Bill Text: NY S03844 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Relates to requiring postsecondary institutions that participate in study abroad programs to report crime and harm that occurs to participating students.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION [S03844 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S03844-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          3844
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    February 19, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced by Sens. STAVISKY, LAVALLE -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education
        AN  ACT  to amend the education law, in relation to requiring postsecon-
          dary institutions that participate in study abroad programs to  report
          crime and harm that occurs to participating students
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
     2  the  "Safe Student Study Abroad Act" also known as the "Ravi Thackurdeen
     3  Safe Student Study Abroad Act".
     4    § 2. The education law is amended by adding a  new  article  130-A  to
     5  read as follows:
     6                                ARTICLE 130-A
     7                          SAFE STUDENT STUDY ABROAD
     8  Section 6457. Definitions.
     9          6458. General provisions.
    10          6459. Reporting.
    11          6460. Student resources.
    12          6461. Program assessment.
    13    §  6457.  Definitions.  As  used  in this article, the following terms
    14  shall have the following meanings:
    15    1. "College", "university" and "postsecondary" shall mean any institu-
    16  tion of higher education, recognized and approved by the regents,  which
    17  provides  a  course  of study leading to the granting of a postsecondary
    18  degree or diploma.
    19    2. "Third party entities" shall mean any for profit or  not-for-profit
    20  business  that is not a college, university or postsecondary institution
    21  which provides a study abroad program or coordinates a  program  between
    22  college,  university  or  postsecondary institution in the United States
    23  and a study abroad program.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10056-01-9
        S. 3844                             2
     1    3. "Study abroad program" shall mean programs which are coordinated by
     2  college, university or postsecondary institutions and third party  enti-
     3  ties  in  the state of New York, that provide students with the opportu-
     4  nity to work or study, wholly or  in  principal  part,  outside  of  the
     5  United States of America.
     6    4. "Study abroad organization" shall mean college, university or post-
     7  secondary  institutions as well as third party entities that offer study
     8  abroad programs.
     9    § 6458. General provisions. Study abroad  organizations  shall  prior-
    10  itize the health, safety, and security of its students through policies,
    11  procedures, advising, orientation, and training.
    12    1.  Study  abroad  organizations  shall prioritize health, safety, and
    13  security  in  program  development,  implementation  and  management  by
    14  conducting  appropriate  risk  assessments  for  such  program sites and
    15  activities, maintaining written emergency plans and protocols, and iden-
    16  tifying and leveraging relevant authorities, networks and resources.
    17    2. Study abroad organizations' staff shall be  trained  to  anticipate
    18  and  respond  responsibly  to student health, safety, or security issues
    19  and students shall be provided training to responsibly manage their  own
    20  health,  safety,  and  security while abroad. Study abroad organizations
    21  shall establish measures to monitor and advise students on health, safe-
    22  ty, and security issues through the United States  department  of  state
    23  and other appropriate resources.
    24    3.  Study  abroad  organizations  shall maintain appropriate insurance
    25  policies at recommended levels, operate in compliance with  local  laws,
    26  and follow best practices in reporting on critical incidents.
    27    4.  Study  abroad  organizations  may  adopt and implement policies in
    28  accordance with the Standards of Good  Practice  for  Education  Abroad,
    29  made available by the Forum on Education Abroad.
    30    §  6459.  Reporting. 1. Beginning one year after the effective date of
    31  this article, study abroad organizations shall make and file  an  annual
    32  report  to the department by August fifteenth of each year.  Such report
    33  shall be prepared by all reasonably available data and shall consist  of
    34  data  from  the  previous  two  years and comply with the federal health
    35  insurance  portability  and  accountability  act  (HIPAA)  of  1996,  as
    36  amended, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. section
    37  1681,  et. seq.) and all other applicable regulations. Data representing
    38  individuals shall be in numerical form omitting personal information.
    39    2. The report mandated by this section shall include:
    40    a. for the previous academic year, including summer terms, the  effec-
    41  tiveness  of  the study abroad program at protecting students from crime
    42  and harm, whether changes to such program are needed and how such chang-
    43  es will be implemented;
    44    b. for the ten years preceding the date of the report, when such  data
    45  is reasonably attainable, the number of:
    46    i. deaths of program participants including manner of death;
    47    ii. accidents and illnesses that resulted in hospitalization including
    48  the type of such accident or illness;
    49    iii. sexual assaults against program participants;
    50    iv. incidents that resulted in a police report including type of inci-
    51  dent; and
    52    v.  with respect to the incidents described in subparagraphs i through
    53  iv of this paragraph, whether the incidents occurred:
    54    (1) during program participation;
    55    (2) during students own time;
    56    (3) on campus;
        S. 3844                             3
     1    (4) off campus;
     2    (5) the location of the incident; and
     3    (6) the time of the incident.
     4    c.  Study  abroad organizations shall also report on ethical relation-
     5  ships and conflict of interest avoidance policies with all  major  part-
     6  ners.
     7    § 6460. Student resources. 1. Study abroad organizations shall provide
     8  each  student  who  is interested in participating in a program of study
     9  abroad, with pre-registration information advising that includes:
    10    a. all current travel information, including all travel  warnings  and
    11  travel  alerts,  issued by the bureau of consular affairs of the depart-
    12  ment of state for such countries;
    13    b. all current safety alerts known within thirty miles of  the  campus
    14  including  information  obtained  by students from post-trip orientation
    15  sessions or reports; and
    16    c. the reporting information required by the department as  identified
    17  in section sixty-four hundred fifty-nine of this article.
    18    2.  Study  abroad organizations shall provide each student who returns
    19  from a study abroad program with an anonymous  post-semester  evaluation
    20  questionnaire, and the opportunity for a documented exit interview which
    21  shall focus on the program's effectiveness in best practices and student
    22  safety.  These  reports  are  to  be  made  available to the public upon
    23  request.
    24    3. Study abroad organizations shall include references to  the  avail-
    25  ability  of  the reports identified in section sixty-four hundred fifty-
    26  nine of this article and this section on all websites and printed  mate-
    27  rials.
    28    § 6461. Program assessment. The department shall, using existing staff
    29  and  budget,  assess  the  effectiveness of this article and appropriate
    30  state regulation of postsecondary study abroad programs. The  assessment
    31  shall  focus  on  the  protection,  the health and safety of students in
    32  postsecondary study abroad programs;  and  the  reporting  process.  The
    33  department  shall  make  their  assessments  and the reports required in
    34  section sixty-four hundred fifty-nine  of  this  article  to  any  state
    35  legislator upon request.
    36    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.