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S01676 Summary:

S01676 Actions:

S01676 Committee Votes:

S01676 Floor Votes:

S01676 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         1676--A
 
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                    January 10, 2017
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sens.  LITTLE, AKSHAR, DeFRANCISCO, FUNKE, MURPHY, ORTT,
          RANZENHOFER, ROBACH, SERRANO, SEWARD -- read twice and ordered  print-
          ed,  and  when  printed  to  be committed to the Committee on Cultural
          Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation -- recommitted to the Committee
          on Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation in accordance  with
          Senate  Rule  6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
        AN ACT to amend the arts  and  cultural  affairs  law,  in  relation  to
          providing  educational  services  aid  to eligible museums, historical
          societies and other cultural institutions chartered by  the  board  of
          regents for the provision of curriculum-based educational programs for
          students  and  teachers  in grades pre-kindergarten through twelve and
          adults enrolled in continuing education programs in low-income  urban,
          suburban and rural communities
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Statement of legislative findings and intent. The  legisla-
     2  ture  finds  and  declares  that  the state of New York has the greatest
     3  museums, historical societies, zoos, botanical  gardens,  aquariums  and
     4  cultural  arts  institutions in the United States, and that these organ-
     5  izations are major tourism and economic drivers with a wealth of ways to
     6  engage children and adults and instill in them a lasting love of  learn-
     7  ing.
     8    The legislature finds and declares that museums, historical societies,
     9  zoos,  botanical  gardens,  aquariums  and  cultural  arts  institutions
    10  attract millions of visitors each year  and  provide  vitally  important
    11  instructional  services  to  the  schoolchildren of this state, and that
    12  children, in grades pre-kindergarten through twelve and adults  enrolled
    13  in  continuing  education programs should have broad and equal access to
    14  such services.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00484-02-8
        S. 1676--A                          2
 
     1    The legislature finds that over 1,500 museums,  historical  societies,
     2  zoos,  botanical  gardens,  aquariums  and cultural arts institutions in
     3  this state now provide instruction to over  six  million  children,  and
     4  that these institutions now receive no direct state support to initiate,
     5  expand  and  enhance these educational services through access to museum
     6  collections, scholarship and virtual learning.
     7    The legislature finds that students living in  low-income  communities
     8  in  urban, suburban, or rural settings benefit from having access to the
     9  type of learning provided by museums, historical societies, zoos, botan-
    10  ical gardens, aquariums and cultural arts institutions and that fair and
    11  equal access to these types of institutions will provide enhanced learn-
    12  ing opportunities to these students.
    13    The legislature finds that museums, historical societies, zoos, botan-
    14  ical gardens, aquariums and cultural arts institutions, in collaboration
    15  with teachers  and  schools,  must  design  new  and  innovative  museum
    16  programs  to  address  such  pressing  issues  as science, anthropology,
    17  history and arts literacy, and under-resourced schools.
    18    It is the intent of the legislature that the state  provide  financial
    19  assistance  to  museums,  zoos,  botanical  gardens, aquariums and other
    20  cultural institutions located in low-income  urban,  suburban  or  rural
    21  communities,  so  that  these major tourist attractions can extend their
    22  uniquely valuable educational resources to  the  children  and  lifelong
    23  learners of the state, especially those in low-income urban, suburban or
    24  rural communities, or that provide educational services to students from
    25  such communities.
    26    §  2.  Short  title.  This  act shall be known and may be cited as the
    27  "museum education act".
    28    § 3. The arts and cultural affairs law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
    29  section 61.15 to read as follows:
    30    §  61.15.  Education grants for museums. 1. The commissioner of educa-
    31  tion shall develop and  implement,  with  consultation  and  input  from
    32  representatives  from  the  museum and cultural institution community, a
    33  museum and cultural organization  education  grant  program,  and  shall
    34  award,  within  the  amounts appropriated from the general fund for such
    35  purpose, competitive grants in accordance  with  this  section  for  the
    36  purposes  of establishing or improving education programs in museums and
    37  cultural organizations designed to improve student performance in public
    38  and nonpublic elementary, middle  and  secondary  schools.  Such  grants
    39  shall be expended to support the production of curricula, acquisition of
    40  specialized  educational  or interpretive skills, acquisition and imple-
    41  mentation of technology, and preparation of  specialized  exhibition  or
    42  public  programs  that  are tailored to elementary, middle and secondary
    43  school students; the development and delivery  of  continuing  education
    44  programs;  provision  of student transportation; and other programs that
    45  support the development and delivery  of  curriculum-based  programs  in
    46  museums with collections.
    47    2.  As  used in this section, "eligible institution" shall mean: (a) a
    48  nonprofit institution chartered by the board of  regents,  or  otherwise
    49  incorporated as a museum, historical society, nature center, zoo, botan-
    50  ical  garden,  arboretum,  aquarium or other cultural education institu-
    51  tion, or a privately or municipally operated institution that meets  the
    52  applicable  registration  standards  established by the board of regents
    53  for museums or  historical  societies  with  collections,  and  that  is
    54  located  in  a low-income urban, suburban or rural community or provides
    55  educational services to students  and  adult  learners  from  low-income
    56  urban, suburban or rural communities; or
        S. 1676--A                          3
 
