Bill Text: NY S08438 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Enacts the "social media monitoring safety act" to provide data analytic resources and funding to every school district to facilitate the monitoring of social media activities to provide early-detection information of possible threats to a student's health and the safety of the school; and makes an appropriation therefor.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-05-07 - REFERRED TO EDUCATION [S08438 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S08438-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          8438
                    IN SENATE
                                       May 7, 2018
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  GRIFFO -- 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  enacting  the  social
          media monitoring safety act; and making an appropriation therefor
          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 "social media monitoring safety act".
     3    §  2.  Legislative  intent.  It  is  the desire of this legislature to
     4  provide students and teachers with a safe environment to work and learn.
     5  It has become increasingly clear to this legislative body that  protect-
     6  ing  the  health  and  welfare of its public school students is becoming
     7  increasingly difficult. This legislative body  finds  that  the  use  of
     8  social  media  by  students is increasingly being used to voice opinions
     9  and thoughts that may be harmful to students and teachers alike.  There-
    10  fore,  this  legislative  body  finds  it necessary to create the social
    11  media monitoring safety act to provide data analytic resources and fund-
    12  ing to every school district to  facilitate  the  monitoring  of  social
    13  media  activities  to  provide  early  detection information of possible
    14  threats to a student's health and the safety of the school.
    15    § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 2801-a of the education law  is  amended
    16  by adding a new paragraph m to read as follows:
    17    m.  (i)  policies  and  procedures  to provide data analytic resources
    18  which facilitate the monitoring of any and all publicly available social
    19  media activities to provide  early  detection  information  of  possible
    20  threats  to a student's health and the safety of the school. Such infor-
    21  mation gathered pursuant to the early detection system shall be provided
    22  to the school principal or designee and such principal or designee shall
    23  act as he or she deems appropriate based on the level of threat  to  the
    24  health and safety of the school.
    25    (ii)  a  school district shall not be authorized to view, retrieve, or
    26  otherwise utilize any information that is  private,  including  but  not
    27  limited to email, unless expressly authorized by a student or a court of
    28  competent jurisdiction.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15714-01-8
        S. 8438                             2
     1    §  4.  The sum of six million dollars ($6,000,000) is hereby appropri-
     2  ated to the state department of education out of any moneys in the state
     3  treasury in the general fund, not otherwise appropriated, and made imme-
     4  diately available, for the services and  expenses  of  implementing  the
     5  social  media monitoring safety act. Such moneys shall be payable on the
     6  audit and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers certified  or  approved
     7  by the department of education.
     8    § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
     9  it shall have become a law.