Enacts the higher education community service act to promote volunteer service by higher education students; creates a council for higher education community service to regulate and recognize persons and programs associated therewith; requires a report to the governor, temporary president of the senate and speaker of the assembly.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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4607
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 3, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ENGLEBRIGHT, RIVERA, SCHIMMINGER, ORTIZ, GUNTHER,
MOYA -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. CURRAN, CYMBROWITZ, GALEF,
HOOPER, MAGEE, PERRY, WRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Higher Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to enacting the "higher
education community service act"
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby finds and
2 declares that the American tradition of volunteer community service is
3 essential to the common good and is vital to the success of not-for-
4 profit agencies, institutions and organizations dealing with a vast
5 array of critical social problems. It recognizes growing support for the
6 idea that postsecondary students should receive recognition for substan-
7 tial commitment to volunteer service, and should be given greater
8 encouragement to participate in volunteer community service activities.
9 Volunteers and volunteer programs should be praised for their efforts in
10 helping and serving others, which result in changes in the way the
11 community views young people and in the way young people view their
12 responsibilities to the community.
13 The legislature further declares its desire to promote further inte-
14 gration of community service at institutions of higher education by
15 encouraging student-initiated and student-designated community service
16 projects.
17 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 319 to read
18 as follows:
19 § 319. Higher education community service act. 1. Short title. This
20 section shall be known and may be cited as the "higher education commu-
21 nity service act".
22 2. Establishment of higher education community service act. There is
23 hereby established a higher education community service act for the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03648-01-7
A. 4607 2
1 purpose of promoting and recognizing volunteer service involvement by
2 students in higher education. Activities conducted under the higher
3 education community service act shall include:
4 a. a campus based screening process to identify and nominate success-
5 ful and promising community service projects and initiatives for recog-
6 nition;
7 b. identification of existing quality community service programs,
8 projects and initiatives involving postsecondary students that produce a
9 sense of social responsibility and commitment to the community;
10 c. incentives for institutions of higher education, students and other
11 members of the college community to participate in long term community
12 service programs;
13 d. encouragement of institutions to formulate a systematic process to
14 disseminate information concerning prospective volunteer projects to the
15 participants of general volunteer programs on or off campus;
16 e. establishment of a foundation to receive private funds to be used
17 to promote a wide variety of service related projects. Private funds
18 shall include, but not be limited to donations, grants and fundraisers;
19 and
20 f. establishment of a three-year program of implementation, including
21 pilot programs and ongoing review and evaluation.
22 3. Establishment of volunteer connections. The commissioner, in
23 consultation with the chancellor of the state university, the chancellor
24 of the city university of New York and the president of the commission
25 on independent colleges and universities shall develop a program to
26 establish effective volunteer connections between institutions of higher
27 education and their respective communities.
28 4. Council for higher education community service. a. A council for
29 higher education community service shall be established within the
30 department for the purpose of conducting activities pursuant to this
31 section. The council shall be composed of eleven members, one of whom
32 shall be the commissioner, ex officio, and ten of whom shall be
33 appointed by the governor: two on the recommendation of the temporary
34 president of the senate, two on the recommendation of the speaker of the
35 assembly, one on the recommendation of the minority leader of the
36 senate, and one on the recommendation of the minority leader of the
37 assembly. Such members shall include representatives of the state
38 university, city university of New York, the independent colleges and
39 universities of New York and the New York campus compact. Two of the
40 council members shall be students, selected by the governor. The coun-
41 cil shall select from among its appointed members a chair and vice chair
42 who shall serve in office for terms of one year and who shall be eligi-
43 ble for reelection for successive terms.
44 b. The council shall oversee the creation of a statewide postsecondary
45 community service center to disseminate information regarding existing
46 volunteer activities, make volunteer connections between students and
47 the communities, integrate public and community service into the curric-
48 ulum, provide guidance and coordination, monitor and evaluate volunteer
49 programs and activities and promote the continuation of public and
50 community service.
51 c. The council shall meet at least four times each year. Members of
52 the council shall receive no compensation for their services but shall
53 be reimbursed by the higher education community service foundation for
54 reasonable expenses actually and necessarily incurred by them in the
55 performance of their duties pursuant to this section.
A. 4607 3
1 d. The council shall report by September first each year to the gover-
2 nor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assem-
3 bly on the progress of implementation of this section, with recommenda-
4 tions for future activities.
5 5. Petitioning by council. The council shall, within ninety days of
6 its appointment, petition the regents to incorporate as a private, not-
7 for-profit education corporation under this chapter, the New York foun-
8 dation for higher education community service, to receive funds to be
9 used as requested by the council to support and administer activities
10 authorized in this section, and other projects that encourage and assist
11 community service activities.
12 § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of September next
13 succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
