Bill Text: NY S07154 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to requiring postsecondary institutions that participate in study abroad programs to report crime and harm that occurs to participating students.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 5-2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION [S07154 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S07154-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          7154
                    IN SENATE
                                       (Prefiled)
                                     January 3, 2018
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen. LAVALLE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education
        AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to  requiring  postsecon-
          dary  institutions that participate in study abroad programs to report
          crime and harm that occurs to participating students
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
     2  the "Safe Student Study Abroad Act" also known as the "Ravi  Thackurdeen
     3  Safe Student Study Abroad Act".
     4    §  2.  The  education  law is amended by adding a new article 130-A to
     5  read as follows:
     6                                ARTICLE 130-A
     7                          SAFE STUDENT STUDY ABROAD
     8  Section 6457. Definitions.
     9          6458. General provisions.
    10          6459. Reporting.
    11          6460. Student resources.
    12          6461. Program assessment.
    13    § 6457. Definitions. As used in  this  article,  the  following  terms
    14  shall have the following meanings:
    15    1. "College", "university" and "postsecondary" shall mean any institu-
    16  tion  of higher education, recognized and approved by the regents, which
    17  provides a course of study leading to the granting  of  a  postsecondary
    18  degree or diploma.
    19    2.  "Third party entities" shall mean any for profit or not-for-profit
    20  business that is not a college, university or postsecondary  institution
    21  which  provides  a study abroad program or coordinates a program between
    22  college, university or postsecondary institution in  the  United  States
    23  and a study abroad program.
    24    3. "Study abroad program" shall mean programs which are coordinated by
    25  college,  university or postsecondary institutions and third party enti-
    26  ties in the state of New York, that provide students with  the  opportu-
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11732-01-7

        S. 7154                             2
     1  nity  to  work  or  study,  wholly  or in principal part, outside of the
     2  United States of America.
     3    4. "Study abroad organization" shall mean college, university or post-
     4  secondary  institutions as well as third party entities that offer study
     5  abroad programs.
     6    § 6458. General provisions. Study abroad  organizations  shall  prior-
     7  itize the health, safety, and security of its students through policies,
     8  procedures, advising, orientation, and training.
     9    1.  Study  abroad  organizations  shall prioritize health, safety, and
    10  security  in  program  development,  implementation  and  management  by
    11  conducting  appropriate  risk  assessments  for  such  program sites and
    12  activities, maintaining written emergency plans and protocols, and iden-
    13  tifying and leveraging relevant authorities, networks and resources.
    14    2. Study abroad organizations' staff shall be  trained  to  anticipate
    15  and  respond  responsibly  to student health, safety, or security issues
    16  and students shall be provided training to responsibly manage their  own
    17  health,  safety,  and  security while abroad. Study abroad organizations
    18  shall establish measures to monitor and advise students on health, safe-
    19  ty, and security issues through the United States  department  of  state
    20  and other appropriate resources.
    21    3.  Study  abroad  organizations  shall maintain appropriate insurance
    22  policies at recommended levels, operate in compliance with  local  laws,
    23  and follow best practices in reporting on critical incidents.
    24    4.  Study  abroad  organizations  may  adopt and implement policies in
    25  accordance with the Standards of Good  Practice  for  Education  Abroad,
    26  made available by the Forum on Education Abroad.
    27    §  6459.  Reporting. 1. Beginning one year after the effective date of
    28  this article, study abroad organizations shall make and file  an  annual
    29  report  to the department by August fifteenth of each year.  Such report
    30  shall be prepared by all reasonably available data and shall consist  of
    31  data  from  the  previous  two  years and comply with the federal health
    32  insurance  portability  and  accountability  act  (HIPAA)  of  1996,  as
    33  amended, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. section
    34  1681,  et. seq.) and all other applicable regulations. Data representing
    35  individuals shall be in numerical form omitting personal information.
    36    2. The report mandated by this section shall include:
    37    a. for the previous academic year, including summer terms, the  effec-
    38  tiveness  of  the study abroad program at protecting students from crime
    39  and harm, whether changes to such program are needed and how such chang-
    40  es will be implemented;
    41    b. for the ten years preceding the date of the report, when such  data
    42  is reasonably attainable, the number of:
    43    i. deaths of program participants including manner of death;
    44    ii. accidents and illnesses that resulted in hospitalization including
    45  the type of such accident or illness;
    46    iii. sexual assaults against program participants;
    47    iv. incidents that resulted in a police report including type of inci-
    48  dent; and
    49    v.  with respect to the incidents described in subparagraphs i through
    50  iv of this paragraph, whether the incidents occurred:
    51    (1) during program participation;
    52    (2) during students own time;
    53    (3) on campus;
    54    (4) off campus;
    55    (5) the location of the incident; and
    56    (6) the time of the incident.

        S. 7154                             3
     1    c. Study abroad organizations shall also report on  ethical  relation-
     2  ships  and  conflict of interest avoidance policies with all major part-
     3  ners.
     4    § 6460. Student resources. 1. Study abroad organizations shall provide
     5  each  student  who  is interested in participating in a program of study
     6  abroad, with pre-registration information advising that includes:
     7    a. all current travel information, including all travel  warnings  and
     8  travel  alerts,  issued by the bureau of consular affairs of the depart-
     9  ment of state for such countries;
    10    b. all current safety alerts known within thirty miles of  the  campus
    11  including  information  obtained  by students from post-trip orientation
    12  sessions or reports; and
    13    c. the reporting information required by the department as  identified
    14  in section sixty-four hundred fifty-nine of this article.
    15    2.  Study  abroad organizations shall provide each student who returns
    16  from a study abroad program with an anonymous  post-semester  evaluation
    17  questionnaire, and the opportunity for a documented exit interview which
    18  shall focus on the program's effectiveness in best practices and student
    19  safety.  These  reports  are  to  be  made  available to the public upon
    20  request.
    21    3. Study abroad organizations shall include references to  the  avail-
    22  ability  of the reports identified in sections sixty-four hundred fifty-
    23  nine and sixty-four hundred sixty of this article on  all  websites  and
    24  printed materials.
    25    §  6461.  Program  assessment. 1. The department shall, using existing
    26  staff and budget, assess the effectiveness of this article and appropri-
    27  ate state regulation of postsecondary study abroad programs. The assess-
    28  ment shall focus on the protection, the health and safety of students in
    29  postsecondary study abroad programs;  and  the  reporting  process.  The
    30  department  shall  make  their  assessments  and the reports required in
    31  section sixty-four hundred fifty-nine  of  this  article  to  any  state
    32  legislator upon request.
    33    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
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