Bill Text: NY A04917 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Enacts the "school anti-violence education act"; creates a school anti-violence education program; provides that funding will be provided through the omnibus school violence prevention grant program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 26-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-05 - print number 4917b [A04917 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A04917-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4917

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 24, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. ANDERSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Education

        AN ACT to amend the education law and the state finance law, in relation
          to enacting the "school anti-violence education act"

          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 "school anti-violence education act".
     3    §  2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 115 to read
     4  as follows:
     5    § 115. School anti-violence education. 1.  Legislative  findings.  The
     6  legislature  hereby finds and declares that gun violence and other forms
     7  of violence constitute a crisis that  poses  a  serious  threat  to  the
     8  health  and  quality  of life of all residents of the state of New York,
     9  particularly youth under 18 years of age. An  epidemic  of  violence  is
    10  tearing  at  the  fabric  of  life  in many urban areas. The legislature
    11  further finds that funds should be used to support school  anti-violence
    12  education programs.
    13    2.  Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms
    14  shall have the following meanings:
    15    (a) "evidence-based anti-violence  program"  means  a  program  or  an
    16  initiative that:
    17    (i)  is  developed  and evaluated through scientific research and data
    18  collection;
    19    (ii) uses public health principles that demonstrate  measurable  posi-
    20  tive outcomes in preventing gun violence; and
    21    (iii)  is  implemented by a nonprofit organization or public entity at
    22  or in affiliation with a government-funded public school.
    23    (b) "school anti-violence education program" means a  school-based  or
    24  school-affiliated evidence-based anti-violence education program that is
    25  operated by:
    26    (i) a nonprofit organization or public entity; and
    27    (ii)  provides  evidence-based trauma-support and group counseling and
    28  anti-gun violence education that includes personal  and  group  develop-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08152-01-3
        A. 4917                             2

     1  ment,  research-based  facts  and  misconceptions about guns and the gun
     2  violence crisis, and youth empowerment programming.
     3    3.  School  anti-violence  education program. (a) The department shall
     4  establish a school anti-violence education program, which shall be fund-
     5  ed from the school anti-violence education fund established  by  section
     6  ninety-seven-bbbbb  of  the  state finance law. The school anti-violence
     7  education program shall include, but not be limited to:
     8    (i) clearly defined  and  measurable  objectives  established  by  the
     9  department;
    10    (ii)  evidence  that  the  proposed  evidence-based school programs or
    11  evidence-informed school programs would likely reduce gun violence; and
    12    (iii) a description of how the nonprofit organization or public entity
    13  proposes to use the funding to reduce rates of gun violence by:
    14    (A) establishing  or  enhancing  evidence-based  school  anti-violence
    15  programs;
    16    (B)  enhancing coordination of existing school-based or school-affili-
    17  ated violence intervention and prevention programs, if any, to  minimize
    18  duplication of services; and
    19    (C) a plan for the collection of relevant data.
    20    (b)  No  firearms  shall be used in the school anti-violence education
    21  program.
    22    (c) The department shall attempt to secure alternative funding sources
    23  other than the state, including local government and private sources  as
    24  well as funding from the federal government.
    25    § 3. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 97-bbbbb
    26  to read as follows:
    27    §  97-bbbbb.  School  anti-violence education fund. 1. There is hereby
    28  established in the joint  custody  of  the  state  comptroller  and  the
    29  commissioner  of  education  a fund to be known as the "school anti-vio-
    30  lence education program fund".
    31    2. The school anti-violence education program fund  shall  consist  of
    32  and  all  monies appropriated, credited, or transferred thereto from any
    33  other fund or source pursuant to law.
    34    3. Monies of the school anti-violence education fund shall be expended
    35  only:
    36    (a) pursuant to section one hundred fifteen of the education law;
    37    (b) to support effective violence  reduction  strategies  for  school-
    38  based  and  school-affiliated anti-violence programs by providing grants
    39  to local governments and nonprofit organizations to fund  evidence-based
    40  school  anti-violence programs or evidence-informed school anti-violence
    41  programs; and
    42    (c) for the evaluation of the efficacy of evidence-based school  anti-
    43  violence  programs  or  evidence-informed  school anti-violence programs
    44  awarded grants through the fund.
    45    4. Monies shall be payable from the fund on the audit and  warrant  of
    46  the  comptroller  on vouchers approved and certified by the commissioner
    47  of education.
    48    § 4. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, or section of this act  shall
    49  be  adjudged  by  any  court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid and
    50  after exhaustion of all further judicial review, the judgment shall  not
    51  affect,  impair  or  invalidate  the  remainder  thereof,  but  shall be
    52  confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, or section
    53  of this act directly involved in the controversy in which  the  judgment
    54  shall have been rendered.
    55    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.