What's happening
This bill prohibits New York schools from using biometric identification technology, including facial recognition, until a comprehensive privacy and safety report is issued and approved.
Why it matters
Places an immediate moratorium on the use of biometric technologies in schools. , including facial recognition, until a comprehensive state report determines if, how, and under what circumstances these tools can be safely and fairly used. This prevents schools from adopting potentially risky surveillance tech without appropriate oversight.
Requires a thorough, public analysis of privacy, civil rights, and accuracy risks. including the possibility of false identifications and whether these risks disproportionately affect certain groups (by race, gender, age, etc.). This means the state must consider the potential for bias and harm before allowing any such technology in schools.
Mandates engagement with a broad range of stakeholders. from privacy experts and teachers to law enforcement and civil rights advocates—ensuring the resulting guidelines reflect diverse perspectives and real-world concerns, not just technology vendors or security officials.
Demands transparency and robust data security planning. , including how biometric data might be shared, how long it can be kept, how it is destroyed, and what happens in the case of data breaches. This is crucial for protecting students, staff, and visitors from misuse or theft of sensitive information.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Pause School Biometric Tech
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 26
History
- Substituted by A6787D
- Ordered to third reading cal.779
- Reported and committed to rules
- Print number 5140b
- Amend and recommit to education
- Referred to education
- Print number 5140a
- Amend and recommit to education
- 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.
Pause Biometric Tech in Schools
Signed by Governor · Sponsor Monica P. Wallace
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
5140--B
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
April 11, 2019
Introduced by Sens. KAVANAGH, BIAGGI, KRUEGER, MYRIE, RAMOS, SALAZAR -read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -recommitted to the Committee on Education in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the use of biometric identifying technology
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 2-e to read as follows:
§ 2-e. Use of biometric identifying technology. 1. As used in this section:
a. "biometric identifying technology" shall mean any tool using an automated or semi-automated process that assists in verifying a person's identity based on a person's biometric information.
b. "biometric information" shall mean any measurable physical, physiological or behavioral characteristics that are attributable to a person, including but not limited to facial characteristics, fingerprint characteristics, hand characteristics, eye characteristics, vocal characteristics, and any other characteristics that can be used to identify a person including, but are not limited to: fingerprints; handprints; retina and iris patterns; DNA sequence; voice; gait; and facial geometry.
c. "facial recognition" shall mean any tool using an automated or semi-automated process that assists in uniquely identifying or verifying a person by comparing and analyzing patterns based on the person's face.
2. Public and nonpublic elementary and secondary schools, including charter schools, shall be prohibited from purchasing or utilizing biome-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10753-13-0
S. 5140--B 2
tric identifying technology for any purpose, including school security, until July first, two thousand twenty-two or until the commissioner authorizes such purchase or utilization as provided in subdivision three of this section, whichever occurs later.
3. a. The commissioner shall not authorize the purchase or utilization of biometric identifying technology, including but not limited to facial recognition technology, without first issuing a report prepared in consultation with the department's chief privacy officer, making recommendations as to the circumstances in which the utilization of such technology is appropriate in public and nonpublic elementary and secondary schools, including charter schools, and what restrictions and guidelines should be enacted to protect individual privacy, civil rights, and civil liberty interests. Such report shall be made public and presented to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, and the speaker of the assembly, and shall consider, evaluate and present recommendations concerning:
i. the privacy implications of collecting, storing, and/or sharing biometric information of students, teachers, school personnel and the general public entering a school or school grounds;
ii. the potential impact of the use of biometric identifying technology on student civil liberties and student civil rights, including the risks and implications of the technology resulting in false facial identifications, and whether the risks of false facial identifications differs for different subgroups of individuals based on race, national origin, gender, age and other factors, and any other reasonable accuracy concerns with respect to technology;
iii. whether, and under what circumstances, such technology may be used for school security and the effectiveness of such technology to protect students and school personnel;
iv. whether, and under what circumstances and in what manner, information collected may be used by schools and shared with students, parents or guardians, outside agencies including law enforcement agencies, individuals, litigants, the courts, and any other third parties;
v. the length of time biometric information may be retained and whether, and in what manner, such information may be required to be permanently destroyed;
vi. the risk of an unauthorized breach of biometric information and appropriate consequences therefor;
vii. expected maintenance costs resulting from the storage and use of facial recognition images and other biometric information, including the cost of appropriately securing sensitive data, performing required updates to protect against an unauthorized breach of data, and potential costs associated with an unauthorized breach of data;
viii. analysis of other schools and organizations, if any, that have implemented facial recognition technology and other biometric identifying technology programs;
ix. the appropriateness and potential implications of using any existing databases, including but not limited to, local law enforcement databases, as part of biometric identifying technology;
x. whether, and in what manner such biometric identifying technology should be assessed and audited, including but not limited to, vendor datasets, adherence to appropriate standards of algorithmic fairness, accuracy, and other performance metrics, including with respect to subgroups of persons based on race, national origin, gender, and age;
S. 5140--B 3
xi. whether, and in what manner, the use of such technology should be disclosed by signs and the like in such schools, as well as communicated to parents, guardians, students, and district residents; and
xii. existing legislation, including but not limited to section 2-d of this article, that may be implicated by or in conflict with biometric technology to ensure the maintenance of records related to the use of such technology, protect the privacy interests of data subjects, and avoid any breaches of data.
