S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
7055
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
April 21, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SEAWRIGHT -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to compliance with
substantially equivalent education by nonpublic schools
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 3204 of the education law, as
amended by section 1 of part SSS of chapter 59 of the laws of 2018, is
amended to read as follows:
2. Quality and language of instruction; text-books. (i) Instruction
may be given only by a competent teacher. In the teaching of the
subjects of instruction prescribed by this section, English shall be the
language of instruction, and text-books used shall be written in
English, except that for a period of three years, which period may be
extended by the commissioner with respect to individual pupils, upon
application therefor by the appropriate school authorities, to a period
not in excess of six years, from the date of enrollment in school,
pupils who, by reason of foreign birth or ancestry have limited English
proficiency, shall be provided with instructional programs as specified
in subdivision two-a of this section and the regulations of the commis-
sioner. The purpose of providing such pupils with instruction shall be
to enable them to develop academically while achieving competence in the
English language. Instruction given to a minor elsewhere than at a
public school shall be at least substantially equivalent to the instruc-
tion given to minors of like age and attainments at the public schools
of the city or district where the minor resides.
(ii) For purposes of [considering] DETERMINING substantial equivalence
pursuant to this subdivision for nonpublic elementary and middle schools
[that are: (1) non-profit corporations, (2) have a bi-lingual program,
and (3) have an educational program that extends from no later than nine
a.m. until no earlier than four p.m. for grades one through three, and
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10848-01-1
A. 7055 2
no earlier than five thirty p.m. for grades four through eight, on the
majority of weekdays], the department shall consider the following[, but
not limited to: if the curriculum provides academically rigorous
instruction that develops critical thinking skills in the school's
students, taking into account the entirety of the curriculum, over the
course of elementary and middle school, including instruction in English
that will prepare pupils to read fiction and nonfiction text for infor-
mation and to use that information to construct written essays that
state a point of view or support an argument; instruction in mathematics
that will prepare pupils to solve real world problems using both number
sense and fluency with mathematical functions and operations; instruc-
tion in history by being able to interpret and analyze primary text to
identify and explore important events in history, to construct written
arguments using the supporting information they get from primary source
material, demonstrate an understating of the role of geography and
economics in the actions of world civilizations, and an understanding of
civics and the responsibilities of citizens in world communities; and
instruction in science by learning how to gather, analyze and interpret
observable data to make informed decisions and solve problems mathemat-
ically, using deductive and inductive reasoning to support a hypothesis,
and how to differentiate between correlational and causal
relationships]: (1) FOR GRADES ONE THROUGH SIX: MATHEMATICS, INCLUDING
ARITHMETIC, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY (CONCEPTS OF SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS,
SOCIAL SCIENCE, AND LANGUAGE ARTS IN A HANDS-ON, SYSTEMS-BASED APPROACH
TO PROBLEM SOLVING THAT GUIDES STUDENTS IN THE UNDERSTANDING, DESIGN,
AND DEVELOPMENT OF SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND PRODUCTS TO SERVE HUMAN NEEDS
AND WANTS); ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS, INCLUDING READING, WRITING, LISTEN-
ING, AND SPEAKING; SOCIAL STUDIES, INCLUDING GEOGRAPHY AND UNITED STATES
HISTORY; THE ARTS; CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND OCCUPATIONAL STUDIES; HEALTH
EDUCATION, PHYSICAL EDUCATION, AND FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES.
INSTRUCTION IN THESE SUBJECTS MAY BE INTEGRATED OR INCORPORATED INTO THE
SYLLABUS OR SYLLABI OF OTHER COURSES; AND,
(2) FOR GRADES SEVEN AND EIGHT: MATHEMATICS (TWO UNITS OF STUDY);
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS (TWO UNITS OF STUDY); SOCIAL STUDIES (TWO UNITS OF
STUDY); SCIENCE (TWO UNITS OF STUDY); CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION,
WHEREIN THE UNIT OF STUDY REQUIREMENT MAY BE INITIATED IN GRADE 5 (ONE
AND THREE-FOURTHS UNITS OF STUDY); PHYSICAL EDUCATION (SIMILAR COURSES
OF INSTRUCTION TO THOSE REQUIRED IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS PURSUANT TO SECTION
135.4 OF NYCRR); HEALTH EDUCATION (ONE-HALF UNIT OF STUDY); VISUAL ARTS
(ONE-HALF UNIT OF STUDY); MUSIC (ONE-HALF UNIT OF STUDY); LIBRARY AND
INFORMATION SKILLS, WHICH MAY BE INCORPORATED OR INTEGRATED INTO ANY
OTHER SUBJECTS (THE EQUIVALENT OF ONE PERIOD PER WEEK IN GRADES SEVEN
AND EIGHT); CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND OCCUPATIONAL STUDIES, WHICH MAY BE
INCORPORATED OR INTEGRATED INTO ANY OTHER SUBJECTS.
(iii) For purposes of [considering] DETERMINING substantial equiv-
alence pursuant to this subdivision for nonpublic high schools [that:
(1) are established for pupils in high school who have graduated from an
elementary school that provides instruction as described in this
section, (2) are a non-profit corporation, (3) have a bi-lingual
program, and (4) have an educational program that extends from no later
than nine a.m. until no earlier than six p.m. on the majority of week-
days], the department shall consider the following [but not limited to]:
[if the curriculum provides academically rigorous instruction that
develops critical thinking skills in the school's students, the outcomes
of which, taking into account the entirety of the curriculum, result in
a sound basic education] FOR GRADES NINE THROUGH TWELVE: INSTRUCTION IN
A. 7055 3
ENGLISH (FOUR UNITS OF STUDY); SOCIAL STUDIES (FOUR UNITS OF STUDY);
MATHEMATICS (THREE UNITS OF STUDY); SCIENCE (THREE UNITS OF STUDY);
HEALTH (ONE-HALF UNIT OF STUDY); PHYSICAL EDUCATION (TWO UNITS OF
STUDY); THE ARTS (ONE UNIT OF STUDY).
