Bill Text: NY S04985 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to creating a school resource officer program to permit the employment of retired law enforcement officers and provide grants to school districts and non-public schools for such purpose.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 7-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO EDUCATION [S04985 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S04985-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4985

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 21, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by Sen. OBERACKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Education

        AN ACT to amend the education law and the retirement and social security
          law, in relation to a school resource officer program

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

     1    Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 2801-c
     2  to read as follows:
     3    § 2801-c. New York state  school  resource  officer  program.  1.  For
     4  purposes  of this section, the term "school resource officer" shall mean
     5  a school resource officer, school safety officer, school security  offi-
     6  cer,  or  any  other  substantially  similar position or office, that is
     7  designed to provide improved public safety  and/or  security  on  school
     8  grounds. Such school resource officer may be a retired police officer, a
     9  retired  state  trooper,  a  retired  deputy sheriff, a state trooper, a
    10  police officer in the active duty service of a town, city or village, or
    11  a deputy sheriff from a county sheriff's department.
    12    2. Any public or nonpublic school may employ, in either the classified
    13  or unclassified service, any school resource officer for the purpose  of
    14  providing  improved public safety and/or security on school grounds. Any
    15  such public or nonpublic school may also contract with the state of  New
    16  York,  or  a county, city, town or village, for the provision of a state
    17  trooper, police officer or deputy sheriff, to serve as a school resource
    18  officer, for the purpose of  providing  improved  public  safety  and/or
    19  security  on  school  grounds.  A school district shall be authorized to
    20  employ or contract for as many school resource officers as such district
    21  deems necessary.
    22    3. It shall be the primary role of  the  school  resource  officer  to
    23  provide  improved  public  safety and/or security on school grounds.  In
    24  addition to this primary role, school resource officers also  may  serve
    25  additional roles, including but not limited to:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00350-01-3
        S. 4985                             2

     1    (a)  Proposing  and  enforcing  policies and administrative procedures
     2  related to school safety;
     3    (b)  Utilizing  technology  with the implementation of a comprehensive
     4  safety program;
     5    (c) Serving as a liaison with other school officials and other  commu-
     6  nity agencies, including but not limited to, other law enforcement enti-
     7  ties, courts, health care entities, and mental health entities;
     8    (d)  Proposing  and  implementing  strategies  concerning  prevention,
     9  response and recovery efforts for incidents and/or emergency  situations
    10  occurring on school grounds and/or involving students, faculty, adminis-
    11  tration or visitors to the school;
    12    (e)  Proposing  and  assisting  in  the  execution of school emergency
    13  drills and proposing and assisting in  the  creation  of  school  safety
    14  plans;
    15    (f) Providing educational and mentoring services to students;
    16    (g)  Assisting  in  the  design, explanation and enforcement of school
    17  safety and security policies and procedures; and
    18    (h) Performing such other  and  further  roles,  responsibilities  and
    19  activities  as the school district may deem appropriate and proper for a
    20  law enforcement officer to perform, in order to  advance  the  security,
    21  safety  and well-being of students, faculty, administration and visitors
    22  to the school district's schools,  transportation  vehicles  and  school
    23  grounds.
    24    4.  Such school resource officer may carry and possess firearms during
    25  the course of their duties at such school district, but nothing in  this
    26  subdivision shall be deemed to authorize such school resource officer to
    27  carry,  possess,  repair  or dispose of a firearm unless the appropriate
    28  license therefor has been issued pursuant to section 400.00 of the penal
    29  law.
    30    § 2. Section 3641 of the education law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
    31  subdivision 18 to read as follows:
    32    18.  School  resource  officer  grants. a. In the two thousand twenty-
    33  three--two thousand twenty-four school year and thereafter,  within  the
    34  amount  appropriated for services and expenses related to the expense of
    35  school resource officers, the commissioner shall provide grants pursuant
    36  to this subdivision to: (1) public school districts other  than  a  city
    37  school  district  in  a  city  with  a population of one million or more
    38  inhabitants, (2) charter schools, and (3) non-public schools.
    39    b. Grants under this subdivision shall be  equal  to  the  greater  of
    40  fifty  thousand  dollars  or the product of (1) twenty thousand dollars,
    41  and (2) the greater of (A) the  total  number  of  instructional  school
    42  buildings  owned,  leased  or  in use for instructional purposes by such
    43  public school district, charter school, or non-public school, or (B) the
    44  quotient of the enrollment of such public school  district  pursuant  to
    45  paragraph n of subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred two of this
    46  article  divided by two hundred fifty, and (3) the aid ratio pursuant to
    47  subdivision seven of section thirty-six hundred  two  of  this  article,
    48  provided  that  for a charter school or non-public school, the aid ratio
    49  shall be the aid ratio for the public school district where the  charter
    50  school or the non-public school is located.
    51    c. The commissioner shall be authorized to adopt regulations to imple-
    52  ment the provisions of this subdivision.
    53    d.  In the event the appropriation for purposes of this subdivision in
    54  any year is insufficient to pay all claims  received  pursuant  to  this
    55  subdivision,  the commissioner shall pay such claims on a prorated basis
        S. 4985                             3

     1  among all districts  filing  such  claims  until  the  appropriation  is
     2  exhausted.
     3    §  3.  Subparagraph 2 of paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 211
     4  of the retirement and social security law, as amended by chapter 640  of
     5  the laws of 2008, is amended and a new subparagraph 3-a is added to read
     6  as follows:
     7    (2)  that  he  or  she will earn more than one thousand dollars in one
     8  year,  including  compensation  earned  in  such  position  under  other
     9  provisions  of  this  article  that  there are not readily available for
    10  recruitment persons qualified to perform the duties  of  such  position;
    11  [and (4)];]
    12    (3-a)  that  his or her employment title and respective duties will be
    13  restricted to school resource officer as such term is defined in section
    14  twenty-eight hundred one-c of the education law;
    15    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.