Assembly Bill A2041

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2041
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 14, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  STIRPE, HUNTER, HYNDMAN, MAGNARELLI, RIVERA,
   SIMON,  TAYLOR,  SAYEGH,  REYES,  PHEFFER AMATO,  ROSENTHAL,  BRONSON,
   FRIEND,  WOERNER,  COOK, STECK, CLARK, MEEKS -- read once and referred
   to the Committee on Education
 
 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  359  of  the  laws  of 2023, is amended to read as
 follows:
   8. No school shall be in session on a Saturday, the first day  of  the
 second  lunar  month after the winter solstice in the preceding calendar
 year known as Asian Lunar New Year, 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 exceed-
 ing four days during any school year caused by teachers' attendance upon
 conferences held by superintendents of schools of city school  districts
 or  other school districts employing superintendents of schools shall be
 excused by the commissioner, 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 collec-
 tive 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 trans-
 portation to students in non-public elementary and secondary schools  or
 charter  schools.  At  least two such conference days during such school
 year shall be dedicated to staff attendance upon  conferences  providing
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03525-01-5
              

 A. 2041                             2
 
 staff  development  relating  to implementation of the new high learning
 standards and assessments, as adopted by the board of regents.  Notwith-
 standing any other provision of law, rule or regulation to the contrary,
 school  districts may elect to use one or more of such allowable confer-
 ence days in units of not less than  one  hour  each  to  provide  staff
 development activities relating to implementation of the new high learn-
 ing  standards  and  assessments.  A  district  making such election may
 provide such staff development on any  day  during  which  sessions  are
 allowed  and  apply  such units to satisfy a deficiency in the length of
 one or more daily sessions of instruction for  pupils  as  specified  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  conference
 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, 2027.