Bill Text: NY S07944 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Prohibits the use of biometric identifying technology in schools for any reason other than specified purposes.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-07 - REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO EDUCATION [S07944 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S07944-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7944

                    IN SENATE

                                     January 4, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. HOYLMAN-SIGAL -- read twice and ordered printed, and
          when printed to be committed to the Committee on Internet and Technol-
          ogy

        AN ACT to amend the state technology law, in relation to banning the use
          of biometric identifying technology in schools

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Subdivisions 2, 3 and 4 of section 106-b of the state tech-
     2  nology  law,  as  added by chapter 2 of the laws of 2021, are amended to
     3  read as follows:
     4    2. a. Except as authorized in paragraph b of this subdivision,  public
     5  and  nonpublic  elementary  and  secondary  schools,  including  charter
     6  schools, shall be prohibited  from  purchasing  or  utilizing  biometric
     7  identifying  technology  for  any  purpose,  including school security[,
     8  until July first, two thousand twenty-two or until the  commissioner  of
     9  education  authorizes such purchase or utilization as provided in subdi-
    10  vision three of this section, whichever occurs later].
    11    b. Schools  may  utilize  biometric  identifying  technology  for  the
    12  following purposes: (i) fingerprint identification of prospective school
    13  employees  where utilized for the purpose of compliance with a provision
    14  of the education law or the regulations of the commissioner of education
    15  or (ii) to exclusively identify employees that have consented in writing
    16  to the use of such technology or in the case  of  employees  represented
    17  under  article  fourteen  of  the  civil service law, where the employee
    18  organization representing such employee has consented in writing to  the
    19  use of such technology.
    20    [3.  a. The commissioner of education shall not authorize the purchase
    21  or utilization of biometric identifying technology,  including  but  not
    22  limited  to  facial  recognition  technology, without the director first
    23  issuing a report prepared  in  consultation  with  the  state  education
    24  department,  making recommendations as to the circumstances in which the
    25  utilization of such technology is appropriate in  public  and  nonpublic
    26  elementary  and  secondary  schools, including charter schools, and what
    27  restrictions and guidelines should  be  enacted  to  protect  individual

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13591-01-3
        S. 7944                             2

     1  privacy, civil rights, and civil liberty interests. Such report shall be
     2  made  public  and  presented to the governor, the temporary president of
     3  the senate, and the speaker of the assembly, and shall consider,  evalu-
     4  ate and present recommendations concerning:
     5    i.  the  privacy  implications  of collecting, storing, and/or sharing
     6  biometric information of students, teachers, school  personnel  and  the
     7  general public entering a school or school grounds;
     8    ii. the potential impact of the use of biometric identifying technolo-
     9  gy  on  student  civil liberties and student civil rights, including the
    10  risks and implications of the technology resulting in false facial iden-
    11  tifications, and whether  the  risks  of  false  facial  identifications
    12  differs  for  different subgroups of individuals based on race, national
    13  origin, gender, age and other factors, and any other reasonable accuracy
    14  concerns with respect to technology;
    15    iii. whether, and under what circumstances,  such  technology  may  be
    16  used  for  school  security  and the effectiveness of such technology to
    17  protect students and school personnel;
    18    iv. whether, and under what circumstances and in what manner, informa-
    19  tion collected may be used by schools and shared with students,  parents
    20  or guardians, outside agencies including law enforcement agencies, indi-
    21  viduals, litigants, the courts, and any other third parties;
    22    v. the length of time biometric information may be retained and wheth-
    23  er,  and  in  what manner, such information may be required to be perma-
    24  nently destroyed;
    25    vi. the risk of an unauthorized breach of  biometric  information  and
    26  appropriate consequences therefor;
    27    vii.  expected maintenance costs resulting from the storage and use of
    28  facial recognition images and other biometric information, including the
    29  cost of  appropriately  securing  sensitive  data,  performing  required
    30  updates to protect against an unauthorized breach of data, and potential
    31  costs associated with an unauthorized breach of data;
    32    viii.  analysis  of other schools and organizations, if any, that have
    33  implemented facial recognition technology and other biometric  identify-
    34  ing technology programs;
    35    ix. the appropriateness and potential implications of using any exist-
    36  ing databases, including but not limited to, local law enforcement data-
    37  bases, as part of biometric identifying technology;
    38    x.  whether,  and in what manner such biometric identifying technology
    39  should be assessed and audited, including but  not  limited  to,  vendor
    40  datasets,  adherence  to  appropriate standards of algorithmic fairness,
    41  accuracy, and other  performance  metrics,  including  with  respect  to
    42  subgroups of persons based on race, national origin, gender, and age;
    43    xi.  whether, and in what manner, the use of such technology should be
    44  disclosed by signs and the like in such schools, as well as communicated
    45  to parents, guardians, students, and district residents; and
    46    xii. existing legislation, including but not limited to section  two-d
    47  of  the  education  law,  that  may be implicated by or in conflict with
    48  biometric technology to ensure the maintenance of records related to the
    49  use of such technology, protect the privacy interests of data  subjects,
    50  and avoid any breaches of data.
    51    b.  The  director, in consultation with the commissioner of education,
    52  shall consult  with  stakeholders  and  other  interested  parties  when
    53  preparing  such  report. The state education department, the division of
    54  criminal justice services, law enforcement  authorities  and  the  state
    55  university of New York and the city university of New York shall, to the
    56  extent  practicable,  identify and provide representatives to the office
        S. 7944                             3

     1  of information technology, at the request of the director, in  order  to
     2  participate in the development and drafting of such report.
     3    4.  The  director  shall,  via  scheduled  public  hearings  and other
     4  outreach methods, seek feedback from  teachers,  school  administrators,
     5  parents,  individuals  with expertise in school safety and security, and
     6  individuals with expertise in data privacy issues  and  student  privacy
     7  issues,  and individuals with expertise in civil rights and civil liber-
     8  ties prior to making such recommendations.]
     9    § 2.  This act shall take effect immediately.