Senate Bill S7037

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7037
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 31, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens. GRIFFO, HELMING -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to  enacting  the  social
   media monitoring safety act; and making an appropriation therefor
 
   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 "social media monitoring safety act".
   §  2.  Legislative  intent.  It  is  the desire of this legislature to
 provide students and teachers with a safe environment to work and learn.
 It has become increasingly clear to this legislative body that  protect-
 ing  the  health  and  welfare of its public school students is becoming
 increasingly difficult. This legislative body  finds  that  the  use  of
 social  media  by  students is increasingly being used to voice opinions
 and thoughts that may be harmful to students and teachers alike.  There-
 fore,  this  legislative  body  finds  it necessary to create the social
 media monitoring safety act to provide data analytic resources and fund-
 ing to every school district to  facilitate  the  monitoring  of  social
 media  activities  to  provide  early  detection information of possible
 threats to a student's health and the safety of the school.
   § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 2801-a of the education law  is  amended
 by adding a new paragraph n to read as follows:
   N.  (I)  POLICIES  AND  PROCEDURES  TO PROVIDE DATA ANALYTIC RESOURCES
 WHICH FACILITATE THE MONITORING OF ANY AND ALL PUBLICLY AVAILABLE SOCIAL
 MEDIA ACTIVITIES TO PROVIDE  EARLY  DETECTION  INFORMATION  OF  POSSIBLE
 THREATS  TO A STUDENT'S HEALTH AND THE SAFETY OF THE SCHOOL. SUCH INFOR-
 MATION GATHERED PURSUANT TO THE EARLY DETECTION SYSTEM SHALL BE PROVIDED
 TO THE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL OR DESIGNEE AND SUCH PRINCIPAL OR DESIGNEE SHALL
 ACT AS THEY DEEM APPROPRIATE BASED ON THE LEVEL OF THREAT TO THE  HEALTH
 AND SAFETY OF THE SCHOOL.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11401-01-5
 S. 7037                             2
              

 
   (II)  A  SCHOOL DISTRICT SHALL NOT BE AUTHORIZED TO VIEW, RETRIEVE, OR
 OTHERWISE UTILIZE ANY INFORMATION THAT IS  PRIVATE,  INCLUDING  BUT  NOT
 LIMITED TO EMAIL, UNLESS EXPRESSLY AUTHORIZED BY A STUDENT OR A COURT OF
 COMPETENT JURISDICTION.
   §  4.  The sum of six million dollars ($6,000,000) is hereby appropri-
 ated to the state department of education out of any moneys in the state
 treasury in the general fund, not otherwise appropriated, and made imme-
 diately available, for the services and  expenses  of  implementing  the
 social  media monitoring safety act. Such moneys shall be payable on the
 audit and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers certified  or  approved
 by the department of education.
   § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
 it shall have become a law.