Bill Text: NY A07557 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to truancy allegations in persons in need of supervision and child protective proceedings in family court.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Passed) 2018-12-07 - signed chap.362 [A07557 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-A07557-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7557 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY May 2, 2017 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. DAVILA, JAFFEE -- (at request of the Office of Court Administration) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Children and Families AN ACT to amend the family court act, in relation to truancy allegations in persons in need of supervision and child protective proceedings in family court The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (iii) of subdivision (d) and paragraph (ii) of 2 subdivision (g) of section 735 of the family court act, paragraph (iii) 3 of subdivision (d) and paragraph (ii) of subdivision (g) as added by 4 section 7 of part E of chapter 57 of the laws of 2005, are amended to 5 read as follows: 6 (iii) where the entity seeking to file a petition is a school district 7 or local educational agency or where the parent or other potential peti- 8 tioner indicates that the proposed petition will include truancy and/or 9 conduct in school as an allegation, the designated lead agency shall 10 review the steps taken by the school district or local educational agen- 11 cy to improve the youth's attendance and/or conduct in school and 12 attempt to engage the school district or local educational agency in 13 further diversion attempts, if it appears from review that such attempts 14 will be beneficial to the youth. Where the school district or local 15 educational agency is not the potential petitioner, the designated lead 16 agency shall contact such district or agency to resolve the truancy or 17 school behavioral problems of the youth in order to obviate the need to 18 file a petition or, at minimum, to remediate the education-related alle- 19 gations of the proposed petition. 20 (ii) The clerk of the court shall accept a petition for filing only if 21 it has attached thereto the following: 22 (A) if the potential petitioner is the parent or other person legally 23 responsible for the youth, a notice from the designated lead agency EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD10674-01-7A. 7557 2 1 indicating there is no bar to the filing of the petition as the poten- 2 tial petitioner consented to and actively participated in diversion 3 services; and 4 (B) a notice from the designated lead agency stating that it has 5 terminated diversion services because it has determined that there is no 6 substantial likelihood that the youth and his or her family will benefit 7 from further attempts, and that the case has not been successfully 8 diverted; and 9 (C) where the proposed petition contains allegations of truancy and/or 10 school misbehavior, whether or not the school district or local educa- 11 tional agency is the proposed petitioner, a notice from the designated 12 lead agency regarding the diversion efforts undertaken and/or services 13 provided by the designated lead agency and/or by the school district or 14 local educational agency to the youth and the grounds for concluding 15 that the education-related allegations could not be resolved absent the 16 filing of a petition under this article. 17 § 2. Section 736 of the family court act is amended by adding a new 18 subdivision 4 to read as follows: 19 (4) Where the petition contains allegations of truancy and/or school 20 misbehavior and where the school district or local educational agency is 21 not the petitioner and where, at any stage of the proceeding, the court 22 determines that assistance by the school district or local educational 23 agency may aid in the resolution of the education-related allegations in 24 the petition, the school district or local educational agency may be 25 notified by the court and given an opportunity to be heard. 26 § 3. Subdivision (b) of section 742 of the family court act, as 27 amended by section 9 of part E of chapter 57 of the laws of 2005, is 28 amended to read as follows: 29 (b) At the initial appearance of the respondent, the court shall 30 review any termination of diversion services pursuant to such section, 31 and the documentation of diligent attempts to provide appropriate 32 services and determine whether such efforts or services provided are 33 sufficient [and]. The court may, at any time, subject to the provisions 34 of section seven hundred forty-eight of this article, order that addi- 35 tional diversion attempts be undertaken by the designated lead agency. 36 The court may order the youth and the parent or other person legally 37 responsible for the youth to participate in diversion services. If the 38 designated lead agency thereafter determines that [the] a case referred 39 for diversion efforts under this section has been successfully resolved, 40 it shall so notify the court, and the court shall dismiss the petition. 41 § 4. Subparagraph (A) of paragraph (i) of subdivision (f) of section 42 1012 of the family court act, as amended by chapter 469 of the laws of 43 1971, is amended to read as follows: 44 (A) in supplying the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter or 45 education in accordance with the provisions of part one of article 46 sixty-five of the education law, or medical, dental, optometrical or 47 surgical care, though financially able to do so or offered financial or 48 other reasonable means to do so, or, in the case of an alleged failure 49 of the respondent to provide education to the child, notwithstanding the 50 efforts of the school district or local educational agency and child 51 protective agency to ameliorate such alleged failure prior to the filing 52 of the petition; or 53 § 5. Section 1031 of the family court act is amended by adding a new 54 subdivision (g) to read as follows: 55 (g) Where a petition under this article contains an allegation of a 56 failure by the respondent to provide education to the child in accord-A. 7557 3 1 ance with article sixty-five of the education law, regardless of whether 2 such allegation is the sole allegation of the petition, the petition 3 shall recite the efforts undertaken by the petitioner and the school 4 district or local educational agency to remediate such alleged failure 5 prior to the filing of the petition and the grounds for concluding that 6 the education-related allegations could not be resolved absent the 7 filing of a petition under this article. 8 § 6. Section 1035 of the family court act is amended by adding a new 9 subdivision (g) to read as follows: 10 (g) Where the petition filed under this article contains an allegation 11 of a failure by the respondent to provide education to the child in 12 accordance with article sixty-five of the education law, and where at 13 any stage of the proceeding, the court determines that assistance by the 14 school district or local educational agency would aid in the resolution 15 of the education-related allegation, the school district or local educa- 16 tional agency may be notified by the court and given an opportunity to 17 be heard. 18 § 7. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 19 have become a law.