Bill Text: NY A03336 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires school districts and board of cooperative educational services to pay physical therapists and occupational therapists in alignment with the department's career ladder pathway framework; makes related provisions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 5-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to higher education [A03336 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A03336-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          3336

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 2, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. E. BROWN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Higher Education

        AN  ACT  to  amend the education law, in relation to physical therapists
          and occupational therapists in school districts and board  of  cooper-
          ative educational services

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

     1    Section 1. Section 912 of the education law, as amended by chapter 477
     2  of the laws of 2004, is amended to read as follows:
     3    § 912. Health and welfare services to all children. The voters  and/or
     4  trustees  or  board  of  education  of every school district shall, upon
     5  request of the authorities of a school other than public, provide  resi-
     6  dent  children  who attend such school with any or all of the health and
     7  welfare services and facilities which are made available by such  voters
     8  and/or  trustees  or board of education to or for children attending the
     9  public schools of the district. Such services may include, but  are  not
    10  limited  to  all services performed by a physician, physician assistant,
    11  physical therapist, occupational therapist, dentist,  dental  hygienist,
    12  registered  professional nurse, nurse practitioner, school psychologist,
    13  school social worker or school speech therapist, and  may  also  include
    14  dental  prophylaxis,  vision  and  hearing  screening  examinations, the
    15  taking of medical histories and the administration of  health  screening
    16  tests,  the  maintenance  of  cumulative health records and the adminis-
    17  tration of emergency care programs for ill or injured students. Any such
    18  services  or  facilities  shall  be  so  provided  notwithstanding   any
    19  provision  of  any  charter or other provision of law inconsistent here-
    20  with. Where children residing in one school  district  attend  a  school
    21  other than public located in another school district, the school author-
    22  ities  of  the  district  of  residence  shall  contract with the school
    23  authorities of the district where such nonpublic school is located,  for
    24  the provision of such health and welfare services and facilities to such

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03586-01-3
        A. 3336                             2

     1  children  by the school district where such nonpublic school is located,
     2  for a consideration to be agreed upon between the school authorities  of
     3  such  districts,  subject to the approval of the qualified voters of the
     4  district  of  residence when required under the provisions of this chap-
     5  ter. Every such contract shall be in writing and in the form  prescribed
     6  by the commissioner, and before such contract is executed the same shall
     7  be submitted for approval to the superintendent of schools having juris-
     8  diction  over  such  district  of  residence and such contract shall not
     9  become effective until approved by such superintendent.
    10    § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 3039 to read
    11  as follows:
    12    § 3039. Physical and occupational therapists. Each school district  or
    13  board of cooperative educational services which employs a physical ther-
    14  apist  as  licensed  pursuant  to article one hundred thirty-six of this
    15  chapter or an occupational therapist licensed pursuant  to  article  one
    16  hundred  fifty-six  of this chapter shall categorize and pay such thera-
    17  pists in alignment with the department's career  ladder  pathway  frame-
    18  work.  Each school district or board of cooperative educational services
    19  shall further offer such therapists school leadership opportunities that
    20  are developed collaboratively and systematically to implement comprehen-
    21  sive systems of professional learning, support and advancement  for  all
    22  educators.
    23    §  3.  This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding
    24  the date on which it shall have become a law.