NY State Senate Bill 2017-S3471

Senate Bill S3471

2017-2018 Legislative Session

Establishes family literacy programs for economically disadvantaged families living in poverty areas or areas with low-performing public schools

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Education Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2018	referred to education
Jan 23, 2017	referred to education

2017-S3471 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A791
Current Committee:: Senate Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §3641, Ed L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: A2635
2011-2012: A2555
2013-2014: S5515, A4243
2015-2016: S1494, A1638
2019-2020: S4787, A3669
2021-2022: S5048, A1426
2023-2024: S6004, A4751

2017-S3471 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes family literacy programs for economically disadvantaged families living in poverty areas or areas with low-performing public schools; provides for competitive matching grants to establish a comprehensive program; requires commissioner of education to submit an annual report to the governor and legislature.

2017-S3471 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S3471

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the education law, in relation to
establishing family literacy programs for economically disadvantaged
families living in poverty areas or in areas served by low-performing
public schools

 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :

To break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy, and improve educational
opportunities for New York's low-income families by funding family
literacy programs which integrate early childhood development, adult
literacy or adult basic education, inter-generational learning and
parental education.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :

Section 1 is the legislative finding for family literacy programs.

Section 2 creates family literacy grants, authorizing the Commissioner
of Education to award competitive matching grants to support
comprehensive family literacy programs. In order to qualify, programs
need to provide an approved family literacy program to eligible
families. Paragraph (a) defines relevant terms. Paragraph (b)
implements the procedure for awarding grants and reporting
requirements. Paragraph (c) sets up a payment schedule for providers.

Paragraph (d) requires an annual report evaluating family literacy
programs.

 JUSTIFICATION :

In 1991, the National Literacy Act defined literacy as: "an
individual's ability to read, write, and speak in English, and compute
and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on
the job and in society, to achieve one's goals, and develop one's
knowledge and potential."

According to the 1998 report,

THE STATE OF LITERACY IN AMERICA by the National Institute for
Literacy, the impacts of low literacy are many, including:

*Poverty (43% of adults at the lowest level of literacy, Level 1, were
living in poverty compared to 4% at Level 5);

*Welfare (Three out of four food stamp recipients performed in the two
lowest literacy levels);

*Income (Adults at Level 1 earned a median income of $240 per week,
compared to $681 for those at Level 5);

*Employment Status (Adults at Level 1 worked an average 4f 19 weeks
per year compared to 44 weeks per year for those at Level 5);

*Crime (Seven in ten prisoners performed in the lowest two literacy
levels).

IN NEW YORK STATE, 25% OF THE ADULT POPULATION IS AT LEVEL 1, WHICH IS
THE LOWEST LEVEL OF LITERACY. Nationally, fewer than 10 percent of
adults who could benefit from literacy programs are being served.
Recently Congress passed the Workforce Investment Act, Title II -
Adult Education and Family Literacy Act which creates a partnership
among the federal government, states and localities to provide family
education and literacy services. This bill will initiate family
literacy programs at the state level in conjunction with the federal

effort. By enacting this proposal, New York will begin to create
programs necessary to comply with the Workforce Investment Act.

Comprehensive family literacy programs will help many parents and
children living in poverty to improve their lives many currently
existing programs are at full capacity with long waiting lists. In
1996, the Rand Corporation report, USING DATA TO EVALUATE THE
PERFORMANCE OF THE NEW YORK EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCE SYSTEM, found
that, "...the most important family influences on student test scores
are the level of parental education, family size, family income and
the age of the mother when the child is born."

Family literacy is increasingly being recognized as the future of
literacy education for adults and children together. Increasing the
levels of literacy and education for parents helps them to support the
early literacy skills for their children. Educators, economists,
legislators and public policy experts are all coming to realize that
the recent emphasis on, increasing standards for students, early
childhood education, including all-day kindergarten and Universal
Pre-K, cannot succeed if we neglect the most important influence in a
child's environment: their parents. Putting adult literacy education
in the same milieu with elementary and secondary education will result
in increased Achievement, easier transitions for welfare-to-work, a
more skilled workforce, and decreased poverty and crime. In 1994-95
for every dollar spent on adult education, $2.65 was returned to the
economy. The modest investment made by this bill will translate into
significant economic and social improvement for our State.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2015-16: S.1494A/A.1638A - Amend and Recommit to Education
2013-14: S.5515A/A.4243 - Amend and Recommit to Education and Print;
2009-10: Held for consideration in education
1997-98: A.5505-C
1996: A.10942

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take place July 1, 2020.

