM,
          JACKSON, MEEKS, DE LOS SANTOS, SHIMSKY, GONZALEZ-ROJAS,  SIMON,  RAGA,
          SIMONE  --  read  once  and  referred to the Committee on Education --
          recommitted to the Committee on Education in accordance with  Assembly
          Rule  3,  sec.  2  --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the education law and the state finance law, in relation
          to enacting the "school anti-violence education act"

          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 "school anti-violence education act".
     3    § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 115 to  read
     4  as follows:
     5    §  115.  School  anti-violence education. 1. Legislative findings. The
     6  legislature hereby finds and declares that gun violence and other  forms
     7  of  violence  constitute  a  crisis  that  poses a serious threat to the
     8  health and quality of life of all residents of the state  of  New  York,
     9  particularly  youth under eighteen years of age. An epidemic of violence
    10  is tearing at the fabric of life in many urban  areas.  The  legislature
    11  further  finds that funds should be used to support school anti-violence
    12  education programs.
    13    2. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following  terms
    14  shall have the following meanings:
    15    (a)  "evidence-based  anti-violence  program"  means  a  program or an
    16  initiative that:
    17    (i) is developed and evaluated through scientific  research  and  data
    18  collection;
    19    (ii)  uses  public health principles that demonstrate measurable posi-
    20  tive outcomes in preventing gun violence; and

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08152-04-4
        A. 4917--A                          2

     1    (iii) is implemented by a nonprofit organization or public  entity  at
     2  or in affiliation with a government-funded public school.
     3    (b)  "school  anti-violence education program" means a school-based or
     4  school-affiliated evidence-based anti-violence education program that is
     5  operated by:
     6    (i) a nonprofit organization or public entity; and
     7    (ii) provides evidence-based trauma-support and group  counseling  and
     8  anti-gun  violence  education  that includes personal and group develop-
     9  ment, research-based facts and misconceptions about  guns  and  the  gun
    10  violence crisis, and youth empowerment programming.
    11    3.  School  anti-violence  education  program.  (a)  The department is
    12  authorized to establish school anti-violence education  programs,  which
    13  shall be funded from the school anti-violence education fund established
    14  by section ninety-seven-bbbb of the state finance law.
    15    (b) No firearms shall be used for training or demonstration or another
    16  use  in  any school anti-violence education program established pursuant
    17  to this section.
    18    (c) The department shall secure alternative funding sources other than
    19  the state to fund school  anti-violence  education  programs,  including
    20  local government and private sources as well as funding from the federal
    21  government.
    22    §  3. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 97-bbbb
    23  to read as follows:
    24    § 97-bbbb. School anti-violence education fund.  1.  There  is  hereby
    25  established  in  the  joint  custody  of  the  state comptroller and the
    26  commissioner of education a fund to be known as  the  "school  anti-vio-
    27  lence education fund".
    28    2.  The  school  anti-violence education fund shall consist of and all
    29  monies appropriated, credited, or transferred  thereto  from  any  other
    30  fund or source pursuant to law.
    31    3. Monies of the school anti-violence education fund shall be expended
    32  only:
    33    (a) pursuant to section one hundred fifteen of the education law;
    34    (b)  to  support  effective  violence reduction strategies for school-
    35  based and school-affiliated anti-violence programs by  providing  grants
    36  to  local governments and nonprofit organizations to fund evidence-based
    37  school anti-violence programs or evidence-informed school  anti-violence
    38  programs; and
    39    (c)  for the evaluation of the efficacy of evidence-based school anti-
    40  violence programs or  evidence-informed  school  anti-violence  programs
    41  awarded grants through the fund.
    42    4.  Monies  shall be payable from the fund on the audit and warrant of
    43  the comptroller on vouchers approved and certified by  the  commissioner
    44  of education.
    45    §  4. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, or section of this act shall
    46  be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction  to  be  invalid  and
    47  after  exhaustion of all further judicial review, the judgment shall not
    48  affect, impair  or  invalidate  the  remainder  thereof,  but  shall  be
    49  confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, or section
    50  of  this  act directly involved in the controversy in which the judgment
    51  shall have been rendered.
    52    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.