Bill Text: NY S04893 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the New York state school resource officer program; provides for grants for school resource officers (Part A); relates to peace officers who are retired police officers employed by a school district as a school resource officer (Part B); allows retired police officers to be employed by a school district as a school safety officer, school security officer or any other substantially similar position for an annual salary of $50,000 or less to continue to receive their full retirement benefit (Part C).
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 4-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-14 - REFERRED TO EDUCATION [S04893 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-S04893-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4893 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 14, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. GALLIVAN, BORRELLO, OBERACKER, ROLISON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to a school resource officer program and providing school resource officer security protection aid (Part A); to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to peace officers who are retired police officers employed by a school district as a school resource officer (Part B); and to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to annual earnings limitations for retired police officers employed as school resource officers (Part C) The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act enacts into law components of legislation relating 2 to school safety. Each component is wholly contained within a Part iden- 3 tified as Parts A through C. The effective date for each particular 4 provision contained within such Part as set forth in the last section of 5 such Part. Any provision in any section contained within a Part, includ- 6 ing the effective date of the Part, which makes a reference to a section 7 "of this act", when used in connection with that particular component, 8 shall be deemed to mean and refer to the corresponding section of the 9 Part in which it is found. Section three of this act sets forth the 10 general effective date of this act. 11 PART A 12 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 2801-c 13 to read as follows: 14 § 2801-c. New York state school resource officer program. 1. For 15 purposes of this section, the term "school resource officer" shall mean 16 a school resource officer, school safety officer, school security offi- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03511-02-5S. 4893 2 1 cer, or any other substantially similar position or office, that is 2 designed to provide improved public safety and/or security on school 3 grounds. Such school resource officer may be a retired police officer, a 4 retired state trooper, a retired deputy sheriff, a state trooper, a 5 police officer in the active duty service of a town, city or village, or 6 a deputy sheriff from a county sheriff's department. 7 2. Any public, nonpublic or charter school, or a board of cooperative 8 educational services, may employ, in either the classified or unclassi- 9 fied service, any school resource officer for the purpose of providing 10 improved public safety and/or security on school grounds. Any such 11 public, nonpublic or charter school, or a board of cooperative educa- 12 tional services, may also contract with the state of New York, or a 13 county, city, town or village, for the provision of a state trooper, 14 police officer or deputy sheriff, to serve as a school resource officer, 15 for the purpose of providing improved public safety and/or security on 16 school grounds. A school district, nonpublic school, charter school, or 17 a board of cooperative educational services, shall be authorized to 18 employ or contract for as many school resource officers as such district 19 deems necessary. 20 3. It shall be the primary role of the school resource officer to 21 provide improved public safety and/or security on school grounds. In 22 addition, to this primary role, school resource officers also may serve 23 additional roles, including but not limited to: 24 (a) Proposing and enforcing policies and administrative procedures 25 related to school safety; 26 (b) Utilizing technology in the implementation of a comprehensive 27 safety program; 28 (c) Serving as a liaison with other school officials and other commu- 29 nity agencies, including but not limited to, other law enforcement enti- 30 ties, courts, health care entities, and mental health entities; 31 (d) Proposing and implementing strategies concerning prevention, 32 response and recovery efforts for incidents and/or emergency situations 33 occurring on school grounds and/or involving students, faculty, adminis- 34 tration or visitors to the school; 35 (e) Proposing and assisting in the execution of school emergency 36 drills and proposing and assisting in the creation of school safety 37 plans; 38 (f) Providing educational and mentoring services to students; 39 (g) Assisting in the design, explanation and enforcement of school 40 safety and security policies and procedures; and 41 (h) Performing such other and further roles, responsibilities and 42 activities as the school district may deem appropriate and proper for a 43 law enforcement officer to perform, in order to advance the security, 44 safety and well-being of students, faculty, administration and visitors 45 to the school district's schools, transportation vehicles and school 46 grounds. 47 4. Such school resource officer may carry and possess firearms during 48 the course of their duties at such school district, nonpublic school, 49 charter school, or a board of cooperative educational services, but 50 nothing in this subdivision shall be deemed to authorize such school 51 resource officer to carry, possess, repair or dispose of a firearm 52 unless the appropriate license therefor has been issued pursuant to 53 section 400.00 of the penal law. 54 § 2. Subparagraph 1 of paragraph d of subdivision 4 of section 1950 of 55 the education law, as amended by chapter 474 of the laws of 1996, is 56 amended and a new subparagraph 1-a is added to read as follows:S. 4893 3 1 (1) Aidable shared services. At the request of component school 2 districts, and with the approval of the commissioner, provide any of the 3 following services on a cooperative basis: school nurse teacher, attend- 4 ance supervisor, supervisor of teachers, dental hygienist, psychologist, 5 school resource officer, as such term is defined in section twenty-eight 6 hundred one-c of this title, teachers of art, music, physical education, 7 career education subjects, guidance counsellors, operation of special 8 classes for students with disabilities, as such term is defined in arti- 9 cle eighty-nine of this chapter; pupil and financial accounting service 10 by means of mechanical equipment; maintenance and operation of cafeteria 11 or restaurant service for the use of pupils and teachers while at 12 school, and such other services as the commissioner may approve. Such 13 cafeteria or restaurant service may be used by the community for school 14 related functions and activities and to furnish meals to the elderly 15 residents of the district, sixty years of age or older. Utilization by 16 elderly residents or school related groups shall be subject to the 17 approval of the board of education. Charges shall be sufficient to bear 18 the direct cost of preparation and serving of such meals, exclusive of 19 any other available reimbursements. 