What's happening
The bill extends protections from abuse and maltreatment in educational settings to students in New York City school districts.
Why it matters
Expands protections to the largest and most diverse school system in New York State (NYC), ensuring that over one million additional students are covered by statewide standards against abuse and maltreatment in educational settings.
Closes a longstanding legal loophole that previously excluded New York City school districts from these protections, addressing potential disparities in student safety and rights compared to the rest of the state.
May prompt changes in training, reporting, and accountability requirements for New York City educators and school staff, potentially increasing oversight and consequences for abusive behavior.
Signals a broader commitment to equitable student protection, regardless of geography, and could lead to more consistent enforcement of anti-abuse measures across all New York public schools.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Protect NYC Students from Abuse
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to children and families
- Referred to children and families
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
3469
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 23, 2017
Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to including pupils from school districts within a city having a population of one million or more within the definition of child for the purposes of their protection from abuse and maltreatment in educational settings
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 1125 of the education law, as added by chapter 180 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
2. "Child" shall mean a person under the age of twenty-one years enrolled in a school district in this state[, other than a school district within a city having a population of one million or more].
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06573-01-7
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 including pupils from school districts within a city having a population of one million or more within the definition of child for the purposes of their protection from abuse and maltreatment in educational settings
Purpose of bill
This bill would amend the education law to extend protection to children in school districts throughout the state without having to adhere to population restrictions.
Summary of provisions
§ 1 of this bill amends subdivision 2 of section 1125 of the education laws of 2000 to define "Child" to mean a person under the age of twenty-one years enrolled in a school district in this state.
Justification
On May 2, 2001 a teacher employed at Public School 78 in the Bronx was charged with sodomizing a 9-year old boy. Previously, in 1998, the accused teacher had been under internal investigation for exposing himself to a student.
It is unacceptable that the incident was not reported to the authorities, opening the door for that teacher to engage in the behavior at the center of the 2001 incident. Allegations of such a nature should not be handled internally.
Protecting our children is one of parents' most heartfelt concerns. In order to secure the safety of our children, schools around the state were required to adhere to a stricter standard of reporting incidents of child abuse and maltreatment. However, New York City was exempted from that stricter standard.
A study done by the American Association of University Women in 2001 states that over "4.5 million students are sexually harassed or abused by an employee of a school sometime between kindergarten and 12th grade." (See, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/focus/f-news/1094825/posts).
Based upon data collected for the National Incident-Based Reporting System between 1991 and 2002, 67 percent of victims of sexual assault were juveniles under the age of 18, and 34 percent were victims under the age of 12. (see, http://www.prevent-abuse-now.com/state.html) (last visited 1/3/11).
A number of studies suggest that sexual misconduct can happen anywhere from 13 to 34 percent for females and 7 to 16 percent for males. (see, http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/misconductreview/ report.pdf).
Sexual abuse is a serious crime which can adversely effect a child's life. The result of being sexually abused can have psychological consequences that can result in anger, eating disorders, self mutilation, and a loss of self esteem. (see, http://www.ncvc.org/ ncvo/main.aspx?dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentiD=32369 3). In order to properly protect our children, the law needs to cover all school districts, which requires that the exemption for cities over one million in population be eliminated.
Legislative history
2015-16: S. 1729 - Referred to Education 2013-14: S. 1641/A.1026 - Died in Education /Died in Codes; 2011-12: S. 1047/A.2417 - Referred to Children& Families 2009-10: S. 7003/A.4234 - REFERRED TO EDUCATION/passed assembly; 2007-08: A. 6636 - referred to rules; 2005-06: A.4410 - referred to education; 2003-04: A. 8914 - referred to codes; 2001-02: S. 5720/A.8872 -REFERRED TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES.
Fiscal implications
Minimal fiscal implications.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.