Senate Bill S5140

                                BILL NUMBER:S5140

TITLE OF BILL:

An  act to amend the education law, in relation to establishing a mentor
for youth program within the department of education

PURPOSE:

Establishes a mentor for youth program for middle school and high school
students at high risk to engage in violent acts or drop out of school.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

§ 141 Mentor youth Program. 1.  There is hereby established  within  the
department  a  mentor  for  youth  program.  The  focus and goal of such
program shall be preventing violence and  decreasing  the  dropout  rate
among  male  and  female  middle  school  and high school students. Such
program shall emphasize proven core values to facilitate its goals. Such
core values shall include, but not be limited  to,  integrity,  account-
ability,  self-determination,  the positive expression and management of
anger, visionary goal setting and respect for others. Such program shall
be administered in  school  districts  throughout  the  state  that  the
commissioner  determines  have  a significant number of students at high
risk to engage in violent acts or drop out of school. In the development
and implementation of such program, the department shall,  in  consulta-
              

tion with the office of children and family services and any other agen-
cy  of  the  state the department deems necessary, incorporate nontradi-
tional and state-of-the-art teaching and  mentoring  methods  that  have
proven  effective  in  positively  influencing such at-risk students. In
addition, such program shall incorporate the use of sports, recreational
activities and the fine arts to the extent  that  such  disciplines  are
deemed  necessary  I achieving the goals of such program. 2. The commis-
sion shall report to the governor and the legislature  three  years  and
five  years  after  the effective date of this section setting forth the
impact such mentor for youth program has had on such high risk students.
3. The commissioner shall promulgate such rules and regulations  as  are
necessary to implement the provisions of this section.

EXISTING LAW:

No

JUSTIFICATION:

This bill is part of a three (3) bill packet of legislation that will be
going  forward,  referred  to  as the "Benny Lyde Packet" addressing the
ever rising volume of youth violence in certain high risk areas; due  to
a  failure  to  provide  of accurate information to our high risk youth,
mental health issues surrounding past traumas and a lack  of  psycholog-
ical anchors and adequate mentoring during key periods in certain youths
development.  The  packet  will  also  address  the lack of man-power to

investigate and see to fruition the capture of those guilty  of  commit-
ting such crimes.

Benny  Lyde, was an up and coming young man who had studied business and
accounting and had aspirations of going into politics.  Benny  was  shot
and 3 months later died at the age of 21 in 2005.

The police determined that he had been shot in retaliation for something
in  which  he  was  not  involved,  A friend had beaten someone up; that
person's friend couldn't find him, so he found Benny instead. The police
and his parents investigated and searched for his  killer  for  2  and'/
years.  Benny's  younger  brother  Prince, who was inseparable from him-
spent many days watching his brother lying in the  hospital,  and  began
coming to the conclusion that doing the right thing "didn't pay off."

Communities  need  all  the pieces to address this ongoing problem. They
need counselors to assist when violence does strike home and  they  need
manpower  to  assist in finding the culprits who commit these acts. They
need their youth  educated  with  the  correct  information,  they  need
mentors for the children to talk to and assist them with the correct way
to  mediate  disagreements and problems that may arise, this bill covers
that piece We are in hopes that this bill along with the other two bills
incorporated in this packet will begin that process.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD - Federal funding may be available

LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act shall take effect immediately