Bill Text: NY S04342 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires school administrators in private schools to report allegations of child abuse in an educational setting; includes private schools in the reporting requirements relating to child abuse in an educational setting.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-06-20 - COMMITTED TO RULES [S04342 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S04342-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          4342
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    February 10, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  BROOKS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families
        AN ACT to amend the education  law,  in  relation  to  requiring  school
          administrators in private schools to report allegations of child abuse
          in an educational setting
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Subdivisions 2, 5 and 6 of section 1125  of  the  education
     2  law,  subdivisions  2  and 6 as added by chapter 180 of the laws of 2000
     3  and subdivision 5 as amended by section 1 of part E of  chapter  501  of
     4  the laws of 2012, are amended to read as follows:
     5    2.  "Child"  shall  mean  a  person  under the age of twenty-one years
     6  enrolled in a school  district  in  this  state,  other  than  a  school
     7  district  within  a  city having a population of one million or more, or
     8  any person under the age of twenty-one enrolled in a private  school  in
     9  this state.
    10    5.  "Educational  setting"  shall  mean  the building and grounds of a
    11  public school district or private school, the vehicles provided  by  the
    12  school  district or private school for the transportation of students to
    13  and from school buildings, field trips, co-curricular and extra-curricu-
    14  lar activities both on and off school district grounds, all  co-curricu-
    15  lar  and  extra-curricular  activity sites, and any other location where
    16  direct contact between an employee or volunteer and a child has alleged-
    17  ly occurred. Such term shall not include a special act  school  district
    18  as  defined  in section four thousand one of this chapter which shall be
    19  subject to article eleven of the social services law.
    20    6. "Administrator" or "school administrator" shall mean a principal of
    21  a public or private school,  charter  school  or  board  of  cooperative
    22  educational services, or other chief school officer.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09593-01-7
        S. 4342                             2
     1    §  2.  The  section heading and subdivision 1 of section 1128-a of the
     2  education law, as added by chapter 180 of the laws of 2000, are  amended
     3  to read as follows:
     4    Additional  duties  of superintendents and administrators.  1. Where a
     5  superintendent of schools, or in the case of a private school  a  school
     6  administrator,  forwards  to  law  enforcement  a report as described in
     7  paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section eleven hundred twenty-six of
     8  this article, he or she shall refer  such  report  to  the  commissioner
     9  where  the  employee  or  volunteer  alleged to have committed an act of
    10  child abuse as defined in this article holds a certification or  license
    11  issued by the department.
    12    §  3.  Subdivision 3 of section 1133 of the education law, as added by
    13  chapter 180 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
    14    3. Any superintendent of schools or school administrator  who  reason-
    15  ably  and in good faith reports to law enforcement officials information
    16  regarding allegations of child abuse or a  resignation  as  required  by
    17  this  article shall have immunity from any liability, civil or criminal,
    18  which might otherwise result by reason of such actions.
    19    § 4. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
    20  have become a law.