Bill Text: NY A01595 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Directs the board of education or the board of trustees to establish policies and procedures to allow any student with a disability to participate in the graduation ceremony and all related activities.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-1)

Status: (Passed) 2017-11-29 - approval memo.15 [A01595 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A01595-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         1595--A
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 12, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by M. of A. SKOUFIS, HOOPER, SEPULVEDA, D'URSO, COOK, SANTA-
          BARBARA, BLAKE, BICHOTTE -- Multi-Sponsored by --  M.  of  A.  HIKIND,
          JONES,  LOPEZ,  WRIGHT  --  read once and referred to the Committee on
          Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted  as
          amended and recommitted to said committee
        AN  ACT  to  amend the education law, in relation to policies that allow
          students with disabilities to participate in a high school  graduation
          ceremony
          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  "Zachary's law".
     3    §  2.  Section  4402  of  the education law is amended by adding a new
     4  subdivision 9 to read as follows:
     5    9. The board of education or the board  of  trustees  of  each  school
     6  district  shall  establish  a  policy  and adopt procedures to allow any
     7  student with a disability in such district to participate in the  gradu-
     8  ation  ceremony  of  the  student's high school graduating class and all
     9  related activities if such student has been issued a skills and achieve-
    10  ment commencement credential  or  career  development  and  occupational
    11  studies  commencement  credential  but has not otherwise qualified for a
    12  regents or local diploma. Such student shall be eligible to  participate
    13  if  the  student's  individualized  education program prescribes special
    14  education, transition planning, transition services, or related services
    15  beyond the student's four academic years after the student's entry  into
    16  high  school.    The  policy and procedures shall provide annual written
    17  notice to all students with disabilities and their parents or  guardians
    18  about  the school district's policy and procedures adopted in accordance
    19  with this subdivision.  Nothing  in  this  subdivision  shall  compel  a
    20  student  with  disabilities to participate in the high school graduation
    21  ceremony and activities. The superintendent shall consider the recommen-
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04000-04-7
        A. 1595--A                          2
     1  dation, if any, of the student's committee on special education as  well
     2  as the student's own expressed preference. For purposes of this subdivi-
     3  sion,  a  student's  high  school  graduating class shall be the twelfth
     4  grade class with which such student with a disability entered into ninth
     5  grade.
     6    §  3.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
     7  have become a law.