STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4534 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 16, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. HYNDMAN -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to classroom safety mech- anisms, emergency medical equipment, and evidence-based best practices for school safety planning and training 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 409-n 2 to read as follows: 3 § 409-n. Quick action school security devices. 1. To ensure safety for 4 children, administrators, and staff, every door in school buildings 5 shall be equipped with a locking device that follows, at a minimum, the 6 guidelines under section 2.19 of the United States department of home- 7 land security primer, which states that door locks shall lock automat- 8 ically or with a simple locking mechanism in order to ensure that it can 9 be quickly locked from either side. 10 2. Wherever possible, advanced hardening options for windows and doors 11 on school premises shall be considered and applied, such as ballistic 12 classroom doors, ballistic or shatter proof safety film on ground floor 13 classroom windows, and classroom door view panels. 14 3. School administrators, in consultation with the local police 15 department, shall install security cameras supported by artificial 16 intelligence and be installed where appropriate. 17 4. Devices outlined in this section shall be compliant with life safe- 18 ty, fire codes, the Americans with disabilities act and all other appli- 19 cable laws. 20 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 925 to read 21 as follows: 22 § 925. Public bleeding control. 1. For purposes of this section, the 23 term "public bleeding control equipment" shall mean a first aid response 24 kit that contains equipment such as tourniquets, pressure dressing, EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD06587-01-3
A. 4534 2 1 scissors, protective gloves, and gauze bandages meant to help control 2 and stop bleeding until trained emergency responders arrive, that are 3 bundled together in individual kits, conspicuously labeled with the 4 words "Bleeding Control". 5 2. When assembling and selecting public bleeding control equipment, 6 public school administrators and staff, in consultation with the commis- 7 sioner of health and commissioner of education, shall utilize the 8 following best practices to enable untrained bystanders to become imme- 9 diate responders: 10 a. select products that are easily applied by untrained professionals; 11 b. ensure components are color and number-coded for easy identifica- 12 tion; 13 c. products come with a user app that: 14 (i) provides easy to follow product selection and application 15 instructions; 16 (ii) records useful activity and information that can inform first 17 responders, trauma staff, and incident management recording; and 18 (iii) provides emergency care guidance for common uses, such as bleed- 19 ing, choking, seizures, breathing, epipen and asthma inhaler applica- 20 tion, and narcan; 21 d. policies and procedures for response to emergency situations, such 22 as those requiring evacuation, sheltering, and lock-down. These policies 23 shall include, at a minimum, evacuation routes, shelter sites, and 24 procedures for addressing medical needs, transportation, and emergency 25 notification of parents and guardians; 26 e. designation of an emergency response team comprised of school 27 personnel, law enforcement officials, fire officials and representatives 28 from local regional and/or state emergency response agencies, other 29 appropriate incident response teams, and a post-incident response team 30 that includes appropriate school personnel, medical personnel, mental 31 health counselors, and others who can assist the school community in 32 coping with the aftermath of a violent incident; 33 f. floor plans, blueprints, schematics or other maps of the school 34 interior, school grounds, and road maps of the immediate surrounding 35 area; 36 g. establishment of internal and external communication systems in 37 emergencies; 38 h. definition of the chain of command in a manner consistent with the 39 national interagency incident management system/incident command system; 40 i. coordination of the emergency response plan with the state-wide 41 plan for disaster mental health services to assure that the school has 42 access to federal, state, and local mental health resources in the event 43 of a violent incident; 44 j. procedures for review and the conducting of drills and other exer- 45 cises to test components of the emergency response plan; and 46 k. policies and procedures for securing and restricting access to the 47 crime scene in order to preserve evidence in cases of violent crimes on 48 school property. 