b. The commissioner shall consult with stakeholders and other interested parties when preparing such report. The office of information technology, the division of criminal justice services, law enforcement authorities and the state university of New York and the city university of New York shall, to the extent practicable, identify and provide representatives to the department, at the request of the commissioner, in order to participate in the development and drafting of such report.
4. The commissioner shall, via scheduled public hearings and other outreach methods, seek feedback from teachers, school administrators, parents, individuals with expertise in school safety and security, and individuals with expertise in data privacy issues and student privacy issues, and individuals with expertise in civil rights and civil liberties prior to making such recommendations.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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 the use of biometric identifying technology
Purpose of bill
This bill will enact a moratorium on the use of biometric identifying technology on school grounds until July 1, 2022 unless the commissioner of education conducts a study and issues a report on the use of such technology in order to create a comprehensive, unified statewide regula- tory system governing the use of such technology in schools.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 of the bill amends the Education Law to add a new section 2-E regarding the use of biometric identifying technology on school grounds. The section places a moratorium on the use of biometric identifying technology, including facial recognition, in schools until the later of July 1, 2022, or the authorization for such purchase or use is issued pursuant to this bill. This section establishes the steps to be taken by the commissioner in order to authorize the purchase or use of such tech- nology, including the issuance of a report that includes what restrictions and guidelines to enact and the, stakeholder input required.
Section 2 of the bill sets forth the effective date.
Justification
School districts in New York continue to seek to use public funds for the installation and use of facial recognition software. The intended use of the software is to screen students, families, and others as they enter a school. Some school districts also want to rely on the software for student discipline. The safety of New York state students is a para- mount consideration for all lawmakers. Prior to spending millions of dollars on technology that may not make our children significantly safer than less costly alternatives, it is imperative that the commissioner studies and reports on the risks and benefits of using this evolving form of technology.
If it is ultimately decided that the benefits of this technology outweigh any risks to privacy and data security, the bill requires the commissioner to provide restrictions and guidelines to enact to protect individual privacy interests and mitigate any possible risks and dangers associated with use.
The need for caution with regard to this technology has been widely recognized. National news organizations, security experts, and the soft- ware providers themselves have identified the need for regulation of technology that has "broad social ramifications and the potential for abuse." The security of biometric data, like facial recognition, is of grave concern given the permanency of those identifiers. As the U.S. Government Accountability Office has recognized, biometric data cannot be altered in the event of a breach. A person's immutable character- istics are permanent and must be heavily guarded. To allow the use of a system storing highly sensitive data with no regulations for the stand- ard of care to be taken in doing so would be highly irresponsible. Indeed, three states-Illinois, Texas, and Washington-have already created laws to address the collection and security of biometric data.
This bill will direct the commissioner of education to thoroughly study this issue of facial recognition software in schools and recommend a course of action before the purchase or use of such technology for schools. It is essential to do our due diligence to ensure there is a uniform, comprehensive regulatory scheme in place before moving forward in permitting new york schools to use this highly controversial soft- ware.
Legislative history
New bill.
Fiscal implications for state and local governments
None.
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.