NY State Senate Bill S6537

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Education Committee

Introduced
In Committee
On Floor Calendar
- Passed Senate
- Passed Assembly
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Signed/Vetoed by Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Apr 26, 2023	referred to education

Co-Sponsors

S6537 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A6665
Current Committee:: Senate Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §807, Ed L

S6537 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Decreases the frequency of lock-down drills in schools; directs that such drills shall be implemented with a trauma-informed approach; permits parents to opt their children out of such drills.

S6537 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

 
BILL NUMBER: S6537

SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to lock-down drills

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To reduce the number of mandated lock-down drills in public and private
schools across the state and ensure a trauma-informed approach to such
drills

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill amends subdivision 1 of section 807 of the
Education Law to reduce the number of required lock-down drills from
from four per year to one.

Section two adds a new subdivision 2-a to section 807 of the Education
Law to ensure a trauma-informed approach to the design and execution of
such drills, including advance notice to parents and guardians, the

ability for parents to opt their children out of such drills, accommo-
dations for students with post-traumatic stress disorder or disabili-
ties, an age-appropriate explanation of the drill for students, and
consistent and thorough training for teachers implementing the drills.

Section three sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In 2016, following several horrific nationwide school shootings, New
York passed a revamping of district-wide school safety plans and build-
ing-level emergency response plans, including a requirement for four
lockdown drills per year, as part of the annual budget (Ch. 54 of 2016,
§ 2 Part B). There is no other state in the country, however, that
mandates lockdown drills, during which students rehearse for the possi-
bility of an active shooter entering their school buildings, at such a
high frequency.

While an important component of a school safety plan regime, these lock-
down drills are not without their complications - the drills typically
run the gamut from simple crouch-and-cover routines to actual simu-
lations with teachers shooting plastic pellets and rattling door
handles, traumatizing many a young child and teen.  Parents report
stories of their children texting them goodbye messages or writing out
their wills, imagining the drills are real, or having nightmares for
weeks afterward. One study on the aftereffects of the drills shows that
they led to a 39% spike in depression, a 42% increase in stress and
anxiety, and a 23% increase in overall physiological health problems. In
addition to this induced trauma, experts at Everytown for Gun Safety,
the American Federation of Teachers, and the National Education Associ-
ation also cite the feasibility of children retaining the information
they are supposed to learn from the drills and increased risk of harm
associated with fighting back against an active shooter. Darkly, in an
era where many assailants are current or former students of the schools
they target, the drills also run the extremely counterproductive risk of
sharing critical information that can then later be used in a shooting.

Compounding matters is the inconsistent and scattershot training that
teachers and school officials receive on how they are to manage their
classrooms during the drills. As reported by Chalkbeat New York, many
teachers never receive any formal training on how to conduct the drills
and instead learn by trial-and-error. They are not taught how to handle
potential technical issues, such as classrooms with physical limitations
like windowed walls, or prepared for students' emotional responses. The
drills vary widely across classrooms and schools, with some teachers
receiving no prior notice that a drill is going to occur or instructions
on how to explain the drill to students (Marcela Rodrigues-Sherley. "NYC
teachers get little to no training on lockdown drills." Chalkbeat New
York, 13 Jul 2022.).

The Governor herself has acknowledged the potential drawbacks to these
drills when she partnered with the State Education Department and New
York State Police to issue a recent letter to school leaders that read
"In the aftermath of a traumatizing event like the Nashville shooting
and subsequent false threats of violence, school officials may wish to
postpone any scheduled drills to reduce the risk of additional trauma to
students and staff while maintaining awareness of processes and proce-
dures to keep students and staff safe. Schools that conduct drills
should do so with the utmost care and caution and always by informing
all participants that it is a drill. After the conclusion, it is best
practice to leave time to debrief with students and staff." (Governor
Kathy Hochul. Letter to School Leaders. 31 March 2023.).

This bill makes a number of improvements to the lockdown drill mandate
by: reducing the number of required drills from four to one; providing
advance notice to parents and guardians of such drills and allowing them
to opt their children out as needed; accounting for students who have
post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, physical disabilities, or other
medical conditions who may have a particularly negative experience with
such drills; mandating an age-appropriate explanation of the drills to
students; and providing thorough and standardized training for teachers
and school personnel on how to conduct the drills, including how to
respond to students' physical, emotional, social, and developmental
needs during such drills.

Taken together, these reforms represent a commonsense approach to school
safety in an era of seemingly endless mass shootings. They preserve the
original intent of lockdown drills as a preparation tool while account-
ing more fully for the traumatizing effect they can have on those
involved and ensuring that school districts and instructors are better
equipped to handle students' needs.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding the day
on which it shall have become a law.

