Bill Text: NY A05835 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to promoting the inclusion of children living in temporary housing in prekindergarten programs; requires school districts to prioritize homeless children on any pre-K waitlists and provides for the reimbursement to school districts of hiring additional staff to accommodate the enrollment of a homeless child.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to education [A05835 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A05835-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5835

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 26, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. TAYLOR -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Education

        AN  ACT  to amend the education law, in relation to promoting the inclu-
          sion of  children  living  in  temporary  housing  in  prekindergarten
          programs

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

     1    Section 1. Section 3602-e of the education law is amended by adding  a
     2  new subdivision 19 to read as follows:
     3    19.  Each school district implementing a prekindergarten program shall
     4  promote the inclusion of homeless children, as defined in section  thir-
     5  ty-two hundred nine of this chapter.
     6    a.  Notwithstanding  any other provision of law to the contrary, where
     7  the class size for a  prekindergarten  class  has  reached  its  maximum
     8  capacity,  as  determined by regulations of the commissioner, the school
     9  district in which a homeless child is currently temporarily housed in  a
    10  motel,  hotel,  shelter  or  other  temporary  housing arrangement shall
    11  prioritize such child's placement on any waitlist for  enrollment  in  a
    12  prekindergarten program.
    13    b.  Notwithstanding  any other provision of law to the contrary, where
    14  the class size for a prekindergarten class necessitates  the  hiring  of
    15  additional  staff,  as determined by regulations of the commissioner, to
    16  accommodate the enrollment of a  homeless  child,  the  school  district
    17  shall be reimbursed by the department for the direct cost of hiring such
    18  additional staff, not otherwise reimbursed under other federal programs,
    19  calculated pursuant to regulations of the commissioner.
    20    §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
    21  have become a law.    Effective  immediately,  the  addition,  amendment
    22  and/or  repeal of any rules or regulations necessary for the implementa-
    23  tion of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made  on  or
    24  before such date.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02316-01-1