Bill Text: NY A05861 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Mandates the trustees of common school districts and the board of education of every union free school district to establish a code of ethics to be applied to the prohibition of the use of school resources for personal gain.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 5-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-07-14 - held for consideration in education [A05861 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A05861-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          5861
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    February 20, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by M. of A. FITZPATRICK, TAGUE, GIGLIO, SALKA -- Multi-Spon-
          sored by -- M.   of A. MANKTELOW -- read  once  and  referred  to  the
          Committee on Education
        AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to mandating the trustees
          of  common  school districts and the board of education of every union
          free school district to establish a code of ethics to  be  applied  to
          the prohibition of the use of school resources for personal gain
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Section 1604 of the education law is amended  by  adding  a
     2  new subdivision 43 to read as follows:
     3    43.  On or before July thirty-first, two thousand twenty, and annually
     4  thereafter, the governing body of each school district and each board of
     5  cooperative educational services shall review  and  approve  a  code  of
     6  ethics that shall include standards for officers and employees prohibit-
     7  ing  the  use  of  property  or  resources  of the district or board for
     8  personal gain.  A copy of such code shall be filed with  the  office  of
     9  the state comptroller and the department within thirty days of its annu-
    10  al  approval pursuant to this subdivision, and any subsequent amendments
    11  to such code shall be so filed within thirty days of  adoption  of  such
    12  amendment.
    13    §  2.  Section  1709  of  the education law is amended by adding a new
    14  subdivision 36 to read as follows:
    15    36. On or before July thirty-first, two thousand twenty, and  annually
    16  thereafter, the governing body of each school district and each board of
    17  cooperative  educational  services  shall  review  and approve a code of
    18  ethics that shall include standards for officers and employees prohibit-
    19  ing the use of property or  resources  of  the  district  or  board  for
    20  personal  gain.    A copy of such code shall be filed with the office of
    21  the state comptroller and the department within thirty days of its annu-
    22  al approval pursuant to this subdivision, and any subsequent  amendments
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05999-01-9
        A. 5861                             2
     1  to  such  code  shall be so filed within thirty days of adoption of such
     2  amendment.
     3    §  3.  Paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section 2102-a of the education
     4  law, as amended by chapter 388 of the laws of 2010, is amended  to  read
     5  as follows:
     6    a.  Every trustee or voting member of a board of education of a school
     7  district or a board of  cooperative  educational  services,  elected  or
     8  appointed  for  a  term  beginning  on or after July first, two thousand
     9  five, shall, within the first year of his or her term, complete a  mini-
    10  mum  of six hours of training on the financial oversight, accountability
    11  and fiduciary responsibilities of a school board member.  Such  training
    12  shall  also  include examination of the school district's code of ethics
    13  as established in subdivision forty-three  of  section  sixteen  hundred
    14  four of this title.
    15    § 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 2116-a of the education
    16  law,  as  amended  by section 4 of part A-1 of chapter 58 of the laws of
    17  2006, is amended to read as follows:
    18    (a) The school authorities  of  each  school  district,  except  those
    19  employing  fewer  than  eight  teachers,  but  including the city school
    20  districts of the cities of Buffalo and Rochester, shall obtain an annual
    21  audit of its records by an independent certified public accountant or an
    22  independent public accountant. The report of such annual audit shall  be
    23  presented  to the trustees or board of education by such accountant. The
    24  board of education of the city school district of the city of New  York,
    25  districts  of  such city shall obtain an annual audit by the comptroller
    26  of the city of New York, or by an independent certified public  account-
    27  ant or an independent public accountant. Such city school district audit
    28  shall  include,  but  not  be  limited to, transactions processed at the
    29  level of the central administrative office, the district, and the  indi-
    30  vidual  school.  Such audit shall also include examination of all trans-
    31  actions to ensure compliance with the school district's code  of  ethics
    32  as  established  in  subdivision  forty-three of section sixteen hundred
    33  four of this title. The community districts of such city school district
    34  shall obtain an annual audit by the bureau of  audit  of  the  board  of
    35  education  of  the city school district of the city of New York or by an
    36  independent  certified  public  accountant  or  an  independent   public
    37  accountant. A copy of the audit report in form prescribed by the commis-
    38  sioner  and certified by the accountant, or, in the city school district
    39  of the city of New York or  the  community  districts  therein,  by  the
    40  accountant,  or  the comptroller or bureau of audit, as the case may be,
    41  shall be furnished to the commissioner on or  before  October  fifteenth
    42  following  the  end  of the fiscal year audited, except that such report
    43  shall be furnished to  the  commissioner  on  or  before  January  first
    44  following  the  end  of  the  fiscal  year  audited  for the city school
    45  districts of the cities of Buffalo, Rochester,  Syracuse,  Yonkers,  and
    46  New York and for the community school districts of the city of New York.
    47    §  5.  This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding
    48  the date on which it shall have become a law  and  shall  apply  to  the
    49  following  school  year.  Effective immediately, the addition, amendment
    50  and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation
    51  of this act on its effective date are authorized and directed to be made
    52  and completed on or before such effective date.