Assembly Bill A8211A

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  8211--A
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               June 7, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. ARROYO -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on  Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted
   as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
 AN ACT to establish a commission  for  the  educational  advancement  of
   multilingual  learners  in  New  York; and providing for the repeal of
   such provisions upon expiration thereof
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Commission  established. (a) A commission, to be known as
 the commission for the educational advancement of multilingual learners,
 hereafter referred to as the commission, is hereby created to study  and
 prepare  a  report on the best practices and legislative recommendations
 to close the achievement gap and high school  graduation  rates  between
 multilingual learners and their English proficient peers from prekinder-
 garten  through  twelfth  grade. The report will advise the legislature,
 governor, board of regents, and New York state  education  officials  on
 the  best  practices,  provide policy and legislative recommendations to
 close the achievement gap; and the feasibility  and  cost  to  implement
 such practices in schools.
   (b)  The  commission shall be composed of eleven members, appointed as
 follows: (i) two members shall be appointed by the  governor;  (ii)  two
 members  shall  be  appointed  by the speaker of the assembly; (iii) two
 members shall be appointed by the temporary  president  of  the  senate;
 (iv)  one member shall be appointed by the minority leader of the assem-
 bly; (v) one member shall be appointed by the  minority  leader  of  the
 senate;  (vi)  two  members  shall be appointed by the chancellor of the
 board of regents; and (vii) one member shall be the commissioner of  the
 New York state education department or appointed thereof who shall serve
 as  chairperson  of the commission.   Vacancies in the membership of the
 commission shall be filled within 30 days in  the  manner  provided  for
 original appointments.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD10122-07-9

 A. 8211--A                          2
 
   (c)  The  commission  shall  be made up of at least: (i) one education
 professional who specializes in English to Speakers of  Other  Languages
 and Bilingual Programs; (ii) one teacher who has experience working with
 multilingual  students; (iii) one education professional who has experi-
 ence working with early childhood multilingual learners; (iv) one educa-
 tion  professional  who  has  experience with multilingual newcomers and
 high school graduation; and  (v)  one  education  professional  who  has
 expertise in education equity of New York state students.
   (d)  The  members  of the commission shall receive no compensation for
 their services, but shall be allowed their actual and necessary expenses
 incurred in the performance of their duties hereunder.
   § 2. Appointments to commission. The  governor,  the  speaker  of  the
 assembly,  the temporary president of the senate, the minority leader of
 the assembly, the minority leader of the senate, the chancellor  of  the
 board  of  regents, and the commissioner of education shall submit their
 appointments no later than 120 days after this act becomes a law.
   § 3. Commission staff and agency liaison. The commissioner  of  educa-
 tion  shall  designate  such employees of the department of education as
 are reasonably necessary to provide support services to the  commission.
 The  commissioner of education shall appoint one or more representatives
 of the department of education to serve as liaison between such  depart-
 ment and the commission.
   § 4. Accomplishment of purpose. The commission shall be authorized and
 empowered  to  undertake  any  studies,  surveys or analyses it may deem
 relevant. The commission shall meet and hold at least five public  hear-
 ings,  pursuant  to  subdivision  (a) of section one of this act, one in
 each of the following regions of the state: Long Island, the city of New
 York, the city of Buffalo, the city of Syracuse and the city of Yonkers.
   § 5. Report on best practices  and  legislative  recommendations.  The
 commission  shall make a report of its findings, including any recommen-
 dations for legislative action as it may deem necessary and appropriate,
 to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the  speaker  of
 the  assembly, the chairperson of the senate committee on education, the
 chairperson of the senate committee on  New  York  City  education,  the
 chairperson  of  the  assembly  committee  on  education,  the  board of
 regents, and the commissioner of education no later than one year  after
 all appointments to the commission have been made.
   §  6. This act shall take effect April 1, 2020 and shall expire and be
 deemed repealed two years after such date, provided,  however,  that  if
 upon  such  date  an  appropriation  to the education department for the
 purposes of implementing section one of this act  shall  not  have  been
 made,  this  act  shall  take  effect  on the forty-fifth day after such
 appropriation is made and shall expire and be deemed repealed two  years
 after  such date, provided further that the director of the budget shall
 notify the legislative bill drafting commission upon the  occurrence  of
 such appropriation in order that the commission may maintain an accurate
 and  timely  effective data base of the official text of the laws of the
 state of New York in  furtherance  of  effectuating  the  provisions  of
 section  44  of the legislative law and section 70-b of the public offi-
 cers law.