The New York State Senate

                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                 2876--A

                       2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            January 30, 2019
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sens. MAY, BIAGGI -- read twice and ordered printed, and
  when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education  --  recom-
  mitted to the Committee on Education in accordance with Senate Rule 6,
  sec.  8  --  committee  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
  amended and recommitted to said committee

AN ACT to amend the education law and the election law, in  relation  to
  school session days

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivision 8 of section 3604  of  the  education  law,  as
amended  by  chapter  260  of  the  laws  of 2012, is amended to read as
follows:
  8. No school shall be in session on a Saturday, GENERAL  ELECTION  DAY
or a legal holiday, except [general election day,] Washington's birthday
and  Lincoln's birthday, and except that driver education classes may be
conducted on a Saturday. A SCHOOL DISTRICT MAY ELECT  TO  REQUIRE  STAFF
ATTENDANCE  ON  A  GENERAL  ELECTION  DAY  OR TO SCHEDULE A PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT DAY. A deficiency not exceeding four days during any  school
year caused by teachers' attendance upon conferences held by superinten-
dents  of  schools  of  city  school districts or other school districts
employing superintendents of schools shall be excused by the commission-
er, notwithstanding any provision of law,  rule  or  regulation  to  the
contrary,  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

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

                                                           LBD00503-03-9

S. 2876--A                          2

such  superintendents,  provided  that 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 and apply such units to satisfy a deficiency  in  the
length of one or more daily sessions of instruction for pupils as speci-
fied  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  confer-
ence day be dedicated for such purpose.
  § 2. Subdivision 3 of section 4-104 of the election law, as amended by
chapter 694 of the laws of 1989, is amended to read as follows:
  3.  A building exempt from taxation shall be used whenever possible as
a polling place if it is situated in the same or a  contiguous  election
district,  and may contain as many distinctly separate polling places as
public convenience may require. The expense, if any, incidental  to  its
use,  shall be paid like the expense of other places of registration and
voting. If a board or body empowered to designate polling places chooses
a public school building for such purpose, the  board  or  agency  which
controls  such  building  must  make  available  a room or rooms in such
building which are suitable for registration and voting and which are as
close as possible to a convenient entrance to  such  building  and  must
make  available any such room or rooms which the board or body designat-
ing such building  determines  are  accessible  to  physically  disabled
voters as provided in subdivision one-a OF THIS SECTION. Notwithstanding
the  provisions of any general, special or local law, if a board or body
empowered to designate polling places chooses a publicly owned or leased
building[, other than a public school building,] for such  purposes  the
board or body which controls such building must make available a room or
rooms  in  such  building which are suitable for registration and voting
and which are as close as possible to  a  convenient  entrance  to  such
building, and must make available any such room or rooms which the board
or  body  designating  such  building determines are accessible to phys-
ically disabled voters unless, not later than thirty days  after  notice
of  its  designation  as  a polling place, the board or body controlling
such building, files a written request for a cancellation of such desig-
nation with the board or body empowered to designate polling  places  on
such  form  as shall be provided by the board or body making such desig-
nation. The board or body empowered to so designate shall, within twenty
days after such request is filed, determine  whether  the  use  of  such
building  as a polling place would unreasonably interfere with the usual
activities conducted in such building and upon such  determination,  may
cancel such designation.
  § 3. This act shall take effect January 1, 2021.