STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5714
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
April 26, 2017
___________
Introduced by Sen. AVELLA -- (at request of the Office of Court Adminis-
tration) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be
committed to the Committee on Children and Families
AN ACT to amend the family court act, in relation to truancy allegations
in persons in need of supervision and child protective proceedings in
family court
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (iii) of subdivision (d) and paragraph (ii) of
2 subdivision (g) of section 735 of the family court act, paragraph (iii)
3 of subdivision (d) and paragraph (ii) of subdivision (g) as added by
4 section 7 of part E of chapter 57 of the laws of 2005, are amended to
5 read as follows:
6 (iii) where the entity seeking to file a petition is a school district
7 or local educational agency or where the parent or other potential peti-
8 tioner indicates that the proposed petition will include truancy and/or
9 conduct in school as an allegation, the designated lead agency shall
10 review the steps taken by the school district or local educational agen-
11 cy to improve the youth's attendance and/or conduct in school and
12 attempt to engage the school district or local educational agency in
13 further diversion attempts, if it appears from review that such attempts
14 will be beneficial to the youth. Where the school district or local
15 educational agency is not the potential petitioner, the designated lead
16 agency shall contact such district or agency to resolve the truancy or
17 school behavioral problems of the youth in order to obviate the need to
18 file a petition or, at minimum, to remediate the education-related alle-
19 gations of the proposed petition.
20 (ii) The clerk of the court shall accept a petition for filing only if
21 it has attached thereto the following:
22 (A) if the potential petitioner is the parent or other person legally
23 responsible for the youth, a notice from the designated lead agency
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10674-01-7
S. 5714 2
1 indicating there is no bar to the filing of the petition as the poten-
2 tial petitioner consented to and actively participated in diversion
3 services; and
4 (B) a notice from the designated lead agency stating that it has
5 terminated diversion services because it has determined that there is no
6 substantial likelihood that the youth and his or her family will benefit
7 from further attempts, and that the case has not been successfully
8 diverted; and
9 (C) where the proposed petition contains allegations of truancy and/or
10 school misbehavior, whether or not the school district or local educa-
11 tional agency is the proposed petitioner, a notice from the designated
12 lead agency regarding the diversion efforts undertaken and/or services
13 provided by the designated lead agency and/or by the school district or
14 local educational agency to the youth and the grounds for concluding
15 that the education-related allegations could not be resolved absent the
16 filing of a petition under this article.
17 § 2. Section 736 of the family court act is amended by adding a new
18 subdivision 4 to read as follows:
19 (4) Where the petition contains allegations of truancy and/or school
20 misbehavior and where the school district or local educational agency is
21 not the petitioner and where, at any stage of the proceeding, the court
22 determines that assistance by the school district or local educational
23 agency may aid in the resolution of the education-related allegations in
24 the petition, the school district or local educational agency may be
25 notified by the court and given an opportunity to be heard.
26 § 3. Subdivision (b) of section 742 of the family court act, as
27 amended by section 9 of part E of chapter 57 of the laws of 2005, is
28 amended to read as follows:
29 (b) At the initial appearance of the respondent, the court shall
30 review any termination of diversion services pursuant to such section,
31 and the documentation of diligent attempts to provide appropriate
32 services and determine whether such efforts or services provided are
33 sufficient [and]. The court may, at any time, subject to the provisions
34 of section seven hundred forty-eight of this article, order that addi-
35 tional diversion attempts be undertaken by the designated lead agency.
36 The court may order the youth and the parent or other person legally
37 responsible for the youth to participate in diversion services. If the
38 designated lead agency thereafter determines that [the] a case referred
39 for diversion efforts under this section has been successfully resolved,
40 it shall so notify the court, and the court shall dismiss the petition.
41 § 4. Subparagraph (A) of paragraph (i) of subdivision (f) of section
42 1012 of the family court act, as amended by chapter 469 of the laws of
43 1971, is amended to read as follows:
44 (A) in supplying the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter or
45 education in accordance with the provisions of part one of article
46 sixty-five of the education law, or medical, dental, optometrical or
47 surgical care, though financially able to do so or offered financial or
48 other reasonable means to do so, or, in the case of an alleged failure
49 of the respondent to provide education to the child, notwithstanding the
50 efforts of the school district or local educational agency and child
51 protective agency to ameliorate such alleged failure prior to the filing
52 of the petition; or
53 § 5. Section 1031 of the family court act is amended by adding a new
54 subdivision (g) to read as follows:
55 (g) Where a petition under this article contains an allegation of a
56 failure by the respondent to provide education to the child in accord-
S. 5714 3
1 ance with article sixty-five of the education law, regardless of whether
2 such allegation is the sole allegation of the petition, the petition
3 shall recite the efforts undertaken by the petitioner and the school
4 district or local educational agency to remediate such alleged failure
5 prior to the filing of the petition and the grounds for concluding that
6 the education-related allegations could not be resolved absent the
7 filing of a petition under this article.
8 § 6. Section 1035 of the family court act is amended by adding a new
9 subdivision (g) to read as follows:
10 (g) Where the petition filed under this article contains an allegation
11 of a failure by the respondent to provide education to the child in
12 accordance with article sixty-five of the education law, and where at
13 any stage of the proceeding, the court determines that assistance by the
14 school district or local educational agency would aid in the resolution
15 of the education-related allegation, the school district or local educa-
16 tional agency may be notified by the court and given an opportunity to
17 be heard.
18 § 7. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
19 have become a law.
