NY State Senate Bill 2019-S310

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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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to education
Jan 09, 2019	referred to education

co-Sponsors

2019-S310 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §807, Ed L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2017-2018: S7845
2021-2022: S3346
2023-2024: S1380

2019-S310 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes active shooter drills in public and private educational institutions.

2019-S310 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S310

SPONSOR: FELDER
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the education law, in relation to
establishing active shooter drills at public and private educational
institutions

 
PURPOSE:

This bill would require school emergency response drills to include
drills on responding to an active shooter and other lethal attackers,
and require school safety improvement teams (an interdisciplinary team
of representatives from the division of homeland security, division of
state police, division of criminal justice services and the department
of education) to provide recommendations on how to perform such lock-
down and active shooter drills at such public or private educational
institutions.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

This bill would amend section 807 of the education law to require that

two of the four annual "Lock-Down Drills" conducted by schools during
the twelve emergency (fire) drills be "active shooter drills". It would
further provide that schools can request school safety improvement teams
to provide recommendations on how to conduct lock down and active shoot-
er drills.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Recent school attacks across the nation have demonstrated an important
need to increase security at schools. Sadly, the threat of deranged
individuals entering a school to inflict harm is more common now than
ever.

Just as schools conduct fire drills in order that students and faculty
know what to do in case of a fire, conducting active shooter drills will
ensure students are equally prepared to take protective action in the
event an active shooter entering a school. Schools are already required
to conduct 12 emergency drills each school year. This bill would merely
mandate that two of those drills be in response to an active shooter or
any other lethal attacker at a school.

This bill would also allow schools to call upon the expertise of the
interdisciplinary school safety improvement teams, established under
section 2801-b of the education law, to properly design and coordinate
effective drills to properly protect students, faculty, administration
and visitors.

According to a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office,
97% of school districts perform fire drills, while only 67% of school
districts conduct active shooter drills. It's everyone's worst nightmare
for an active shooter to attack a school, but now more than ever schools
need to be prepared. By requiring schools to conduct age-appropriate
exercises, this bill ensures that all schools in our state will know
what to do in a worst-case scenario.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2018: S.7845 - Passed Senate
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None Noted

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act would take effect immediately.

2019-S310 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    310
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 9, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  FELDER -- 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  active
   shooter drills at public and private educational institutions

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section  807  of  the  education  law,  as
 amended  by  section  2  of part B of chapter 54 of the laws of 2016, is
 amended to read as follows:
   1. It shall be the duty of the principal or other person in charge  of
 every  public  or  private  school or educational institution within the
 state, other than colleges or universities, to instruct  and  train  the
 pupils  by  means  of  drills, so that they may in a sudden emergency be
 able to respond appropriately in the shortest possible time and  without
 confusion  or  panic. Such drills shall be held at least twelve times in
 each school year, eight of which required drills shall be  held  between
 September  first  and  December thirty-first of each such year. Eight of
 all such drills shall be evacuation  drills,  four  of  which  shall  be
 through  use  of  the  fire  escapes on buildings where fire escapes are
 provided or through the use of identified  secondary  means  of  egress.
 Four  of all such required drills shall be EMERGENCY ATTACK DRILLS, WITH
 TWO OF SUCH DRILLS BEING lock-down drills AND TWO OF SUCH  DRILLS  BEING
 ACTIVE  SHOOTER DRILLS. UPON REQUEST OF THE PRINCIPAL OR OTHER PERSON IN
 CHARGE OF SUCH PUBLIC OR PRIVATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION, THE  NEW  YORK
 STATE  SCHOOL  SAFETY IMPROVEMENT TEAMS, ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO SECTION
 TWENTY-EIGHT HUNDRED ONE-B OF THIS CHAPTER,  SHALL  PROVIDE  RECOMMENDA-
 TIONS ON HOW TO PERFORM SUCH LOCK-DOWN AND ACTIVE SHOOTER DRILLS AT SUCH
 PUBLIC OR PRIVATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION.  Drills shall be conducted at
 different  times  of  the  school day. Pupils shall be instructed in the
 procedure to be followed in the event that  a  fire  occurs  during  the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02804-01-9

 S. 310                              2
 
 lunch  period  or  assembly,  provided  however,  that  such  additional
 instruction may be waived where a  drill  is  held  during  the  regular
 school lunch period or assembly. Four additional drills shall be held in
 each  school  year  during  the hours after sunset and before sunrise in
 school buildings in which students are provided with  sleeping  accommo-
 dations.  At  least  two  additional  drills shall be held during summer
 school in buildings where summer school is conducted, and  one  of  such
 drills shall be held during the first week of summer school.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S310

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Education Committee

co-Sponsors

2019-S310 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S310 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S310 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S310 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S310

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Sponsored By

Simcha Felder

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Education Committee

co-Sponsors

Fred Akshar

2019-S310 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S310 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S310 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S310 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments