STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 10014 IN ASSEMBLY March 4, 2020 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to enacting the "safe schools by design act"; directing the use of certain professional design services for school security and safety improvements 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 schools by design act". 3 § 2. Legislative intent. The legislature acknowledges that measures 4 taken to enhance school safety through investments in facility harden- 5 ing, violence intervention services, and school resource officers 6 contribute to a broader strategy to mitigate and prevent violent acts on 7 school grounds. 8 The legislature further acknowledges that schools are intended to be 9 communities and should be planned without sacrificing the inherent posi- 10 tive qualities of school environments we all desire for our children, 11 and that design solutions can help address social, psychological, 12 economic, environmental, and safety factors while maintaining a healthy 13 and productive learning environment. 14 The legislature intends to provide school districts with the flexibil- 15 ity to adapt to differing and evolving community concerns, support 16 student health and safety, and create productive learning environments. 17 § 3. The education law is amended by adding a new section 408-c to 18 read as follows: 19 § 408-c. School safety design and planning. 1. Any project for the 20 design, planning, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or 21 improvement of school property, as defined by section twenty-eight 22 hundred one of this chapter, shall to the best of the school district's 23 ability, incorporate passive security design features to improve school 24 safety. For the purposes of this section, "passive security design 25 features" shall mean a design feature which deters threats while remain- 26 ing largely undetectable. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD15476-01-0

A. 10014 2 1 2. The specification and/or planning of passive security design 2 features of buildings, groups of buildings, including all components and 3 appurtenances and the spaces around such building or groups of build- 4 ings, shall comply with all rules and regulations governing articles one 5 hundred forty-five, one hundred forty-seven, and one hundred forty-eight 6 of this chapter. 7 § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 409-d of the education law, as amended 8 by section 52-f of part YYY of chapter 59 of the laws of 2019, is 9 amended to read as follows: 10 1. Program establishment. The commissioner is authorized and directed 11 to establish, develop and monitor a comprehensive public school building 12 safety program which shall include a uniform inspection, safety rating 13 and monitoring system. Such program shall require the inspections of all 14 public school buildings throughout the state (i) at least once between 15 the period commencing with the first day of January, two thousand twenty 16 and ending with the thirty-first day of December, two thousand twenty 17 and (ii) at least once between the period commencing with the first day 18 of January, two thousand twenty-two and ending with the thirty-first day 19 of December, two thousand twenty-two, provided that such inspections 20 shall exclude public school buildings in a school district required to 21 conduct building condition surveys between January first, two thousand 22 twenty and the end of such period in accordance with regulations of the 23 commissioner adopted pursuant to subparagraph one-a of paragraph c of 24 subdivision four of section thirty-six hundred forty-one of this chap- 25 ter, and provided further that such exclusion shall not apply in the 26 case of a school district which has not completed the building condition 27 surveys so required and submitted the same to the department. Under such 28 program, the commissioner may require inspections of public school 29 buildings as deemed necessary to maintain the safety of school buildings 30 and the welfare of the occupants, and such program shall establish a 31 safety rating system for such school buildings to assess the need for 32 maintenance, repairs, design, planning, rehabilitation, reconstruction, 33 construction and other improvements related to the structural integrity 34 and overall safety of public school buildings including but not limited 35 to building systems related to electrical, plumbing, heating, venti- 36 lation, and air conditioning, sanitation and health, fire and accident 37 protection; and require that such ratings be used for the purpose of 38 developing a buildings condition survey as required pursuant to subdivi- 39 sion four of section thirty-six hundred forty-one of this chapter and a 40 five year facilities plan as required pursuant to clause (i) of subpara- 41 graph two of paragraph b of subdivision six of section thirty-six 42 hundred two of this chapter. 43 § 5. Subdivision 4 of section 2801-a of the education law, as amended 44 by chapter 525 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 45 4. Each district-wide school safety team shall be appointed by the 46 board of education, or the chancellor in the case of the city school 47 district of the city of New York, and shall include but not be limited 48 to representatives of the school board, teacher, administrator, and 49 parent organizations, school safety personnel, and other school person- 50 nel including bus drivers and monitors. At the discretion of the board 51 of education, or the chancellor in the case of the city of New York, a 52 student may be allowed to participate on the safety team, provided 53 however, that no portion of a confidential building-level emergency 54 response plan shall be shared with such student nor shall such student 55 be present where details of a confidential building-level emergency 56 response plan or confidential portions of a district-wide emergency

