Establishes the water safety instruction working group to study appropriate standards for curriculum on water safety instruction for students in grades kindergarten through twelve in the state.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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728--A
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 6, 2021
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Introduced by M. of A. PHEFFER AMATO, CRUZ, BARNWELL, SIMON, MORINELLO,
NORRIS, EPSTEIN, ANDERSON, GRIFFIN, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, MAMDANI, HEVESI,
COOK, McDONOUGH, SEAWRIGHT -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. SILLITTI,
ZINERMAN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education --
recommitted to the Committee on Education in accordance with Assembly
Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing the water
safety instruction working group; and providing for the repeal of such
provisions upon the expiration thereof
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 805 to
2 read as follows:
3 § 805. Water safety instruction working group. 1. The commissioner
4 shall establish a water safety instruction working group to study appro-
5 priate standards for curriculum on water safety instruction for students
6 in grades kindergarten through twelve in the state.
7 2. Such working group shall be composed of not more than fifteen indi-
8 viduals representing interested stakeholders, including:
9 a. the commissioner or their designee;
10 b. the commissioner of the department of health or their designee;
11 c. the commissioner of the division of homeland security and emergency
12 services or their designee;
13 d. individuals who represent not-for-profit water safety organiza-
14 tions;
15 e. experts in teaching students on swimming and water safety in
16 elementary school, middle school, and high school;
17 f. experts in training first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and
18 other water emergency-related responses;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04175-03-2
A. 728--A 2
1 g. school administrators who work at an elementary school, middle
2 school, or high school;
3 h. individuals who represent climate-related emergency preparation and
4 training, specifically for water-related disasters; and
5 i. any other stakeholder the commissioner deems necessary, including
6 but not limited to, community members who are underserved and dispropor-
7 tionately impacted by the current distribution of swimming resources in
8 public schools and who are most likely to be affected by water-related
9 disasters due to climate change.
10 3. Such working group shall meet on a regular basis and shall study
11 the options and best practices available and make recommendations for:
12 a. the need and appropriateness of swimming and water safety instruc-
13 tion in public schools, with particular consideration of water-related
14 climate change disasters and proper emergency responses and skills of
15 survival;
16 b. which agencies or organizations should inform the department on the
17 best standards for curriculum on water safety instruction;
18 c. the availability of swimming pools and other equipment needed to
19 provide water safety instruction in public schools; and
20 d. the fiscal implications to school districts if any proposed stand-
21 ards were implemented.
22 4. The working group established pursuant to subdivision one of this
23 section shall report its findings and recommendations to the governor,
24 the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly no
25 later than twelve months after the effective date of this section. Such
26 report shall be made publicly available on the department's website.
27 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be
28 deemed repealed six months after the submission of the report by the
29 water safety instruction working group pursuant to section one of this
30 act; provided, however, that the commissioner of education shall notify
31 the legislative bill drafting commission upon the occurrence of the
32 submission of the report by the water safety instruction working group
33 pursuant to section one of this act in order that the commission may
34 maintain an accurate and timely effective data base of the official text
35 of the laws of the state of New York in furtherance of effectuating the
36 provisions of section 44 of the legislative law and section 70-b of the
37 public officers law.
