Requires that the NYS board of regents hold at least 2 meetings a year in New York city and requires announcements of the time, date, location and agenda thereof.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
S. 6322 A. 9127
SENATE - ASSEMBLY
January 25, 2012
___________
IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. MONTGOMERY -- read twice and ordered
printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher
Education
IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. N. RIVERA -- Multi-Sponsored by --
M. of A. ARROYO, BARRON, CAMARA, CASTRO, CRESPO, ESPINAL, JEFFRIES,
LINARES, MENG, ORTIZ, J. RIVERA, P. RIVERA, RODRIGUEZ, SIMOTAS, TITUS
-- read once and referred to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to monthly meetings of
the New York state board of regents
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 204 of the education law is amended to read as
2 follows:
3 § 204. Meetings and absences. 1. The regents may provide for regular
4 meetings, and the chancellor, or the commissioner of education, or any
5 five regents, may at any time call a special meeting of the board of
6 regents and fix the time and place therefor; and at least ten days'
7 notice of every meeting shall be mailed to the usual address of each
8 regent.
9 2. If any regent shall fail to attend three consecutive meetings,
10 without excuse accepted as satisfactory by the regents, he may be deemed
11 to have resigned and the regents shall then report the vacancy to the
12 legislature, which shall fill it.
13 3. a. The regents shall hold at least two meetings in each calendar
14 year in a city having a population of one million or more. Such meetings
15 shall be held at a time to ensure parental attendance and participation.
16 b. (i) The regents shall announce the location, time and agenda of
17 each meeting to be held in a city having a population of one million or
18 more whenever such meeting is scheduled, but not later than three weeks
19 before the meeting date to allow adequate time for public review.
20 Provided, however, that if an agenda for any such meeting is not avail-
21 able, such agenda shall be announced as soon as it becomes available.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14062-01-2
S. 6322 2 A. 9127
1 (ii) Such announcements shall be made available on the regents' public
2 website and the New York city department of education website in the
3 same manner as other public meetings are announced. The New York city
4 department of education shall inform parent education advocates, teach-
5 ers, principals and other school administrators of the location, time
6 and agenda of such meetings held in a city having a population of one
7 million or more. For the purposes of this subdivision, the term "parent
8 education advocates" shall include, but not be limited to parent associ-
9 ations, parent-teacher associations, school leadership teams, presidents
10 councils, district leadership teams and citywide and communitywide
11 education councils.
12 c. At each meeting of the regents held in a city having a population
13 of one million or more, the public shall be allotted a period of time,
14 not less than thirty minutes, to speak on any topic on the agenda. The
15 public speaking period shall take place prior to any board or committee
16 action.
17 4. Every committee meeting of the regents shall be webcast in the same
18 manner as general board meetings.
19 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
20 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
21 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
22 tation of this act on its effective date is authorized to be made on or
23 before such date.