2017-S3471 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   3471
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 23, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation  to  establishing  family
   literacy  programs  for  economically disadvantaged families living in
   poverty areas or in areas served by low-performing public schools

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Legislative findings and declaration. It is the purpose of
 this act to help break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy by  improving
 the  educational  opportunities  for  New  York's low-income families by
 funding family literacy programs that integrate early childhood develop-
 ment, adult literacy or adult basic education, inter-generational learn-
 ing and parenting education. The legislature finds and declares that the
 provision of comprehensive  family  literacy  programs  will  help  many
 parents  and  children  living  in  poverty  to improve their lives. The
 legislature finds that, based on national  and  state  surveys,  persons
 with  low  literacy  levels  are  most  likely to live in poverty and be
 dependent on public assistance. The legislature  finds  that  a  compar-
 atively  high  percentage  of  students  attending low-performing public
 schools live in poverty or have parents with  limited  English  language
 proficiency or poor literacy skills. The legislature finds that there is
 inadequate  funding  to address the illiteracy problem in these communi-
 ties.  Therefore, the legislature finds that it  is  necessary  to  fund
 family literacy programs targeted to economically disadvantaged families
 residing  in poverty areas or in attendance zones served by low-perform-
 ing public schools to assist adults and children living in these  commu-
 nities  to obtain the skills they need to lead successful and productive
 lives.
   § 2. Section 3641 of the education law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
 subdivision 17 to read as follows:

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04869-01-7

 S. 3471                             2
 
   17.  FAMILY  LITERACY  GRANTS. WITHIN THE AMOUNT APPROPRIATED FOR SUCH
 PURPOSE, THE COMMISSIONER IS DIRECTED AND AUTHORIZED  TO  AWARD  COMPET-
 ITIVE MATCHING GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE PROVIDERS TO SUPPORT THE ESTABLISHMENT
 OF  COMPREHENSIVE  FAMILY LITERACY PROGRAMS. IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR
 SUCH  A  GRANT,  A  GRANTEE  SHALL  PROVIDE  AN APPROVED FAMILY LITERACY
 PROGRAM TO ELIGIBLE FAMILIES.
   A. DEFINITIONS. AS USED IN THIS SECTION:
   (1) "FAMILY LITERACY PROGRAM" MEANS SERVICES THAT  ARE  OF  SUFFICIENT
 INTENSITY IN TERMS OF HOURS AND OF SUFFICIENT DURATION TO MAKE SUSTAINA-
 BLE  CHANGES  TO A FAMILY AND THAT INTEGRATE ALL OF THE FOLLOWING ACTIV-
 ITIES: INTERACTIVE LITERACY ACTIVITIES BETWEEN PARENTS AND  THEIR  CHIL-
 DREN;  EDUCATION FOR PARENTS REGARDING HOW TO BE THE PRIMARY TEACHER FOR
 THEIR CHILDREN AND FULL PARTNERS IN THE  EDUCATION  OF  THEIR  CHILDREN;
 PARENT LITERACY PREPARATION THAT LEADS TO ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY; AND
 AN  AGE-APPROPRIATE  EDUCATION TO PREPARE CHILDREN FOR SUCCESS IN SCHOOL
 AND LIFE EXPERIENCES.
   (2) "ELIGIBLE PARENT" MEANS AN INDIVIDUAL  WHO  IS:  (I)  IN  PARENTAL
 RELATION  TO AN ELIGIBLE CHILD, AS DEFINED BY THE COMMISSIONER, AND (II)
 IN NEED OF ADULT BASIC EDUCATION, AS DEFINED IN THIS SECTION.
   (3) "ELIGIBLE CHILD" MEANS A CHILD FROM BIRTH THROUGH AGE  TWELVE  WHO
 HAS ONE OR MORE ELIGIBLE PARENTS.
   (4)  "ELIGIBLE  FAMILY" MEANS A FAMILY UNIT WHICH CONTAINS ONE OR MORE
 ELIGIBLE PARENTS AND ONE OR MORE  ELIGIBLE  CHILDREN  AND  WHOSE  FAMILY
 INCOME  IS  AT  OR BELOW THE POVERTY LEVEL AND WHO RESIDES IN AN AREA OF
 POVERTY OR IN AN ATTENDANCE  ZONE  SERVED  BY  A  LOW-PERFORMING  PUBLIC
 SCHOOL, BOTH AS DEFINED BY THE COMMISSIONER.
   (5)  "ELIGIBLE PROVIDER" MEANS A SCHOOL DISTRICT OR A BOARD OF COOPER-
 ATIVE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH  A  PUBLIC  AGENCY  OR  A
 PRIVATE, NONSECTARIAN NOT-FOR-PROFIT AGENCY.
   (6) "AUTHORIZED EXPENDITURES" MEANS THOSE EXPENSES RELATED TO INSTRUC-
 TION,  ASSESSMENT, COUNSELING, ADMINISTRATION, PURCHASE OF INSTRUCTIONAL
 MATERIALS, PURCHASE OR LEASE OF APPROVED EQUIPMENT, COST  OF  IN-SERVICE
 TRAINING FOR PARTICIPATING INSTRUCTORS AND COUNSELORS, DESIGNED TO SERVE
 ELIGIBLE FAMILIES AND OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE AND PROGRAM COSTS AS APPROVED
 BY  THE COMMISSIONER, OR FOR THE STATEWIDE EVALUATION OF FAMILY LITERACY
 PROGRAMS.
   (7) "ADULT EDUCATION" MEANS SERVICES OR INSTRUCTION BELOW THE  POSTSE-
 CONDARY LEVEL FOR INDIVIDUALS:
   (A) WHO HAVE ATTAINED SIXTEEN YEARS OF AGE;
   (B)  WHO  ARE  NOT  ENROLLED  OR  REQUIRED TO BE ENROLLED IN SECONDARY
 SCHOOL UNDER LAW; AND
   (C) WHO (I) LACK SUFFICIENT MASTERY OF  BASIC  EDUCATIONAL  SKILLS  TO
 ENABLE THE INDIVIDUALS TO FUNCTION EFFECTIVELY IN SOCIETY;
   (II)  DO  NOT HAVE A SECONDARY SCHOOL DIPLOMA OR ITS RECOGNIZED EQUIV-
 ALENT, AND HAVE NOT ACHIEVED AN EQUIVALENT LEVEL OF EDUCATION; OR
   (III) ARE UNABLE TO SPEAK, READ, OR WRITE THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
   B. AWARD OF GRANTS. (1) ELIGIBLE PROVIDERS SHALL SUBMIT  PROPOSALS  TO
 THE COMMISSIONER, INCLUDING PROGRAM BUDGETS, TO FUND AUTHORIZED EXPENDI-
 TURES  IN SUPPORT OF FAMILY LITERACY PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO SERVE ELIGIBLE
 FAMILIES. SUCH PROPOSALS SHALL BE IN A FORM AND SHALL BE SUBMITTED ON  A
 SCHEDULE PRESCRIBED BY THE COMMISSIONER.
   (2)  THE COMMISSIONER SHALL ADOPT REGULATIONS TO ESTABLISH ELIGIBILITY
 CRITERIA AND PROCEDURES FOR THE AWARD OF SUCH GRANTS  AND  TO  OTHERWISE
 IMPLEMENT  THE  PROVISIONS  OF THIS SECTION, PROVIDED THAT A DOLLAR-FOR-
 DOLLAR MATCH SHALL BE REQUIRED OF ANY  ELIGIBLE  PROVIDER  APPLYING  FOR
 SUCH GRANTS.