A. 10014 3 1 response strategy are discussed. Each building-level emergency response 2 team shall be appointed by the building principal, in accordance with 3 regulations or guidelines prescribed by the board of education, chancel- 4 lor or other governing body. Such building-level teams shall include but 5 not be limited to representatives of teacher, administrator, and parent 6 organizations, school safety personnel and other school personnel 7 including bus drivers and monitors, community members, law enforcement 8 officials, fire officials or other emergency response agencies, design 9 professionals licensed pursuant to articles one hundred forty-five, one 10 hundred forty-seven, or one hundred forty-eight of this chapter, and any 11 other representatives the board of education, chancellor or other 12 governing body deems appropriate. 13 § 6. Paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section 2814 of the education 14 law, as added by chapter 181 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as 15 follows: 16 a. School safety activities. Programs eligible for funding pursuant to 17 this section may include, but not be limited to: (i) safe corridors 18 programs; (ii) diversity programs; (iii) collaborative school safety 19 programs with law enforcement agencies or community-based organizations; 20 (iv) metal detectors, intercom and other intra-school communication 21 devices and other devices to increase school security and the safety of 22 school personnel and students; (v) passive security design features, as 23 defined by section four hundred eight-c of this chapter, to increase the 24 security and safety of school property, as defined by section twenty- 25 eight hundred one of this chapter; and (vi) other programs including 26 comprehensive school-based intervention models, approved by the commis- 27 sioner, that reduce violence and improve school safety. Comprehensive 28 school based intervention models shall coordinate with and collaborate 29 with other services currently being provided in the school district, 30 incorporate appropriate school violence prevention and intervention 31 services, and coordinate appropriate funding sources to ensure the effi- 32 cient delivery of services. Such comprehensive school-based intervention 33 models shall also include provisions for the involvement of teachers, 34 parents, school administrators in the development and implementation of 35 the program, a detailed statement identifying specific performance 36 goals, a proposed timetable for implementation and achievement of such 37 goals and specific assessment methods which will be used to measure 38 student and school progress. 39 § 7. Subdivision 6-c of section 3602 of the education law, as amended 40 by chapter 1 of the laws of 2013, paragraph b as amended by section 11 41 of part CCC of chapter 59 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read as 42 follows: 43 6-c. a. Building aid for passive security design features as defined 44 by section four hundred eight-c of this chapter, metal detectors, and 45 safety devices for electrically operated partitions, room dividers and 46 doors. In addition to the apportionments payable to a school district 47 pursuant to subdivision six of this section, the commissioner is hereby 48 authorized to apportion to any school district additional building aid 49 pursuant to this subdivision for its approved expenditures in the base 50 year for the purchase and/or procurement of professional design 51 services, stationary metal detectors, security cameras, safety devices 52 for electrically operated partitions and room dividers required pursuant 53 to section four hundred nine-f of this chapter, or other security 54 devices or design-based solutions approved by the commissioner that 55 increase the safety of students and school personnel, provided, however, 56 that funds apportioned to school districts pursuant to this section

A. 10014 4 1 shall not supplant funds for existing district expenditures or for 2 existing contractual obligations of the district for professional design 3 services, stationary metal detectors, security cameras, partition and 4 room divider safety devices, or security devices. Portable or hand held 5 metal detectors shall not be eligible for aid pursuant to this subdivi- 6 sion. Such additional aid shall equal the product of the building aid 7 ratio computed for use in the current year pursuant to paragraph c of 8 subdivision six of this section and the actual approved expenditures 9 incurred in the base year pursuant to this subdivision, provided that 10 the limitations on cost allowances prescribed by paragraph a of subdivi- 11 sion six of this section shall not apply. The commissioner shall annual- 12 ly prescribe a special cost allowance for metal detectors, and security 13 cameras, and the approved expenditures shall not exceed such cost allow- 14 ance. The commissioner shall annually prescribe a special cost allowance 15 for partition and room divider safety devices, and the approved expendi- 16 tures shall not exceed such cost allowance. 17 b. For projects approved by the commissioner authorized to receive 18 additional building aid pursuant to this subdivision for the purchase 19 and/or procurement of professional design services, stationary metal 20 detectors, security cameras or other security devices approved by the 21 commissioner that increase the safety of students and school personnel, 22 provided that for purposes of this paragraph such other security devices 23 shall be limited to electronic security systems and hardened doors, and 24 provided that for projects approved by the commissioner on or after the 25 first day of July two thousand thirteen and before the first day of July 26 two thousand twenty-three such additional aid shall equal the product of 27 (i) the building aid ratio computed for use in the current year pursuant 28 to paragraph c of subdivision six of this section plus ten percentage 29 points, except that in no case shall this amount exceed one hundred 30 percent, and (ii) the actual approved expenditures incurred in the base 31 year pursuant to this subdivision, provided that the limitations on cost 32 allowances prescribed by paragraph a of subdivision six of this section 33 shall not apply, and provided further that any projects aided under this 34 paragraph must be included in a district's school safety plan. The 35 commissioner shall annually prescribe a special cost allowance for metal 36 detectors, and security cameras, and the approved expenditures shall not 37 exceed such cost allowance. 38 § 8. This act shall take effect immediately.

Enacts the safe schools by design act

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