Bill Text: NY S04505 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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

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Bill Title: Prohibits discrimination of students on school property or at a school function based on religious attire, clothing or facial hair.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-03-27 - referred to education [S04505 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S04505-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4505

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 9, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  LIU, MYRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and
          when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education

        AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to prohibiting  discrimi-
          nation of students on school property or at a school function based on
          religious attire

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 11 of the education law is amended by adding a  new
     2  subdivision 11 to read as follows:
     3    11.  "Religious  attire"  shall  mean any attire, clothing, hairstyle,
     4  facial hairstyle, or head covering worn in accordance with the  require-
     5  ments of an individual's religion.
     6    §  2.  Subdivision 1 of section 12 of the education law, as amended by
     7  chapter 102 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
     8    1. No student shall be subjected to harassment or bullying by  employ-
     9  ees  or  students  on school property or at a school function; nor shall
    10  any student be subjected to discrimination based on a person's actual or
    11  perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group,  religion,
    12  religious  practice,  religious  attire, disability, sexual orientation,
    13  gender, or sex by school employees or students on school property or  at
    14  a  school  function.  Nothing  in this subdivision shall be construed to
    15  prohibit a denial of admission into, or  exclusion  from,  a  course  of
    16  instruction  based  on a person's gender that would be permissible under
    17  section thirty-two hundred one-a or paragraph (a) of subdivision two  of
    18  section  twenty-eight hundred fifty-four of this chapter and title IX of
    19  the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. section 1681, et. seq.),  or
    20  to  prohibit,  as discrimination based on disability, actions that would
    21  be permissible under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
    22    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06632-01-3