S6537 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6537
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 26, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- 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 lock-down drills
 
   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] NINE
 times in each school year, [eight] SIX 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]  ONE  required [drills] DRILL shall be A lock-down
 [drills] DRILL.  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  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  accommodations.  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.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10751-02-3

 S. 6537                             2
 
   §  2.  Section  807  of  the  education law is amended by adding a new
 subdivision 2-a to read as follows:
   2-A. (A) IN IMPLEMENTING THE LOCK-DOWN DRILLS DESCRIBED IN SUBDIVISION
 ONE  OF  THIS SECTION, IT SHALL BE THE DUTY OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OR
 SCHOOL BOARD OR OTHER BODY HAVING CONTROL OF THE SCHOOLS IN ANY DISTRICT
 OR CITY TO ENSURE A TRAUMA-INFORMED APPROACH TO THE DESIGN AND EXECUTION
 OF SUCH DRILLS, WHICH SHALL INCLUDE:
   (I) NOTICE TO PARENTS AND GUARDIANS OF STUDENTS OF WHEN THE  LOCK-DOWN
 DRILL WILL BE HELD, AT LEAST SEVEN DAYS IN ADVANCE OF SUCH DRILL;
   (II)  THE ABILITY FOR PARENTS OR GUARDIANS TO OPT THEIR CHILD OR CHIL-
 DREN OUT OF SUCH DRILL;
   (III) ACCOMMODATIONS  FOR  STUDENTS  WHO  HAVE  POST-TRAUMATIC  STRESS
 DISORDER,  ANXIETY,  A  PHYSICAL  DISABILITY,  OR OTHER RELEVANT MEDICAL
 CONDITION, WHICH SHALL INCLUDE THE RENDERING OF MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING
 FOR SUCH STUDENTS; AND
   (IV) AN AGE-APPROPRIATE EXPLANATION TO  THE  STUDENTS  OF  THE  SCHOOL
 WHERE THE LOCK-DOWN DRILL IS BEING HELD OF SUCH DRILL, INCLUDING A THOR-
 OUGH  DESCRIPTION OF THE DRILL AND HOW IT RELATES TO THE SCHOOL'S BUILD-
 ING-LEVEL EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN  PRESCRIBED  IN  SECTION  TWENTY-EIGHT
 HUNDRED ONE-A OF THIS CHAPTER.
   (B)  ALL  BOARDS  OF EDUCATION OR SCHOOL BOARDS OR OTHER BODIES HAVING
 CONTROL OF THE SCHOOLS IN ANY DISTRICT OR CITY SHALL DESIGN AND  CONDUCT
 A  COMPREHENSIVE  TRAINING  FOR  TEACHERS, ADMINISTRATORS, AND ALL OTHER
 SCHOOL PERSONNEL PARTICIPATING IN LOCK-DOWN DRILLS, WHICH SHALL INCLUDE:
   (I) HOW TO RESPOND  TO  STUDENTS'  PHYSICAL,  EMOTIONAL,  SOCIAL,  AND
 DEVELOPMENTAL  NEEDS  DURING AND AFTER SUCH DRILLS, INCLUDING PARTICULAR
 GUIDANCE FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES;
   (II) GUIDANCE ON HOW TO CONDUCT SUCH DRILLS IN  A  VARIETY  OF  CLASS-
 ROOMS, INCLUDING THOSE WITH PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS SUCH AS WINDOWED WALLS;
   (III)  WHAT  INFORMATION  SHOULD  BE  COMMUNICATED TO STUDENTS BEFORE,
 DURING, AND AFTER SUCH DRILL; AND
   (IV) ANY OTHER INFORMATION THAT THE BOARD OR BODY SEES FIT TO INCLUDE.
 ALL TEACHERS, ADMINISTRATORS, AND SCHOOL PERSONNEL SUBJECT  TO  A  LOCK-
 DOWN  DRILL  SHALL  BE  NOTIFIED  OF SUCH DRILL IN ADVANCE OF SUCH DRILL
 OCCURRING AND SHALL BE NOTIFIED OF SUCH DRILL'S EXPECTED LENGTH OF TIME.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of July  next  succeeding
 the  date  upon which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately,
 the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or  regulation  neces-
 sary  for  the  implementation  of  this  act  on its effective date are
 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.

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The New York State Senate

senate Bill S6537

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Education Committee

Your Voice

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Co-Sponsors

S6537 (ACTIVE) - Details

S6537 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S6537 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S6537 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

senate Bill S6537

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Sponsored By

Andrew Gounardes

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Education Committee

Your Voice

Actions

Co-Sponsors

Brad Hoylman-Sigal

S6537 (ACTIVE) - Details

S6537 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S6537 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S6537 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments