Bill Text: NY S06687 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires school districts to have diversity officers to develop methods to diversify the personnel of the school district and to recommend changes to district policies and practices to reduce racial disparities in hiring school district employees, particularly teachers; requires boards of education to annually report information regarding such policies and practices to the department of education; requires the department of education to annually report such information to the legislature.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO EDUCATION [S06687 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S06687-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6687 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE May 12, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- 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 school district diver- sity officers The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 2101 of the education law, as 2 amended by chapter 107 of the laws of 1976, is amended to read as 3 follows: 4 1. Each common school district shall have one or three trustees as the 5 district determines, a collector except in first class towns and except 6 as may be otherwise provided by law, a diversity officer, and if the 7 district so decides a treasurer. 8 § 2. Section 2102 of the education law, as amended by chapter 737 of 9 the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows: 10 § 2102. Qualifications of officers. Every school district officer 11 must be able to read and write and must be a qualified voter of the 12 district; and each member of a board of education of a union free school 13 district, common school district or a central school district shall have 14 been a resident of the school district, or in the case of a person qual- 15 ified by subdivision three of section twenty hundred twelve of this 16 chapter to vote in a district election, a resident of the district or 17 reservation, for at least one year prior to the election. Notwithstand- 18 ing the provisions of any other general or special law to the contrary, 19 a school district treasurer, collector, diversity officer or clerk need 20 not be a resident of the school district to hold such office in such 21 district. 22 § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 2103 of the education law is amended to 23 read as follows: 24 1. No district superintendent or supervisor is eligible to the office 25 of trustee or member of a board of education, and no trustee or member EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09161-03-1S. 6687 2 1 of a board of education can hold the office of district clerk, collec- 2 tor, diversity officer, treasurer or librarian, except as otherwise 3 provided by section twenty-one hundred thirty. 4 § 4. Section 2103 of the education law is amended by adding a new 5 subdivision 5 to read as follows: 6 5. An administrative employee of the school district shall be 7 appointed as the school district diversity officer. 8 § 5. The part heading of part 2 of article 43 of the education law is 9 amended to read as follows: 10 DISTRICT CLERK; TREASURER; DIVERSITY OFFICER; COLLECTOR 11 § 6. The education law is amended by adding a new section 2131 to 12 read as follows: 13 § 2131. Duties of diversity officer. It shall be the duty of the 14 diversity officer of each school district to develop methods to diversi- 15 fy the personnel of the school district, with an emphasis on diversify- 16 ing teaching staff. The diversity officer shall annually review racial 17 and ethnic disparities within the school district and shall encourage 18 and assist in the recruitment and retention of a more racially and 19 ethnically diverse staff. The diversity officer shall also review 20 school district policies and practices and recommend changes to such 21 policies and practices to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in hiring 22 school district employees, particularly teachers. The diversity officer 23 shall publish an annual report on the school district's plans, processes 24 and progress in hiring and retaining educators of color. Such report 25 shall be presented to the local board of education and shall be avail- 26 able to the public 27 § 7. Section 1709 of the education law is amended by adding a new 28 subdivision 44 to read as follows: 29 44. To prepare a report in response to the annual report presented to 30 the board of education by the diversity officer pursuant to section 31 twenty-one hundred thirty-one of this title relating to the school 32 district's plans, processes and progress in hiring and retaining educa- 33 tors of color and to submit such report to the department. 34 § 8. Section 1804 of the education law is amended by adding a new 35 subdivision 13 to read as follows: 36 13. The board shall prepare a report in response to the annual report 37 presented to the board of education by the diversity officer pursuant to 38 section twenty-one hundred thirty-one of this title relating to the 39 school district's plans, processes and progress in hiring and retaining 40 educators of color and to submit such report to the department. 41 § 9. Section 2503 of the education law is amended by adding a new 42 subdivision 22 to read as follows: 43 22. Shall prepare a report in response to the annual report presented 44 to the board of education by the diversity officer pursuant to section 45 twenty-one hundred thirty-one of this title relating to the school 46 district's plans, processes and progress in hiring and retaining educa- 47 tors of color and to submit such report to the department. 48 § 10. Section 2554 of the education law is amended by adding a new 49 subdivision 29 to read as follows: 50 29. To prepare a report in response to the annual report presented to 51 the board of education by the diversity officer pursuant to section 52 twenty-one hundred thirty-one of this title relating to the school 53 district's plans, processes and progress in hiring and retaining educa- 54 tors of color and to submit such report to the department. 55 § 11. Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding a new 56 subdivision 59 to read as follows:S. 6687 3 1 59. The commissioner shall prepare an annual report based on the 2 reports submitted to the department by local boards of education on 3 school districts' plans, processes and progress in hiring and retaining 4 educators of color and shall submit such report to the legislature annu- 5 ally. 6 § 12. This act shall take effect immediately.
