Creates the office of safe schools to serve as a central repository for best practices, training standards, and compliance oversight in all matters regarding school safety and security, including prevention efforts, intervention efforts, and emergency preparedness planning.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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7945
IN SENATE
March 12, 2018
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Introduced by Sen. FUNKE -- 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 creating the office of
safe schools; and making an appropriation therefor
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 2815
2 to read as follows:
3 § 2815. Office of safe schools. There is hereby created within the
4 department the office of safe schools ("the office"). The office shall
5 serve as a central repository for best practices, training standards,
6 and compliance oversight in all matters regarding school safety and
7 security, including prevention efforts, intervention efforts, and emer-
8 gency preparedness planning. The office shall:
9 1. establish and update as necessary a school security risk assessment
10 tool for use by school districts. The office shall make the security
11 risk assessment tool available for use by charter schools;
12 2. provide ongoing professional development opportunities to school
13 district personnel;
14 3. provide a coordinated and interdisciplinary approach to providing
15 technical assistance and guidance to school districts on safety and
16 security and recommendations to address findings;
17 4. develop and implement a school safety specialist training program
18 for school safety specialists appointed by school districts. The office
19 shall develop the training program based on national and state best
20 practices on school safety and security and must include active shooter
21 training. The office shall develop training modules in both traditional
22 and online formats. A school safety specialist certificate of completion
23 shall be awarded to a school safety specialist who satisfactorily
24 completes the training required by rules of the office;
25 5. review and provide recommendations on the security risk assess-
26 ments. The department may contract with security personnel, consulting
27 engineers, architects, or other safety and security experts the depart-
28 ment deems necessary for safety and security consultant services;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15094-01-8
S. 7945 2
1 6. provide data analytic resources to school districts that facilitate
2 the monitoring of social media activities to provide early-detection
3 information of possible threats to students' personal health and the
4 safety of the school; and
5 7. award grants to schools to improve the safety security of school
6 buildings based upon recommendations security risk assessment developed
7 pursuant to subdivision one of this section.
8 § 2. The sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000), or so much thereof
9 as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the department of educa-
10 tion out of any moneys in the state treasury in the general fund to the
11 credit of the local assistance account, not otherwise appropriated, and
12 made immediately available, for the purpose of carrying out the
13 provisions of this act. Such moneys shall be payable on the audit and
14 warrant of the comptroller on vouchers certified or approved by the
15 commissioner of education in the manner prescribed by law.
16 § 3. This act shall take effect August 1, 2018.