49 3. When deploying public bleed control equipment, public school admin- 50 istrators and staff, in consultation with the commissioner of health and 51 commissioner of education, shall utilize the following best practices 52 for placement and quantities: 53 a. mobile units - to be utilized for school nurses, school resource 54 officers, athletic departments, school buses, physical education depart- 55 ments, and all after-school and out-of-school activities;
A. 4534 3 1 b. public access bleeding control station - for every automated 2 external defibrillator, as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision one 3 of section three thousand-b of the public health law, that shall be a 4 wall-mounted station containing four individual kits; 5 c. individual kits in every classroom in case of emergencies or lock- 6 downs; and 7 d. for purposes of this section, proper placement of equipment should 8 follow the three-minute rule, which means that an individual must be 9 able to retrieve the equipment and begin treatment within three minutes. 10 4. Each district-wide school safety team shall be appointed by the 11 board of education, or the chancellor in the case of the city school 12 district of the city of New York, and shall include but not be limited 13 to representatives of the school board, teacher, administrator, and 14 parent organizations, school safety personnel, and other school person- 15 nel. At the discretion of the board of education, or the chancellor in 16 the case of the city of New York, a student may be allowed to partic- 17 ipate on the safety team, provided however, that no portion of a confi- 18 dential building-level emergency response plan shall be shared with such 19 student nor shall such student be present where details of a confiden- 20 tial building-level emergency response plan or confidential portions of 21 a district-wide emergency response strategy are discussed. Each build- 22 ing-level emergency response team shall be appointed by the building 23 principal, in accordance with regulations or guidelines prescribed by 24 the board of education, chancellor or other governing body. Such build- 25 ing-level teams shall include but not be limited to representatives of 26 teacher, administrator, and parent organizations, school safety person- 27 nel and other school personnel, community members, law enforcement offi- 28 cials, fire officials or any other emergency response agencies, and any 29 other representatives the board of education, chancellor, or other 30 governing body deems appropriate. 31 5. The district-wide safety plan and building-level emergency response 32 plans shall be reviewed by the appropriate team on at least an annual 33 basis and updated as needed. 34 6. Each board of education, chancellor or other governing body shall 35 make each district-wide safety plan available for public comment at 36 least thirty days prior to its adoption. Such district-wide plans may be 37 adopted by the school board only after at least one public hearing that 38 provides for the participation of school personnel, parents, students, 39 and any other interested parties. Each district shall file a copy of its 40 district-wide safety plan with the commissioner and all amendments to 41 such plan shall be filed with the commissioner no later than thirty days 42 after their adoption. 43 7. Each board of education, chancellor or other governing body or 44 officer shall ensure a copy of each building-level emergency response 45 plan and any amendments thereto, shall be filed with the appropriate 46 local law enforcement agency and with the state police within thirty 47 days of its adoption. Building-level emergency response plans shall be 48 confidential and shall not be subject to disclosure under article six of 49 the public officers law or any other provision of law. If the board of 50 education, chancellor or other governing body or chancellor fails to 51 file such plan as required by this section, the commissioner may, in an 52 amount determined by the commissioner, withhold public money from the 53 district until the district is in compliance. 54 8. The commissioner shall annually report to the governor and the 55 legislature on the implementation and compliance with the provisions of 56 this section.
