What's happening
This bill requires all Board of Regents meetings, including committees, to be live webcast and archived online for public access.
Why it matters
Expands public oversight. By requiring live webcasts and online archives of all Board of Regents meetings—including committees and subgroups—the bill gives the public unprecedented access to previously hard-to-follow decision-making processes in New York's education system.
Increases accountability. Easy access to meeting footage makes it easier for parents, educators, and advocacy groups to monitor actions and hold board members and staff accountable for their statements and votes.
Improves transparency beyond regular meetings. The inclusion of committees, subcommittees, and task forces means that not just the main board but also smaller working groups must operate more openly, reducing the chance for important decisions to be made without public scrutiny.
Protects confidential matters. By exempting executive sessions from the webcast requirement, the bill balances transparency with the need to keep certain discussions—such as personnel or legal matters—confidential.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Webcast Regents Meetings Live
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Referred to education
- Committed to rules
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.825
- Referred to education
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Webcast Regents Meetings Required
In Assembly Committee · Education · Sponsor Aileen Gunther
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1434
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 9, 2017
Introduced by Sens. RITCHIE, BONACIC, HANNON, MARCHIONE, RANZENHOFER, SERINO, SEWARD -- 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 providing a live webcast for meetings of the board of regents
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 204-a to read as follows:
§ 204-a. Webcasting meetings. 1. The entirety of each meeting of the regents shall be live webcast and be made available to the public on the department's website prior to the start of each meeting, and archived on the department's website, for a period of no less than two years, within twenty-four hours of the adjournment of the last meeting. The department shall provide notice to the public, via the department's website, of the availability of the live webcast of such meeting. The requirement to live webcast the entirety of each meeting shall not include executive sessions.
2. For the purposes of this section the term "meeting" shall include any committee, subcommittee, and to the extent practicable, task force or subgroup of the regents.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02790-01-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the education law, in relation to providing a live webcast for meetings of the board of regents
Purpose
To require that each meeting of the Board of Regents be streamed live and be made available to the public.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 adds a new section 204-a to the education law to require that the entirety of each meeting of the regents be live webcast and made available on the State Education Department's (SED) website. SED would be required to archive each meeting for no less than two years. The Department shall notify each school district superintendent of the upcoming regents meeting and provide information on the availability of and where to obtain the live webcast.
Section 2 is the effective date.
Justification
Currently, the Board of Regents webcasts only a small portion of its monthly meetings. According to the Department's website, the Regents were scheduled to publicly convene for roughly 9 hours for their April 13th-14th, 2015 meetings. However, the Board only webcast and archived about one hour and ten minutes of the proceedings. While the meetings are open to the public, the Board meets primarily at the state education building. Many concerned parents and educators are unable to make the trip to Albany to attend. This bill would give them the ability to stay informed of the Board's decisions regarding educating our children.
Legislative history
2015-2016: S.1796-C Passed the Senate. /A.1024-C Reported Referred to Rules. 2014: A9547/S6856 Referred to Education
Fiscal implications
Minimal.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.