Assembly Bill A119

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    119
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  ROSENTHAL,  RIVERA,  KELLES -- read once and
   referred to the Committee on Education
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring teachers and
   library media specialists to complete professional development related
   to media literacy education

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.   Subdivision 2 of section 3006-a of the education law, as
 added by section 2 of subpart C of part EE of chapter 56 of the laws  of
 2015, is amended and a new subdivision 4 is added to read as follows:
   2.  a. During each five-year registration period beginning on or after
 July first, two thousand sixteen, an applicant  for  registration  shall
 successfully  complete  a  minimum  of  one  hundred hours of continuing
 teacher and leader  education,  as  defined  by  the  commissioner.  The
 department  shall  issue  rigorous  standards for courses, programs, and
 activities, that shall qualify as continuing teacher and  leader  educa-
 tion  pursuant  to  this  section.  For purposes of this section, a peer
 review teacher, or a principal acting as an independent  trained  evalu-
 ator,  conducting  a classroom observation as part of the teacher evalu-
 ation system pursuant to section three thousand twelve-d of this article
 may credit such time towards [his] SUCH PEER REVIEW TEACHER'S  or  [her]
 PRINCIPAL'S continuing teacher and leader effectiveness requirements.
   b.  DURING  EACH FIVE-YEAR REGISTRATION PERIOD BEGINNING ON OR AFTER A
 DATE WHICH SHALL BE DETERMINED BY THE COMMISSIONER, ANY TEACHER  WHO  IS
 AN  APPLICANT  FOR REGISTRATION SHALL SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE A MINIMUM OF
 FIVE HOURS OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT RELATED TO MEDIA LITERACY  EDUCA-
 TION  AND  ANY  LIBRARY  MEDIA  SPECIALIST  SHALL  COMPLETE A MINIMUM OF
 FIFTEEN HOURS OF PROFESSIONAL  DEVELOPMENT  RELATED  TO  MEDIA  LITERACY
 EDUCATION,  AS  DEFINED BY THE COMMISSIONER.  SUCH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOP-
 MENT RELATED TO MEDIA LITERACY EDUCATION SHALL BE COUNTED TOWARD THE ONE
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD00606-01-5
 A. 119                              2
 
 HUNDRED HOURS OF CONTINUING TEACHER AND  LEADER  EDUCATION  REQUIRED  BY
 PARAGRAPH A OF THIS SUBDIVISION.  THE COMMISSIONER SHALL REQUIRE THAT:
   (I)  PROFESSIONAL  DEVELOPMENT  RELATED  TO  MEDIA  LITERACY EDUCATION
 INCORPORATES THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF THE DEPARTMENT'S CULTURALLY
 RESPONSIVE-SUSTAINING FRAMEWORK;
   (II) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT RELATED TO MEDIA LITERACY  EDUCATION  IS
 PROVIDED  BY  OR  IN  COORDINATION WITH A LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALIST OR AN
 EMPLOYEE FROM  A  SCHOOL  DISTRICT'S  LIBRARY  SYSTEM  IN  EVERY  SCHOOL
 DISTRICT;
   (III)  LIBRARY  MEDIA  SPECIALISTS  IN  EVERY  SCHOOL DISTRICT RECEIVE
 SPECIFIC TRAINING IN HOW TO PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT RELATED  TO
 MEDIA  LITERACY  EDUCATION  TO  TEACHERS OF ALL GRADE LEVELS AND SUBJECT
 AREAS CONTAINED IN SUCH LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALISTS' SCHOOLS, WHICH  SHALL
 INCLUDE  INSTRUCTION  ON  HOW  TO  EFFECTIVELY  INTEGRATE MEDIA LITERACY
 EDUCATION INTO SUCH TEACHERS' CURRICULA; AND
   (IV) THE DEPARTMENT CREATES AND PROVIDES MODEL CURRICULA, TEACHING AND
 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES ON  ITS  WEBSITE,  WHICH  INCORPORATE
 MEDIA LITERACY EDUCATION.
   C.  Nothing  in  this  section shall limit the ability of local school
 districts to agree pursuant to collective bargaining to additional hours
 of professional development or continuing teacher  or  leader  education
 above the minimum requirements set forth in this section.
   [c.]  D.  A  certified individual who has not satisfied the continuing
 teacher and leader education requirements shall not be  issued  a  five-
 year  registration  certificate by the department and shall not practice
 unless and until a registration or conditional registration  certificate
 is issued as provided in subdivision three of this section. For purposes
 of  this  subdivision, "continuing teacher and leader education require-
 ments" shall mean activities designed to improve the teacher or leader's
 pedagogical and/or leadership  skills,  targeted  at  improving  student
 performance,  including but not limited to formal continuing teacher and
 leader education activities. Such activities shall promote  the  profes-
 sionalization  of  teaching and be closely aligned to district goals for
 student performance which meet the standards prescribed  by  regulations
 of the commissioner. To fulfill the continuing teacher and leader educa-
 tion  requirement,  programs must be taken from sponsors approved by the
 department, which shall include but not be limited to school  districts,
 pursuant to the regulations of the commissioner.
   4.  FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, "LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALIST" SHALL
 MEAN AN INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYED BY A SCHOOL  DISTRICT  AS  A  LIBRARY  MEDIA
 SPECIALIST PURSUANT TO 8 NYCRR 91.2.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.