Bill Text: NY A02531 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Provides for a gun violence prevention program in the public schools; provides that the program is to be developed by the department of education in conjunction with other state agencies and educational organizations and is to be made available to schools for use in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade; provides for a report to the governor and the legislature on the program; enacts the "gun violence prevention act".

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 18-1)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to education [A02531 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A02531-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2531

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 26, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. SIMON, DAVILA, ZINERMAN, EPSTEIN, MEEKS, ANDER-
          SON, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, BURGOS -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of  A.  AUBRY,
          CARROLL,    COLTON,   DICKENS,   DILAN,   FAHY,   JOYNER,   McDONOUGH,
          PEOPLES-STOKES, ROZIC, SEAWRIGHT -- read  once  and  referred  to  the
          Committee on Education

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  education  law,  in  relation to creating a gun
          violence prevention program

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  This  act  shall  be  known  and may be cited as the "gun
     2  violence prevention act".
     3    § 2. Legislative intent. Gunshot injuries are a major cause  of  death
     4  for children and adolescents in the United States, accounting for twelve
     5  percent  of  all  premature  deaths. Further, for every young person who
     6  dies as the result of  a  gunshot  injury,  five  others  are  seriously
     7  injured  by  a  gunshot.  Concentrated  efforts in the areas of drug and
     8  alcohol abuse prevention have demonstrated that preventive education can
     9  reduce risks for youth. But although  there  are  many  drug  prevention
    10  programs, there are few gun violence prevention programs in existence.
    11    The intent of the legislature in enacting the "gun violence prevention
    12  act"  is  to implement a gun violence prevention program for school-aged
    13  youth and  their  families  to  help  young  people  to  develop  victim
    14  prevention  skills  and to rehearse behaviors needed to manage problems,
    15  such as conflict and peer pressure,  non-violently,  without  guns.  The
    16  program  would  not  oppose  gun ownership or the well-supervised use of
    17  guns for hunting or sport.
    18    § 3. The education law is amended by adding a new  section  3204-a  to
    19  read as follows:
    20    §  3204-a.  Gun  violence  prevention  program.  1. The department, in
    21  consultation with school districts, the department of health, the  divi-
    22  sion  of  criminal  justice  services,  the  department of environmental

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01978-01-3
        A. 2531                             2

     1  conservation and any other educational organizations, is authorized  and
     2  directed  to  develop  and  make  available  to  school  districts a gun
     3  violence prevention program.    The  program  shall  include:  practical
     4  skills  which  students can use outside the classroom; opportunities for
     5  self-reflection  and  role-play  of  students'  coping  mechanisms   and
     6  emotions;  student-set  goals  for change; the development of competency
     7  and leadership skills to address issues with peers  and  the  community;
     8  and parental and community involvement and support in the program.
     9    2.  Every  school  may  instruct  students in pre-kindergarten through
    10  twelfth grade with respect to gun violence  prevention  using  materials
    11  provided  by  the  department  for such purpose. Each school electing to
    12  provide such instruction may request information and resources  therefor
    13  from the department pursuant to this article.
    14    3.  The  department  shall  provide  a  report to the governor and the
    15  legislature on or before July first, two thousand twenty-six,  assessing
    16  the  results of the gun violence prevention program established pursuant
    17  to the provisions of this section. The report shall include findings  as
    18  to  the program's impact on reducing gunshot injuries among children and
    19  adolescents and shall  offer  recommendations  as  to  whether  the  gun
    20  violence  prevention program should be expanded, modified or eliminated,
    21  and whether or not other gun  violence  prevention  programs  should  be
    22  authorized.
    23    § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    24  it shall have become a law.