Senate Bill S1076

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S1076

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring public
school districts to develop policies limiting the use of
district-owned cellular phones


 PURPOSE :

Requires school districts to develop a policy limiting the use of
school-owned cell phones to school related purposes.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

The education law is amended by adding a new section 308-a.

 JUSTIFICATION :

New York State's taxpayers invest more than $39 billion per year for
education in New York State. It is an investment that New Yorkers make
because of their longstanding commitment to ensuring a quality
education for all of their children and because of the recognition of
the crucial role that education plays in ensuring the continued
vitality of the state.
              

Because the investment is so important, it is crucial that we do
everything we can to ensure that money is spent in a fiscally prudent
and financially responsible manner. Unfortunately, recent events have
underscored the fact that financial oversight of school districts is
woefully inadequate and that fundamental change is required in order
to ensure the continued confidence of New Yorkers in their education
investment. Audits conducted by the State Comptroller's Office have
revealed that some school districts have reimbursement policies for
personal usage, while others completely lack policies and make feeble,
if any, attempts to recoup monies for personal use of district
cellular phones.

Although the Legislature enacted laws to improve the fiscal oversight
of school district finances in the 2005 Legislative Session, this
legislation did not substantially improve accountability and the use
of district automobiles, cellular phones, and credit cards. This
legislation will ensure that districts have "use policies" for cell
phones and prevent the misuse of such taxpayer funded items. The lack
of written policies makes it nearly impossible to ensure that money is
being spent according to Board of Education policies and in the best
interest of the school district and local taxpayers.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2007-08, S.873; 2005-06, S.6665

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None to state.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.