S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5757
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 14, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. MAYER -- (at request of the State Education Depart-
   ment) -- 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 the attendance of
   minors upon full  day  instruction  and  the  conditions  under  which
   districts are entitled to an apportionment of state aid; and repealing
   certain provisions of the education law relating thereto
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivisions 7 and 8 of section 3604 of the education  law,
 subdivision  7  as  amended  by section 3 of part B of chapter 54 of the
 laws of 2016 and subdivision 8 as amended by chapter 260 of the laws  of
 2012, are amended to read as follows:
   7.  No district shall be entitled to any portion of such school moneys
 on such apportionment unless the report of  the  trustees  or  board  of
 education  for  the  preceding  school  year  shall show that the public
 schools were actually in session in the district and taught by a  quali-
 fied  teacher or by successive qualified teachers or by qualified teach-
 ers for not less than one hundred eighty days. The moneys payable  to  a
 school  district  pursuant  to section thirty-six hundred nine-a of this
 [chapter] PART in the current year shall be reduced by  one  one-hundred
 eightieth  of  the district's total foundation aid FOR THE BASE YEAR for
 each day less than one hundred eighty  days  that  the  schools  of  the
 district  were  actually  in  session,  except that the commissioner may
 disregard such reduction[, up to five days,]  in  the  apportionment  of
 public  money,  (I) FOR ANY DAY OR DAYS ON WHICH SESSION HAD BEEN PREVI-
 OUSLY SCHEDULED BUT THE SUPERINTENDENT WAS REQUIRED TO CLOSE THE  SCHOOL
 OR  SCHOOLS  DUE  TO A PROPERLY EXECUTED DECLARATION OF A STATE OR LOCAL
 STATE OF EMERGENCY PURSUANT TO ARTICLE TWO-B OF  THE  EXECUTIVE  LAW  OR
 (II)  FOR  UP  TO  FIVE  DAYS if he OR SHE finds that the schools of the
 district were not in session for one  hundred  eighty  days  because  of
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD09869-02-9

 S. 5757                             2
 
 extraordinarily adverse weather conditions, impairment of heating facil-
 ities,  insufficiency  of  water supply, shortage of fuel, lack of elec-
 tricity,  natural  gas  leakage,   unacceptable   levels   of   chemical
 substances, a credible threat to student safety as reasonably determined
 by a lead school official or the destruction of a school building either
 in  whole  or in part, and if, further, the commissioner finds that such
 district cannot make up such  days  of  instruction  by  using  for  the
 secondary  grades  all  scheduled vacation days which occur prior to the
 first scheduled regents examination day in June, and for the  elementary
 grades  all scheduled vacation days which occur prior to the last sched-
 uled regents examination day in June. For the purposes of this  subdivi-
 sion,  "scheduled vacation days" shall mean days on which the schools of
 the district are not in session and for which no prohibition  exists  in
 subdivision eight of this section for them to be in session.
   8.  No  school  shall  be in session on a Saturday or a legal holiday,
 except general election day, Washington's birthday and Lincoln's  birth-
 day,  and  except  that  driver  education classes may be conducted on a
 Saturday. A deficiency not exceeding four days during  any  school  year
 caused  by teachers' attendance upon conferences held by superintendents
 of schools of city school districts or other school districts  employing
 superintendents  of  schools  shall  be  excused  by  the  commissioner,
 notwithstanding any provision of law, rule or regulation to the  contra-
 ry,  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
 such school year caused by teachers' attendance upon conferences held by
 such  superintendents,  provided  that  at] 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]  ON  ANY DAY DURING WHICH SESSIONS ARE ALLOWED and
 apply such units to satisfy a deficiency in the length of  one  or  more
 daily  sessions of instruction for pupils as specified 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 conference  day  be  dedi-
 cated for such purpose.
   § 2. Subdivisions 7-a and 7-b of section 3604 of the education law are
 REPEALED.
   § 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.