S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
9620
I N A S S E M B L Y
January 26, 2018
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SKARTADOS -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend part B of chapter 56 of the laws of 2014, relating to
creating the smart schools bond act of 2014, in relation to authoriz-
ing funding for recorded lessons and online access to recorded
lessons; authorizing the state department of education to establish a
pilot program to provide school districts with the technology required
to digitally record daily classroom lessons and to make recorded
lessons available to students and their parents through an online
portal; and to ensure that there is a certified online tutorial module
for each Common Core lesson
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 4 of part B of chapter 56 of the laws of 2014,
relating to creating the smart schools bond act of 2014, is amended to
read as follows:
§ 4. Use of moneys received. The moneys received by the state from the
sale of bonds sold pursuant to this act shall be expended pursuant to
appropriations for capital projects related to design, planning, site
acquisition, demolition, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation,
or acquisition and/or installation of equipment for the following types
of projects: capital projects related to educational technology equip-
ment or facilities including but not limited to interactive whiteboards;
RECORDED CLASSROOM LESSONS MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH AN ONLINE PORTAL;
computer servers; desktop and laptop computers, and tablets; high-speed
broadband or wireless internet connectivity for schools and communities;
capital projects to construct, enhance or modernize educational facili-
ties to accommodate pre-kindergarten programs and provide instructional
space to replace transportable classroom units; and capital projects to
install high-tech security features in school buildings and on school
campuses.
§ 2. (a) The New York state department of education is hereby author-
ized and directed to establish a two year pilot program for the purpose
of evaluating the impact on student performance of technology to record
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14292-01-8
A. 9620 2
classroom lessons and making such lessons available to students through
a secure online portal immediately after the lesson, and the feasibility
of implementing such technology on a statewide basis.
(b) The New York state department of education shall determine an
appropriate number of school districts to participate in the pilot
program. The number of school districts selected to participate in the
pilot program, and the selected schools within each district, shall be
based on a representative sample of the state's diverse conditions with
respect to the density, income, academic accomplishments and other
conditions that such department determines to set districts apart from
each other. All grades, from first grade through twelfth grade, shall be
included in the sampling size. A school district may request to partic-
ipate in the pilot program; however, the final determination of which
districts and schools will participate in the program shall be made by
such department based on the pilot program requirements. Pilot program
requirements may require such department to assign a school district, or
schools within a district, to participate in this program, however, such
an assignment shall not be made until a majority of the school board
approves the assignment by resolution. The size and scope of the pilot
program shall be limited to available funds in the smart schools bond
fund established by section 97-oooo of the state finance law, to account
for two full school years, at no cost to any participating local school
district.
(c) The New York state department of education shall provide training
in the use of the technology to the administration and teachers in
participating school districts, including, but not limited to, teaching
techniques that create quality video outcomes, best practices to handle
unintended consequences such as overcoming camera shyness and techniques
to handle situations that may arise from the exposure of classroom
sessions to parents, administrators and unauthorized public viewing.
(d) All school classrooms within the districts that are selected shall
record all daily lessons. Recordings may be temporarily stopped at the
teacher's discretion when time is not directed towards lessons or in the
event of a classroom disturbance. All district recorded lessons shall be
made available to every student attending the school district, and their
parents, through a secure online login procedure. Recordings of lessons
shall be the property of the school district and the reproduction or
misuse of the content without the written consent of the teacher is
prohibited and may be punishable as a crime. Participating school
districts are prohibited from using the content of the recorded lessons
as part of a teacher evaluation, without the written consent of the
teacher conducting the lesson. Each camera will be placed in the class-
room to provide a front view of the teacher, and instructional aids used
during the lesson.
§ 3. (a) By December first of the year that the pilot program is
implemented, the New York state department of education shall provide to
the legislature a report containing the following information: (i) eval-
uations of student use, satisfaction and test results; (ii) teacher
comments and satisfaction with the program; (iii) such department's
evaluation of the program and conclusions with respect to full implemen-
tation statewide; and (iv) if such department decides to implement the
technology program on a statewide basis, a description of such depart-
ment's plan to create such a program and to account for the cost for the
initial implementation and yearly sustainability.
(b) If the New York state department of education decides to implement
the technology program on a statewide basis, it shall do so provided
A. 9620 3
funds are available in the smart schools bond fund established by
section 97-oooo of the state finance law. If funds are not available for
a full statewide implementation, such department shall, at its
discretion, create a plan to use available funds from the smart schools
bond fund to implement the plan to the extent that it is possible. In
this event, such department shall submit a request to the legislature
for additional funding to enable statewide implementation of the
program, and to ensure continuous funding for schools that participated
in the pilot program. Such request for more funds shall be made to the
legislature in a timely manner so as to be included in the budget for
the following year. Costs associated with yearly sustainability shall be
accounted for by such department, and shall not be passed on to any
local school district.
§ 4. The New York state department of education shall certify a
library of online tutorials for each lesson included in the Common Core
curriculum for first grade through twelfth grade as given in New York
state. When necessary, the state shall contract with a vendor to create
content to satisfy this requirement. This library shall be made avail-
able to the general public, online, at no cost.
§ 5. Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary,
funds and materials provided to local school districts for this act
shall not be included as income in tax cap formulas for the purposes of
apportionment.
§ 6. This act shall take effect immediately.