     1    (b)  a  private not-for-profit community based organization, including
     2  an incorporated institution the sole or primary purpose of which is  the
     3  support  of museums, historic sites or historical societies located in a
     4  low-income urban, suburban or rural community or  that  provides  educa-
     5  tional  services  to  students and adult learners from low-income urban,
     6  suburban or rural communities;  except  that  institutions  operated  by
     7  state  or  federal  government agencies shall not be considered eligible
     8  under this section.
     9    3. The governing body or officer of an eligible institution requesting
    10  a grant pursuant to this section shall submit  an  application  at  such
    11  time,  in such form and containing such information, as the commissioner
    12  of education may require. Such commissioner shall establish the criteria
    13  and standards by which applications for grants to be awarded pursuant to
    14  this section will be evaluated and grants made to eligible institutions.
    15  The commissioner of education is authorized  to  promulgate  regulations
    16  for  the  development  and submission of applications for cooperative or
    17  collaborative grants, provided that a single institution serves  as  the
    18  applicant for such a grant and for multi-year grants.
    19    4. The commissioner of education shall award grants, subject to avail-
    20  able  appropriations,  in an amount not to exceed the allowable costs of
    21  the eligible institution as determined by  such  commissioner,  provided
    22  that  the  allowable  costs for museum education grants shall not exceed
    23  five hundred thousand dollars per year for a  maximum  of  three  years.
    24  Allowable  costs  shall include, but need not be limited to, the reason-
    25  able cost of salaries and fringe benefits, materials and equipment.  The
    26  commissioner  of  education  shall  allocate  a  minimum  of twenty-five
    27  percent of the amount appropriated for such grants to  award  to  insti-
    28  tutions with an operating budget of between ten thousand dollars and one
    29  hundred  fifty  thousand dollars per year. The commissioner of education
    30  shall allocate a minimum of twenty-five percent of the amount  appropri-
    31  ated  for  such grants to award to institutions with an operating budget
    32  of between one hundred fifty thousand one dollars and five hundred thou-
    33  sand dollars per year. The commissioner of  education  will  allocate  a
    34  minimum  of  twenty-five  percent  of  the  amount appropriated for such
    35  grants to award to institutions with an operating budget of between five
    36  hundred thousand one dollars and  one  million  dollars  per  year.  The
    37  commissioner  of  education  shall  allocate  a  minimum  of twenty-five
    38  percent of the amount appropriated for such grants to  award  to  insti-
    39  tutions  with  an  operating budget in excess of one million dollars per
    40  year.
    41    5. On or before March fifteenth, two thousand twenty and on or  before
    42  March first of each year thereafter, the commissioner of education shall
    43  submit  to  the  chairs  of the senate finance and the assembly ways and
    44  means committees, and the director of the budget, a report detailing the
    45  implementation of the provisions of this section, the extent of  partic-
    46  ipation  by  eligible  institutions,  the  relationship  of the programs
    47  provided to school curricula, and the geographic dispersion of funds and
    48  participating institutions.
    49    § 4. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become  a
    50  law.