 S. 3471                             3
 
   (3)  THE  COMMISSIONER SHALL AWARD GRANTS ON A COMPETITIVE BASIS USING
 THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA ESTABLISHED IN REGULATION AND  SHALL  DETERMINE
 THE  AMOUNT  OF  EACH  GRANT AWARD, PROVIDED THAT A STATEWIDE EVALUATION
 GRANT SHALL NOT EXCEED FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS.
   C.  PAYMENT  SCHEDULE.  SUBJECT  TO THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR SUCH
 PURPOSE, UPON APPROVAL OF A PROPOSAL BY THE  COMMISSIONER,  THE  COMMIS-
 SIONER SHALL PROVIDE FOR THE ADVANCE OF TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT OF THE GRANT
 AMOUNT.  THE REMAINING PORTION OF THE GRANT ALLOCATION SHALL BE DISTRIB-
 UTED ACCORDING TO  A  SCHEDULE  PRESCRIBED  BY  THE  COMMISSIONER,  UPON
 SUBMISSION  BY THE ELIGIBLE PROVIDER AND APPROVAL BY THE COMMISSIONER OF
 PROGRESS REPORTS AND A FINAL REPORT.
   D. ANNUAL REPORT. ON OR BEFORE MARCH FIFTEENTH, TWO  THOUSAND  TWENTY-
 ONE  AND  BY MARCH FIRST OF EACH YEAR THEREAFTER, THE COMMISSIONER SHALL
 SUBMIT TO THE GOVERNOR, THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE,  AND  THE
 SPEAKER  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY A REPORT DESCRIBING AND EVALUATING THE FAMILY
 LITERACY PROGRAMS FUNDED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION.
   § 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.

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