Bill Text: NY A02333 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Amended

---

Bill Title: Requires city school districts in cities having a population of one million or more operating school safety hotlines to staff such hotlines by personnel fluent in the two languages most prevalent among students of such school districts.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 23-2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-09-04 - enacting clause stricken [A02333 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-A02333-Amended.html

---

                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                        2333--A
                              2011-2012 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                   January 18, 2011
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by M. of A. P. RIVERA, McENENY, J. RIVERA, RAMOS, WEISENBERG
         -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ABBATE, BENEDETTO,  BUTLER,  COLTON,
         COOK,  CUSICK, DINOWITZ, FARRELL, HOOPER, JACOBS, V. LOPEZ, MAYERSOHN,
         McDONOUGH, NOLAN,  ORTIZ,  N. RIVERA,  ROBINSON,  SCARBOROUGH,  TOWNS,
         WRIGHT  --  read  once  and  referred to the Committee on Education --
         committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as  amended  and
         recommitted to said committee
       AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to bilingual school safe-
         ty hotlines in cities with a population of one million or more
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. Legislative findings and declaration. The legislature here-
    2  by declares that  overwhelming  evidence  indicates  that  violent  acts
    3  performed  by schoolchildren in large city school districts are increas-
    4  ing in frequency and intensity. The legislature finds that  these  inci-
    5  dents  result  in senseless deaths and injuries and psychological trauma
    6  to the students, their families and their communities.  The  legislature
    7  finds that children in school are impressionable and subject to powerful
    8  peer  pressure,  and therefore, might be disinclined to report a problem
    9  to teachers or  other  authorities  because  of  intimidation,  fear  of
   10  retribution  or  a  distorted sense of loyalty to their fellow students.
   11  The legislature also finds, however,  that  students  know  better  than
   12  anyone  what is really occurring in their fellow students' lives and are
   13  our best resources  for  recognizing  the  warning  signs  of  potential
   14  danger.
   15    The  legislature finds and declares it to be its purpose and policy to
   16  reduce school violence by teaching children  that  they  have  the  same
   17  responsibility  as adults to protect each other. The legislature, there-
   18  fore, declares it to be its purpose and policy to provide for  a  bilin-
   19  gual school safety hotline in cities with a population of one million or
   20  more.
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
       A                                                          LBD00097-02-1
       A. 2333--A                          2
    1    S  2.  Section  305  of  the  education law is amended by adding a new
    2  subdivision 42 to read as follows:
    3    42.  A.  ANY CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT IN A CITY HAVING A POPULATION OF ONE
    4  MILLION OR MORE OPERATING SCHOOL SAFETY HOTLINES AS PART OF A  REPORTING
    5  MECHANISM  OR  PROCEDURE FOR THE REPORTING OF VIOLENT INCIDENTS PURSUANT
    6  TO PARAGRAPH J OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF SECTION TWENTY-EIGHT HUNDRED  ONE-A
    7  OF  THIS CHAPTER SHALL STAFF SUCH HOTLINE BY PERSONNEL FLUENT IN THE TWO
    8  LANGUAGES MOST PREVALENT AMONG STUDENTS OF SUCH CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT  AS
    9  DETERMINED  BY  THE  COMMISSIONER.  IN  CITY  SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN CITIES
   10  HAVING A POPULATION OF ONE MILLION OR  MORE  WHERE  SUCH  SCHOOL  SAFETY
   11  HOTLINES  HAVE  BEEN ESTABLISHED OR SHALL BE ESTABLISHED, AND WHERE SUCH
   12  DISTRICTS BELIEVE THERE TO BE NO SIGNIFICANT POPULATION OF  SPEAKERS  OF
   13  LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH, THE DISTRICT MAY APPLY TO THE COMMISSIONER
   14  FOR A WAIVER OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR A BILINGUAL HOTLINE.
   15    B. EACH SUCH CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT OPERATING SUCH SCHOOL SAFETY HOTLINE
   16  SHALL PROVIDE TO EACH STUDENT IN THE DISTRICT A COPY OF THE SCHOOL SAFE-
   17  TY HOTLINE NUMBER AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH SCHOOL YEAR.
   18    S  3. This act shall take effect September 1, 2012; provided, however,
   19  that effective immediately the commissioner of education  is  authorized
   20  to adopt any rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions
   21  of this act on or before such date.