STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5232
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 7, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SOLAGES, BRONSON, BUTTENSCHON, JACOBSON,
JEAN-PIERRE, FAHY, SIMON, STECK -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
TAGUE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to librarians of school
libraries; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating ther-
eto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 275 of the education law is REPEALED and a new
2 section 275 is added to read as follows:
3 § 275. Librarians of school libraries. 1. Notwithstanding any other
4 provisions of law, and subject to the provisions of section two hundred
5 seventy-four of this part, and subdivision three of this section, each
6 school district in the state shall have and maintain a school library in
7 each elementary and secondary school in the district, and shall employ a
8 certified school library media specialist for each such school library
9 within three years of the effective date of this section.
10 2. Employment of certified school library media specialists shall be
11 in accordance with the following standards:
12 a. In each elementary or secondary school with an enrollment of not
13 more than one hundred pupils, a certified school library media special-
14 ist shall be employed as fifteen hundredths of a full-time equivalent
15 staff member;
16 b. In each elementary or secondary school with an enrollment of more
17 than one hundred but not more than three hundred pupils, a certified
18 school library media specialist shall be employed as a three-tenths of a
19 full-time equivalent staff member;
20 c. In each elementary or secondary school with an enrollment of more
21 than three hundred but no more than five hundred pupils, a certified
22 school library media specialist shall be employed as a one half of a
23 full-time equivalent staff member;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08913-01-3
A. 5232 2
1 d. In each elementary or secondary school with an enrollment of more
2 than five hundred pupils, a certified school library media specialist
3 shall be employed as a full-time equivalent staff member;
4 e. (i) In each elementary or secondary school with an enrollment of
5 more than two thousand pupils, two certified school library media
6 specialists shall each be employed as a full-time equivalent staff
7 member;
8 (ii) An additional certified school library media specialist shall be
9 employed as a full-time equivalent staff member for each additional one
10 thousand pupils enrolled in an elementary or secondary school.
11 f. (i) In each elementary or secondary school with an enrollment of at
12 least one thousand pupils, a full-time equivalent staff member shall be
13 employed as a library clerk.
14 (ii) An additional full-time equivalent staff member shall be employed
15 as a library clerk for each additional one thousand pupils enrolled in
16 an elementary or secondary school.
17 3. The commissioner may, upon application by a school district, waive
18 the applicability of the provisions of subdivisions one and two of this
19 section for up to one year, if such application demonstrates the elemen-
20 tary or secondary school is within a designated shortage area for certi-
21 fied school library media specialists, and such application demonstrates
22 that an actual offer of employment was made to a certified school
23 library media specialist; however, no such waiver shall be granted for
24 more than two consecutive school years, and no more than two waivers may
25 be granted with a five year period.
26 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding
27 the date on which it shall have become a law.
