NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A591
SPONSOR: Rosenthal L
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring instruction
in anti-gun violence in all schools
 
PURPOSE:
This bill requires all schools to include age appropriate instruction on
anti-gun violence as part of the education curriculum provided in regu-
lar classrooms.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one amends the general municipal law by adding a new section
805.
Section two sets forth the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Nationwide firearms are the second leading cause of traumatic death
related to a consumer product in the United States and are the second
most frequent cause of death overall for Americans ages 15 to 24. Eight
young people are killed by gun violence on an average day in the United
States and in the New York City Metropolitan area, since the New York
City Police Department's 1-866-GUN-STOP program inception in 2001; it
has made nearly 5,000 arrests and recovered over 2,700 guns.
Gun violence plagues many communities throughout the Empire State with
fatal shootings often grabbing local headlines and garnering national
attention. For example, in a story headlined "Neighborhood rallies for
peace as murders in Morris Heights area up 78 percent this year, crime
up, too" that ran-in the New York Daily News on October 11, 2011, it was
reported that in the 46th Precinct of the Borough of the Bronx alone,
the murder rate went up nearly 78 percent in the prior year with 16
victims as of October 9, 2011 compared to the nine in the same period in
2010. Overall crime in the precinct was up just 5 percent.
This legislation would address this pressing issue by requiring all
schools to include age appropriate antigun violence instruction as part
of classroom curriculum where students will gain a better understanding
of the impact of gun violence on their community and implement strate-
gies in reducing the issue.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-22: A.2074 - Referred to Education
2019-20: A.1064 - Referred to Education
2017-18: A.2138 - Referred to Education
2015-16: A.4058 - Referred to Education
2013-14: A.8465 - Referred to Education
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bill shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding the
date upon which it shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
591
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 9, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL, ROZIC, COOK, JOYNER -- read once
and referred to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring instruction
in anti-gun violence in all schools
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. Anti-gun violence education. 1. All schools shall include age-
4 appropriate instruction on anti-gun violence as an integral part of the
5 education provided by regular classroom teachers.
6 2. The commissioner shall prescribe such rules and regulations regard-
7 ing instruction on anti-gun violence as the commissioner may deem neces-
8 sary and desirable for the health and welfare of pupils and the communi-
9 ty. The contents may be varied to meet the needs of particular school
10 districts, or portions thereof, and need not be uniform throughout the
11 state, provided, however, that school districts shall utilize either the
12 curriculum for anti-gun violence instruction prescribed by the commis-
13 sioner or a course approved by the commissioner in accordance with
14 criteria established by the commissioner.
15 3. School authorities shall provide the needed facilities, time and
16 place for the instruction set forth in this section and shall provide
17 learning aids and curriculum resource materials which contribute to
18 effective teaching methods and learning in anti-gun violence.
19 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding
20 the date upon which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately,
21 the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces-
22 sary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are
23 authorized to be made on or before such date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00916-01-3