Bill Text: NY A05232 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to librarians of school libraries.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-1)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to education [A05232 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A05232-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5232

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      March 7, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced   by  M.  of  A.  SOLAGES,  BRONSON,  BUTTENSCHON,  JACOBSON,
          JEAN-PIERRE, FAHY, SIMON, STECK -- Multi-Sponsored  by  --  M.  of  A.
          TAGUE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education

        AN  ACT  to amend the education law, in relation to librarians of school
          libraries; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating ther-
          eto

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Section  275  of  the education law is REPEALED and a new
     2  section 275 is added to read as follows:
     3    § 275. Librarians of school libraries. 1.  Notwithstanding  any  other
     4  provisions  of law, and subject to the provisions of section two hundred
     5  seventy-four of this part, and subdivision three of this  section,  each
     6  school district in the state shall have and maintain a school library in
     7  each elementary and secondary school in the district, and shall employ a
     8  certified  school  library media specialist for each such school library
     9  within three years of the effective date of this section.
    10    2. Employment of certified school library media specialists  shall  be
    11  in accordance with the following standards:
    12    a.  In  each  elementary or secondary school with an enrollment of not
    13  more than one hundred pupils, a certified school library media  special-
    14  ist  shall  be  employed as fifteen hundredths of a full-time equivalent
    15  staff member;
    16    b. In each elementary or secondary school with an enrollment  of  more
    17  than  one  hundred  but  not more than three hundred pupils, a certified
    18  school library media specialist shall be employed as a three-tenths of a
    19  full-time equivalent staff member;
    20    c. In each elementary or secondary school with an enrollment  of  more
    21  than  three  hundred  but  no more than five hundred pupils, a certified
    22  school library media specialist shall be employed as a  one  half  of  a
    23  full-time equivalent staff member;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08913-01-3
        A. 5232                             2

     1    d.  In  each elementary or secondary school with an enrollment of more
     2  than five hundred pupils, a certified school  library  media  specialist
     3  shall be employed as a full-time equivalent staff member;
     4    e.  (i)  In  each elementary or secondary school with an enrollment of
     5  more than two  thousand  pupils,  two  certified  school  library  media
     6  specialists  shall  each  be  employed  as  a full-time equivalent staff
     7  member;
     8    (ii) An additional certified school library media specialist shall  be
     9  employed  as a full-time equivalent staff member for each additional one
    10  thousand pupils enrolled in an elementary or secondary school.
    11    f. (i) In each elementary or secondary school with an enrollment of at
    12  least one thousand pupils, a full-time equivalent staff member shall  be
    13  employed as a library clerk.
    14    (ii) An additional full-time equivalent staff member shall be employed
    15  as  a  library clerk for each additional one thousand pupils enrolled in
    16  an elementary or secondary school.
    17    3. The commissioner may, upon application by a school district,  waive
    18  the  applicability of the provisions of subdivisions one and two of this
    19  section for up to one year, if such application demonstrates the elemen-
    20  tary or secondary school is within a designated shortage area for certi-
    21  fied school library media specialists, and such application demonstrates
    22  that an actual offer of  employment  was  made  to  a  certified  school
    23  library  media  specialist; however, no such waiver shall be granted for
    24  more than two consecutive school years, and no more than two waivers may
    25  be granted with a five year period.
    26    § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of July  next  succeeding
    27  the date on which it shall have become a law.