(III-A) FOR PURPOSES OF DETERMINING SUBSTANTIAL EQUIVALENCE PURSUANT
TO THIS SUBDIVISION FOR NONPUBLIC SCHOOLS, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL CONSID-
ER WHETHER THE NONPUBLIC SCHOOL MEETS OTHER STATUTORY INSTRUCTIONAL
REQUIREMENTS, INCLUDING:
(1) FOR ALL STUDENTS OVER EIGHT YEARS OF AGE, A SIMILAR COURSE OF
INSTRUCTION TO THE COURSE OF INSTRUCTION IN PATRIOTISM AND CITIZENSHIP
REQUIRED IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION 801 OF
THIS CHAPTER;
(2) FOR ALL STUDENTS GRADES EIGHT AND HIGHER, A SIMILAR COURSE OF
INSTRUCTION TO THE COURSE OF INSTRUCTION IN THE HISTORY, MEANING,
SIGNIFICANCE, AND EFFECT OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE
UNITED STATES AND THE AMENDMENTS THERETO, THE DECLARATION OF INDEPEND-
ENCE, AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK AND THE AMENDMENTS
THERETO REQUIRED IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION TWO OF
SECTION EIGHT HUNDRED ONE OF THIS CHAPTER;
(3) FOR ALL STUDENTS OVER THE AGE OF EIGHT, SUBJECT TO SUBDIVISION
FIVE OF THIS SECTION, A SIMILAR COURSE OF INSTRUCTION TO THE COURSE OF
INSTRUCTION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHARACTER, CITIZENSHIP, PHYSICAL
FITNESS, HEALTH, AND THE WORTHY USE OF LEISURE REQUIRED IN PUBLIC
SCHOOLS PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION FOUR OF SECTION EIGHT HUNDRED THREE OF
THIS CHAPTER;
(4) FOR ALL STUDENTS, SUBJECT TO SUBDIVISION FIVE OF THIS SECTION,
INSTRUCTION IN HEALTH EDUCATION RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH, ALCOHOL,
DRUG, AND TOBACCO ABUSE AND THE PREVENTION AND DETECTION OF CERTAIN
CANCERS AS REQUIRED BY SECTION EIGHT HUNDRED FOUR OF THIS CHAPTER;
(5) FOR ALL STUDENTS, A SIMILAR COURSE OF INSTRUCTION TO THE COURSE OF
INSTRUCTION IN HIGHWAY SAFETY AND TRAFFIC REGULATION REQUIRED IN PUBLIC
SCHOOLS BY SECTION EIGHT HUNDRED SIX OF THIS CHAPTER;
(6) FOR ALL STUDENTS IN GRADES ONE THROUGH EIGHT, INSTRUCTION IN NEW
YORK STATE HISTORY AND CIVICS AS REQUIRED BY SUBDIVISION THREE OF THIS
SECTION;
(7) FOR ALL STUDENTS, INSTRUCTION IN FIRE DRILLS, FIRE AND ARSON
PREVENTION, INJURY PREVENTION AND LIFE SAFETY EDUCATION PURSUANT TO
SECTIONS EIGHT HUNDRED SEVEN AND EIGHT HUNDRED EIGHT OF THIS CHAPTER;
AND,
(8) FOR STUDENTS IN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL, INSTRUCTION IN HANDS-ONLY
CARDIOPULMONARY RESUSCITATION AND THE USE OF AN AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFI-
BRILLATOR PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION FIFTY-TWO OF SECTION 305 OF THIS CHAP-
TER.
(iv) [Nothing herein shall be construed to entitle or permit any
school to receive an increase in mandated services aid pursuant to 8
NYCRR 176 on account of providing a longer school day] ANY NONPUBLIC
SCHOOL THAT SHALL RECEIVE MANDATED SERVICES AID OR OTHER STATE FUNDS
MUST CERTIFY TO THE SATISFACTION OF THE COMMISSIONER THAT IT PROVIDES
INSTRUCTION THAT IS AT LEAST SUBSTANTIALLY EQUIVALENT TO THE INSTRUCTION
GIVEN TO PUPILS OF LIKE AGE AND ATTAINMENTS TO THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF THE
CITY OR DISTRICT WHERE THE MINOR RESIDES. ANY NONPUBLIC SCHOOL THAT
INTENTIONALLY OR NEGLIGENTLY MAKES A FALSE CERTIFICATION SHALL RETURN
ANY STATE FUNDS RECEIVED FOR THE PERIOD TO WHICH SUCH CERTIFICATION
APPLIES AND SHALL BE INELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE ANY STATE FUNDS FOR THE
APPLICABLE PERIOD, AND SHALL FURTHER RETURN AND BE INELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE
A. 7055 4
ANY STATE FUNDS FOR FIVE YEARS FOLLOWING THE PERIOD FOR WHICH THE FALSE
CERTIFICATION WAS APPLICABLE.
(v) The commissioner shall be the entity that determines whether
nonpublic elementary, MIDDLE and [secondary] HIGH schools are in compli-
ance with the academic requirements set forth in paragraphs (ii) [and],
(iii) AND (III-A) of this subdivision AND SHALL UNDERTAKE REGULAR
REVIEWS TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH THE SUBSTANTIAL EQUIVALENCE REQUIRE-
MENTS PROVIDED PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.