STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1670 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 14, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the establishment of school election wards in the Chester Union Free School District The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 1702 of the education law is amended by adding a 2 new subdivision 4 to read as follows: 3 4. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the 4 board of education of the Chester Union Free School District may, by 5 resolution and subject to a mandatory referendum, establish school 6 election wards for purposes of electing individual trustees. There shall 7 be at least three, but no more than nine, school election wards within 8 the school district. One trustee shall be chosen from each ward by the 9 qualified voters therein. Within such resolution, the board of educa- 10 tion may require that a trustee elected to represent a ward shall be a 11 resident of such ward. Such resolution shall also provide for the signa- 12 ture requirements for nominating petitions consistent with the applica- 13 ble provisions of this chapter. 14 b. (i) A resolution by the board of education, which shall be passed 15 no less than one hundred eighty days prior to a related referendum being 16 placed before the qualified voters of the school district during the 17 annual meeting and election, shall include an assessment and finding, 18 which shall take into account any historic disenfranchisement or 19 discrimination against any group of individuals within the school 20 district based upon race, gender, ethnicity, religion, socio-economic 21 status, or sexual orientation, including that no disenfranchisement or 22 discrimination would result from the adoption of the proposed resol- 23 ution. The board of education shall conduct no fewer than three public 24 hearings on such resolution. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05869-01-1S. 1670 2 1 (ii) Such public hearings shall be conducted not less than thirty nor 2 more than ninety days prior to a vote on the resolution by a majority of 3 the qualified voters of the district. The district clerk shall give 4 notice of the public hearing by publishing a notice five times within 5 fifteen days preceding the hearing, on the district's website and in two 6 newspapers if there shall be two, or in one newspaper if there shall be 7 but one, having general circulation within such district. But if no 8 newspaper shall then have general circulation therein, said notice shall 9 be posted in at least twenty of the most public places in said district 10 fifteen days before the time of the first hearing. 11 (iii) Following such public hearings, a proposition for approval of 12 such resolution and the boundaries of proposed school election wards by 13 a majority of the qualified voters of such district shall be submitted 14 at the next succeeding annual meeting and election. The district clerk 15 shall give notice of such proposition by publishing notice prior to the 16 election, in the same manner and publication as the public hearings, set 17 forth in this section, specifying the time when and place or places 18 where such election will be held, the hours during which the polls will 19 remain open for the purpose of receiving ballots, and setting forth in 20 full the language of the proposition to be approved at such election. 21 In any event, there shall be at least one polling location for every 22 fifteen thousand eligible voters in the district and the hours of the 23 election shall commence no later than six o'clock in the morning and 24 shall end no earlier than nine o'clock in the evening. 25 (iv) At least fifteen days prior to conducting public hearings, the 26 board of education shall define and publish, by resolution, boundaries 27 of each of the proposed school election wards. Should such map be 28 altered as a result of the public hearings, the amended map shall be 29 published pursuant to this paragraph no later than fifteen days before 30 the election. Such wards shall be contiguous and each ward shall 31 contain as nearly as possible the same number of inhabitants. Each ward 32 shall also conform as closely as possible with the attendance zone of 33 the school district, conform as closely as possible with geographic and 34 other physical boundaries, and retain contiguous communities of inter- 35 est. 36 (v) A map of each ward and the boundaries thereof shall be created 37 with the original filed with the district clerk within ten days of the 38 resolution and copies thereof filed in the board of elections of the 39 county. Upon each issuance of a federal decennial census, the board of 40 education shall either: (1) make a written finding that, upon examina- 41 tion of the decennial census, the current school election wards contain 42 nearly as possible the same number of inhabitants and that no discrimi- 43 nation or disenfranchisement would result if the wards remained as 44 established; or (2) the school election wards shall be redefined by 45 resolution of the board of education, after a public hearing thereon, 46 and approval by the qualified voters of the school district. If the 47 qualified voters of the school district shall not approve of the resol- 48 ution, the board of education shall submit a second resolution for 49 approval by the qualified voters of the school district, after a public 50 hearing thereon, within ninety days. If the qualified voters of the 51 school district shall not approve of such resolution for a second time, 52 the board of education shall continue the membership and terms of the 53 current board until the next annual meeting and election at which time 54 the terms of all current trustees shall terminate. At the next annual 55 meeting and election, trustees shall be elected by a vote of the quali-S. 1670 3 1 fied voters of the school district pursuant to article forty-three of 2 this chapter. 3 (vi) After a school election ward system shall have been established, 4 the term of every existing trustee shall terminate on the thirtieth day 5 of June next succeeding the first annual meeting and election following 6 voter approval of the referendum, at which time the terms for each 7 elected school ward trustee shall commence. 8 c. The term of office of each trustee from a school election ward 9 shall be three, four, or five years, to be determined at the discretion 10 of the board of education by resolution prior to the referendum; 11 provided however that the resolution shall also designate that in the 12 first annual meeting and election after the adoption of a school 13 election ward system, the initial terms shall be divided into terms of 14 three, four, or five years so that as nearly as possible an equal number 15 of trustees shall be elected each year. In each election cycle thereaft- 16 er, the terms of office shall be uniform. In each school election ward, 17 the candidate receiving a plurality of votes in each school election 18 ward shall be declared elected to that position. 19 d. Whenever a vacancy shall occur or exist in the office of a ward 20 trustee of a board of education, such vacancy shall be filled pursuant 21 to this article and part one of article forty-three of this chapter. 22 e. Except as provided in this subdivision, all provisions of this 23 article, article forty-one, and article forty-three of this chapter or 24 of any other general law relating to or affecting the election of trus- 25 tees in a union free school district shall apply to school election 26 wards organized pursuant to this subdivision and to the election of 27 trustees by the qualified voters of a school district as established 28 pursuant to paragraph f and subparagraph (iv) of paragraph b of this 29 subdivision. 30 f. A board of education of a union free school district which has 31 established school election wards pursuant to this subdivision may, by 32 resolution and subject to a mandatory referendum, abolish the school 33 election ward system and return to election of trustees by a vote of the 34 qualified voters of the school district. Adoption, assessment, public 35 hearing and notice, and voting requirements of such resolution and 36 referendum shall comply with the provisions of subparagraphs (i), (ii), 37 and (iii) of paragraph b of this subdivision. 38 g. For the purpose of this subdivision, "contiguous community of 39 interest" means a contiguous population which shares common social and 40 economic interests that should be included within a single district for 41 purposes of its effective and fair representation. 42 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.