20 (1-a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule, or regulation 21 to the contrary, school resource officers may be requested by charter 22 schools and school districts for up to six days per week throughout the 23 entire school year. 24 § 3. Paragraph h of subdivision 4 of section 1950 of the education law 25 is amended by adding two new subparagraphs 14 and 15 to read as follows: 26 (14) To enter into contracts with charter schools to provide school 27 resource officers, as such term is defined in section twenty-eight 28 hundred one-c of this title, provided that the costs of such school 29 resource officers shall be aidable pursuant to subdivision five of this 30 section to the same extent and on the same basis as costs allocated to a 31 component school district, and further provided that the aid ratio shall 32 be the aid ratio for the public school district where the charter school 33 is located, and further provided that charter schools shall not be 34 liable for payment of administrative expenses as defined in paragraph b 35 of this subdivision. 36 (15) To enter into contracts with non-component school districts 37 including city school districts of cities with one hundred twenty-five 38 thousand inhabitants or more, to provide school resource officers, as 39 such term is defined in section twenty-eight hundred one-c of this 40 title, provided that the costs of such school resource officers shall be 41 aidable pursuant to subdivision five of this section to the same extent 42 and on the same basis as costs allocated to a component school district, 43 and further provided that non-component school districts shall not be 44 liable for payment of administrative expenses as defined in paragraph b 45 of this subdivision. 46 § 4. The education law is amended by adding a new section 3039 to read 47 as follows: 48 § 3039. Grants for school resource officers. 1. For purposes of this 49 section, school resource officers shall have the same meaning as defined 50 in section twenty-eight hundred one-c of this chapter. 51 2. Nonpublic schools shall, upon application, be reimbursed by the 52 department for the salaries of school resource officers. Each school 53 which seeks a reimbursement pursuant to this section shall submit to the 54 office of religious and independent schools an application therefor, 55 together with such additional documents as the commissioner may reason- 56 ably require, at such times, in such form and containing such informa-S. 4893 4 1 tion as the commissioner may prescribe by regulation. Applications for 2 reimbursement pursuant to this section must be received by August first 3 of each year for schools to be reimbursed for the salaries of eligible 4 school resource officers in the prior year. 5 3. The commissioner may promulgate any rules or regulations necessary 6 to carry out the provisions of this section. 7 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately. 8 PART B 9 Section 1. Section 2.10 of the criminal procedure law is amended by 10 adding a new subdivision 88 to read as follows: 11 88. Retired police officers employed by a school district, nonpublic 12 school, charter school, or a board of cooperative educational services, 13 as a school resource officer; provided, however, that nothing in this 14 subdivision shall be deemed to authorize such officer to carry, possess, 15 repair or dispose of a firearm unless the appropriate license therefor 16 has been issued pursuant to section 400.00 of the penal law. 17 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 18 PART C 19 Section 1. Section 212 of the retirement and social security law is 20 amended by adding a new subdivision 4 to read as follows: 21 4. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions one and two of this 22 section, such annual earnings limitations for a retired police officer 23 employed by a school district or a board of cooperative educational 24 services, in either the classified or unclassified service as a school 25 resource officer, school safety officer, school security officer or any 26 other substantially similar position or office that is designed to 27 provide safety and/or security on school grounds, provided that such 28 retired police officer is duly qualified, competent and physically fit 29 for performance of the duties of the position in which they are to be 30 employed as determined by the school district or board of cooperative 31 educational services and is properly certified where such certification 32 is required, shall be fifty thousand dollars for the year two thousand 33 twenty-six and thereafter. 34 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 35 § 2. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi- 36 sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of 37 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, 38 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in 39 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section 40 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg- 41 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of 42 the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such 43 invalid provisions had not been included herein. 44 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 45 the applicable effective date of Parts A through C of this act shall be 46 as specifically set forth in the last section of such Parts. FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50: This bill would allow retired police officers who are employed by a school district as a school resource officer, school safety officer, school security officer, or any other substantially similar position with an annual salary of $50,000 or less to continue to receive theirS. 4893 5 full retirement benefit beginning with calendar year 2026. Currently, the salary limit is $35,000. Pursuant to Section 25 of the Retirement and Social Security Law, the increased costs would be borne entirely by the State of New York and would require an itemized appropriation sufficient to pay the cost of the provision. Insofar as this bill affects the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS), if this bill were enacted during the 2025 Legislative Session, the direct cost incurred would be the retiree's pension benefit paid while post-retirement earnings are between $35,000 and $50,000 each calendar year. The pension benefit expected to be paid by the NYSLRS during that 1-month period is estimated to be $7,500 per person. In addition to the direct cost quoted above, there would be additional costs in the form of lost employer contributions due to non-billable post-retirement earnings, which is estimated to be $2,250 per person. The number of members and retirees who could be affected by this legislation cannot be readily determined. For each retiree rehired pursuant to this proposal, an annual cost of $9,750 is expected. If large numbers of retirees are rehired into such positions, significant annual costs would result. Summary of relevant resources: Membership data as of March 31, 2024 was used in measuring the impact of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2024 actuari- al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2024 Report of the Actuary and the 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2024 Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and the Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York: Audit and Control. The Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March 31, 2024 New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements and Supplementary Information. This fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the viability of the proposed change nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for the professional judgment of an attorney. This estimate, dated February 12, 2025, and intended for use only during the 2025 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2025-29. As Chief Actuary of the New York State and Local Retirement System, I, Aaron Schottin Young, hereby certify that this analysis complies with applicable Actuarial Standards of Practice as well as the Code of Professional Conduct and Qualification Standards for Actuaries Issuing Statements of Actuarial Opinion of the American Academy of Actuaries, of which I am a member.
