S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
824
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
(PREFILED)
January 6, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to enacting the "safe
schools by design act"; directing the use of certain professional
design services for school security and safety improvements
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
the "safe schools by design act".
§ 2. Legislative intent. The legislature acknowledges that measures
taken to enhance school safety through investments in facility harden-
ing, violence intervention services, and school resource officers
contribute to a broader strategy to mitigate and prevent violent acts on
school grounds.
The legislature further acknowledges that schools are intended to be
communities and should be planned without sacrificing the inherent posi-
tive qualities of school environments we all desire for our children,
and that design solutions can help address social, psychological,
economic, environmental, and safety factors while maintaining a healthy
and productive learning environment.
The legislature intends to provide school districts with the flexibil-
ity to adapt to differing and evolving community concerns, support
student health and safety, and create productive learning environments.
§ 3. The education law is amended by adding a new section 408-c to
read as follows:
§ 408-C. SCHOOL SAFETY DESIGN AND PLANNING. A FIVE YEAR CAPITAL FACIL-
ITIES PLAN, AS REQUIRED PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH D OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF
SECTION FOUR HUNDRED NINE-D OF THIS ARTICLE, SHALL CONSIDER THE INCORPO-
RATION OF DESIGN ELEMENTS AND STRATEGIES AS PART OF A COMPREHENSIVE
APPROACH TO PROVIDE A SECURE AND SAFE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT. ON OR BEFORE
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02064-01-1
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JULY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-TWO, THE COMMISSIONER SHALL ISSUE GUID-
ANCE ON THE USE OF DESIGN ELEMENTS AND STRATEGIES BY SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL
DISTRICTS TO PROVIDE A SECURE AND SAFE ENVIRONMENT.
§ 4. Subdivision 4 of section 2801-a of the education law, as amended
by chapter 525 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
4. Each district-wide school safety team shall be appointed by the
board of education, or the chancellor in the case of the city school
district of the city of New York, and shall include but not be limited
to representatives of the school board, teacher, administrator, and
parent organizations, school safety personnel, and other school person-
nel including bus drivers and monitors. At the discretion of the board
of education, or the chancellor in the case of the city of New York, a
student may be allowed to participate on the safety team, provided
however, that no portion of a confidential building-level emergency
response plan shall be shared with such student nor shall such student
be present where details of a confidential building-level emergency
response plan or confidential portions of a district-wide emergency
response strategy are discussed. Each building-level emergency response
team shall be appointed by the building principal, in accordance with
regulations or guidelines prescribed by the board of education, chancel-
lor or other governing body. Such building-level teams shall include but
not be limited to representatives of teacher, administrator, and parent
organizations, school safety personnel and other school personnel
including bus drivers and monitors, community members, law enforcement
officials, fire officials or other emergency response agencies, DESIGN
PROFESSIONALS LICENSED PURSUANT TO ARTICLES ONE HUNDRED FORTY-FIVE, ONE
HUNDRED FORTY-SEVEN, OR ONE HUNDRED FORTY-EIGHT OF THIS CHAPTER, and any
other representatives the board of education, chancellor or other
governing body deems appropriate.
§ 5. Paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section 2814 of the education
law, as added by chapter 181 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as
follows:
a. School safety activities. Programs eligible for funding pursuant to
this section may include, but not be limited to: (i) safe corridors
programs; (ii) diversity programs; (iii) collaborative school safety
programs with law enforcement agencies or community-based organizations;
(iv) metal detectors, intercom and other intra-school communication
devices and other devices to increase school security and the safety of
school personnel and students; (v) PROGRAMS WHICH FACILITIES AND PROMOTE
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN SCHOOL FACILITY PLANNING; AND (VI) other
programs including comprehensive school-based intervention models,
approved by the commissioner, that reduce violence and improve school
safety. Comprehensive school based intervention models shall coordinate
with and collaborate with other services currently being provided in the
school district, incorporate appropriate school violence prevention and
intervention services, and coordinate appropriate funding sources to
ensure the efficient delivery of services. Such comprehensive school-
based intervention models shall also include provisions for the involve-
ment of teachers, parents, school administrators in the development and
implementation of the program, a detailed statement identifying specific
performance goals, a proposed timetable for implementation and achieve-
ment of such goals and specific assessment methods which will be used to
measure student and school progress.
§ 6. Subparagraph 1 of paragraph a of subdivision 6 of section 3602 of
the education law, as amended by section 5 of part A of chapter 60 of
the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
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(1) For new construction and the purchase of existing structures, the
cost allowances shall be based upon the rated capacity of the building
or addition and a basic per pupil allowance of up to six thousand three
hundred seventy-five dollars adjusted monthly by a statewide index
reflecting changes in the cost of labor and materials since July first,
nineteen hundred ninety-two, established by the commissioner of labor,
modified by an annual county or multi-county labor market composite wage
rate, established by the commissioner of labor in consultation with the
commissioner, for July first of the base year, commencing July first,
nineteen hundred ninety-seven for general construction contracts awarded
on or after July first, nineteen hundred ninety-eight, indexed to the
median of such county or multi-county rates, but not less than one.
Such base allowance shall apply to a building or an addition housing
grades prekindergarten through six and shall be adjusted for a building
or an addition housing grades seven through nine by a factor of one and
four-tenths, for a building or an addition housing grades seven through
twelve by a factor of one and five-tenths, for a building or addition
housing special education programs by a factor of two, except that where
such building or addition is connected to, or such space is located
within, a public school facility housing programs for nondisabled
pupils, as approved by the commissioner, a factor of three shall be
used. Rated capacity of a building or an addition shall be determined by
the commissioner based on space standards and other requirements for
building construction specified by the commissioner. Such assigned
capacity ratings shall include, in addition to those spaces used for the
instruction of pupils, those spaces which are used for elementary and
secondary school libraries, cafeterias, prekindergarten instructional
rooms, teachers' conference rooms, gymnasiums [and], auditoriums, HEALTH
AND WELLNESS OFFICES, AND DE-ESCALATION ROOMS. For new construction
projects approved on or after July first, two thousand, by the voters of
the school district or by the board of education of a city school
district in a city with more than one hundred twenty-five thousand
inhabitants, and/or the chancellor in a city school district in a city
having a population of one million or more, such rated capacity for new
buildings and additions constructed to replace existing buildings that,
in the judgment of the commissioner, have not been adequately maintained
and have not reached their projected useful life shall be reduced by the
commissioner by an amount proportional to the remaining unused portion
of the useful life of the existing buildings, provided however that the
commissioner may waive such requirement upon a finding that replacement
of the existing building is necessary to protect the health and safety
of students or staff, that reconstruction and modernization of the
existing building would not adequately address such health and safety
problems, and that the need to replace the building was not caused by
failure to adequately maintain the building. If the commissioner of
labor resets the statewide index reflecting changes in the costs of
labor and materials since July first, nineteen hundred ninety-two, the
commissioner shall adopt regulations to supersede the basic per pupil
allowance of up to six thousand three hundred seventy-five dollars to
the imputed allowance in effect at that time.
§ 7. This act shall take effect immediately.