S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
4787--A
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
April 17, 2015
___________
Introduced by Sens. FUNKE, AKSHAR, AMEDORE, AVELLA, GOLDEN, HAMILTON,
LARKIN, MARCHIONE, VALESKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Education -- recommitted
to the Committee on Education in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8
-- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law and the election law, in relation to
school session days
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivision 8 of section 3604 of the education law, as
amended by chapter 260 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as
follows:
8. No school shall be in session on a Saturday, GENERAL ELECTION DAY
or a legal holiday, except [general election day,] Washington's birthday
and Lincoln's birthday, and except that driver education classes may be
conducted on a Saturday. A SCHOOL DISTRICT MAY ELECT TO REQUIRE STAFF
ATTENDANCE ON A GENERAL ELECTION DAY OR TO SCHEDULE A PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT DAY. A deficiency not exceeding four days during any school
year caused by teachers' attendance upon conferences held by superinten-
dents of schools of city school districts or other school districts
employing superintendents of schools shall be excused by the commission-
er, notwithstanding any provision of law, rule or regulation to the
contrary, a school district may elect to schedule such conference days
in the last two weeks of August, subject to collective bargaining
requirements pursuant to article fourteen of the civil service law, and
such days shall be counted towards the required one hundred eighty days
of session, provided however, that such scheduling shall not alter the
obligation of the school district to provide transportation to students
in non-public elementary and secondary schools or charter schools. The
commissioner shall excuse a deficiency not exceeding four days during
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04519-04-6
S. 4787--A 2
such school year caused by teachers' attendance upon conferences held by
such superintendents, provided that at least two such conference days
during such school year shall be dedicated to staff attendance upon
conferences providing staff development relating to implementation of
the new high learning standards and assessments, as adopted by the board
of regents. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regu-
lation to the contrary, school districts may elect to use one or more of
such allowable conference days in units of not less than one hour each
to provide staff development activities relating to implementation of
the new high learning standards and assessments. A district making such
election may provide such staff development during the regularly sched-
uled daily session and apply such units to satisfy a deficiency in the
length of one or more daily sessions of instruction for pupils as speci-
fied in regulations of the commissioner. The commissioner shall assure
that such conference days include appropriate school violence prevention
and intervention training, and may require that up to one such confer-
ence day be dedicated for such purpose.
S 2. Subdivision 3 of section 4-104 of the election law, as amended by
chapter 694 of the laws of 1989, is amended to read as follows:
3. A building exempt from taxation shall be used whenever possible as
a polling place if it is situated in the same or a contiguous election
district, and may contain as many distinctly separate polling places as
public convenience may require. The expense, if any, incidental to its
use, shall be paid like the expense of other places of registration and
voting. If a board or body empowered to designate polling places chooses
a public school building for such purpose, the board or agency which
controls such building must make available a room or rooms in such
building which are suitable for registration and voting and which are as
close as possible to a convenient entrance to such building and must
make available any such room or rooms which the board or body designat-
ing such building determines are accessible to physically disabled
voters as provided in subdivision one-a OF THIS SECTION. Notwithstanding
the provisions of any general, special or local law, if a board or body
empowered to designate polling places chooses a publicly owned or leased
building[, other than a public school building,] for such purposes the
board or body which controls such building must make available a room or
rooms in such building which are suitable for registration and voting
and which are as close as possible to a convenient entrance to such
building, and must make available any such room or rooms which the board
or body designating such building determines are accessible to phys-
ically disabled voters unless, not later than thirty days after notice
of its designation as a polling place, the board or body controlling
such building, files a written request for a cancellation of such desig-
nation with the board or body empowered to designate polling places on
such form as shall be provided by the board or body making such desig-
nation. The board or body empowered to so designate shall, within twenty
days after such request is filed, determine whether the use of such
building as a polling place would unreasonably interfere with the usual
activities conducted in such building and upon such determination, may
cancel such designation.
S 3. This act shall take effect January 1, 2017.
