STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5340
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 16, 2013
___________
Introduced by Sen. SAVINO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to compensation for
national board certification for school nurses
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 article 20 to
2 read as follows:
3 ARTICLE 20
4 STATE BOARD FOR CERTIFICATION OF SCHOOL NURSE GRANT PROGRAM
5 Section 950. State board for national certification of school nurse
6 grant program.
7 § 950. State board for national certification of school nurse grant
8 program. 1. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, the
9 commissioner shall establish the state board for national certification
10 of school nurse grant program, to be used by the department to defray
11 any costs incurred by an eligible registered school nurse, as that term
12 is described in subdivision two of this section and his or her sponsor-
13 ing school district, where such eligible nurse seeks national board
14 certification from the national board for certification of school nurs-
15 es.
16 2. As used in this section, "eligible school nurse" shall mean a New
17 York state registered school nurse who:
18 (a) is currently employed in a New York state public school; and
19 (b) holds a valid New York state license as a registered professional
20 nurse pursuant to section sixty-nine hundred five of this chapter.
21 3. Under the provisions of this section and subject to the filing
22 requirement described in subdivision four of this section, a grant in an
23 amount of up to three hundred dollars shall be made available from the
24 state board for national certification of school nurse grant program to
25 each eligible school nurse to defray the expenses of certification by
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02405-01-3
S. 5340 2
1 the national board for certification of school nurses. Such sum may
2 include the direct reimbursement by the department to the eligible nurs-
3 es' sponsoring school district from the total grant award to cover the
4 cost of hiring a substitute school nurse for up to three days or the
5 duration of such eligible nurse's approved leave, whichever is less.
6 4. The commissioner shall be responsible for promulgating any regu-
7 lations necessary to effectuate the provisions of this section, includ-
8 ing:
9 (a) establishing within the department an application form and filing
10 deadline requirements to be utilized by eligible school nurses applying
11 for a grant from the state board for national certification of school
12 nurse grant program;
13 (b) establishing a mechanism for processing and approving applications
14 within the department;
15 (c) establishing a mechanism to allocate grant awards to approved
16 eligible school nurses; and
17 (d) establishing a mechanism to reimburse sponsoring school districts
18 for up to three days of approved leave as described in subdivision three
19 of this section.
20 5. An eligible school nurse for whom the state pays a participation
21 fee shall be liable for repayment of the grant to the department if such
22 eligible school nurse:
23 (a) does not complete the process; or
24 (b) completes the process, but does not work in a New York state
25 public school for at least one full year after achieving national board
26 certification.
27 6. Repayment of the grant is not required:
28 (a) if the certification process is not completed or if the eligible
29 school nurse fails to work for one full year after completion due to his
30 or her death or disability or some other extenuating circumstances as
31 may be recognized by the board of regents; or
32 (b) if the eligible school nurse completes the process but does not
33 achieve certification.
34 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
