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.