Bill Text: NY A04795 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to promoting the inclusion of children living in temporary housing in prekindergarten programs; requires school districts to prioritize homeless children on any pre-K waitlists and provides for the reimbursement to school districts of hiring additional staff to accommodate the enrollment of a homeless child.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to education [A04795 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A04795-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          4795
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    February 5, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  BLAKE,  RICHARDSON,  HEVESI -- read once and
          referred to the Committee on Education
        AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to promoting  the  inclu-
          sion  of  children  living  in  temporary  housing  in prekindergarten
          programs
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1. Section 3602-e of the education law is amended by adding a
     2  new subdivision 19 to read as follows:
     3    19. Each school district implementing a prekindergarten program  shall
     4  promote  the inclusion of homeless children, as defined in section thir-
     5  ty-two hundred nine of this chapter.
     6    a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the  contrary,  where
     7  the  class  size  for  a  prekindergarten  class has reached its maximum
     8  capacity, as determined by regulations of the commissioner,  the  school
     9  district  in which a homeless child is currently temporarily housed in a
    10  motel, hotel, shelter  or  other  temporary  housing  arrangement  shall
    11  prioritize  such  child's  placement on any waitlist for enrollment in a
    12  prekindergarten program.
    13    b. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the  contrary,  where
    14  the  class  size  for a prekindergarten class necessitates the hiring of
    15  additional staff, as determined by regulations of the  commissioner,  to
    16  accommodate  the  enrollment  of  a  homeless child, the school district
    17  shall be reimbursed by the department for the direct cost of hiring such
    18  additional staff, not otherwise reimbursed under other federal programs,
    19  calculated pursuant to regulations of the commissioner.
    20    § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    21  have  become  a  law.    Effective  immediately, the addition, amendment
    22  and/or repeal of any rules or regulations necessary for the  implementa-
    23  tion  of  this act on its effective date are authorized to be made on or
    24  before such date.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08795-01-9