A. 4534 4 1 9. Whenever it shall have been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the 2 commissioner that a school district has failed to adopt a code of 3 conduct which fully satisfies the requirements of section twenty-eight 4 hundred one of this chapter, or a district-wide safety plan or build- 5 ing-level emergency response plan which satisfies the requirements of 6 this section, or to faithfully and completely implement all three, the 7 commissioner may, on thirty days notice to the district, withhold from 8 the district monies to be paid to such district for the current school 9 year pursuant to section thirty-six hundred nine-a of this chapter, 10 exclusive monies to be paid in respect of obligations to the retirement 11 systems for school and district staff and pursuant to collective 12 bargaining agreements, or the commissioner may direct the district to 13 expend up to such amount upon the development and implementation of a 14 code of conduct and a school district safety plan as required by such 15 sections. Prior to such withholding or redirection, the commissioner 16 shall provide the district an opportunity to present evidence of exten- 17 uating circumstances; when combined with evidence that the district 18 shall promptly comply within short time frames that shall be established 19 by the commissioner as part of an agreement between the district and the 20 commissioner, the commissioner may temporarily stay the withholding or 21 redirection of funds pending the implementation of such agreement. If 22 the district promptly and fully complies with the agreement and is in 23 full compliance with this section and section twenty-eight hundred one 24 of this chapter, the commissioner shall abate the withholding in its 25 entirety. Any failure to meet the obligations of the compliance agree- 26 ment by the district within the time frames established shall be consid- 27 ered a willful violation of a commissioner's order by the members of the 28 district board for purposes of subdivision one of section three hundred 29 six of this title. Notwithstanding any other law, rule or regulation, 30 such transfer shall take effect upon filing of a notice thereof with the 31 director of the budget and the chairs of the senate finance and assembly 32 ways and means committees. 33 § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 2801-a of the education law, as amended 34 by section 1 of part B of chapter 54 of the laws of 2016, paragraphs a, 35 b and g as amended by chapter 525 of the laws of 2019, paragraph f as 36 amended by chapter 227 of the laws of 2022, paragraph k as amended by 37 chapter 168 of the laws of 2020, and paragraphs l and m as amended by 38 chapter 30 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows: 39 2. Such comprehensive district-wide safety plan shall be developed by 40 the district-wide school safety team and shall include at a minimum: 41 a. evidence-based policies and procedures for responding to implied or 42 direct threats of violence by students, teachers, other school personnel 43 including bus drivers and monitors, as well as visitors to the school, 44 including threats by students against themselves, which for the purposes 45 of this section shall include suicide; 46 b. evidence-based policies and procedures for responding to acts of 47 violence by students, teachers, other school personnel including bus 48 drivers and monitors, as well as visitors to the school, including 49 consideration of zero-tolerance policies for school violence; 50 c. evidence-based appropriate prevention and intervention strategies 51 such as: 52 (i) collaborative arrangements with state and local law enforcement 53 officials, designed to ensure that school safety officers and other 54 security personnel are adequately trained, including being trained to 55 de-escalate potentially violent situations, and are effectively and 56 fairly recruited;
A. 4534 5 1 (ii) non-violent conflict resolution training programs; 2 (iii) peer mediation programs and youth courts; and 3 (iv) extended day and other school safety programs; 4 d. evidence-based policies and procedures for contacting appropriate 5 law enforcement officials in the event of a violent incident; 6 e. evidence-based policies and procedures for contacting parents, 7 guardians or persons in parental relation to the students of the 8 district in the event of a violent incident and policies and procedures 9 for contacting parents, guardians or persons in parental relation to an 10 individual student of the district in the event of an implied or direct 11 threat of violence by such student against themselves, which for 12 purposes of this section shall include suicide; 13 f. evidence-based policies and procedures relating to school building 14 security, including where appropriate the use of school safety officers 15 and/or security devices or procedures, as further outlined in section 16 four hundred nine-n of this chapter. District-wide school safety teams 17 shall consider, as part of its reviews of the comprehensive district- 18 wide safety plan, the installation of a panic alarm system. For purposes 19 of this paragraph, "panic alarm system" shall mean a silent security 20 system signal generated by the manual activation of a device intended to 21 signal a life-threatening or emergency situation requiring a response 22 from local law enforcement or, in the case of a school building located 23 in a municipality in which there is no municipal police department, a 24 location designated by the superintendent of state police and may 25 include one or more of the following: wired panic button or buttons, 26 wireless panic button or buttons or a mobile or computer application; 27 g. evidence-based policies and procedures for the dissemination of 28 informative materials regarding the early detection of potentially 29 violent behaviors, including but not limited to the identification of 30 family, community and environmental factors, to teachers, administra- 31 tors, school personnel including bus drivers and monitors, persons in 32 parental relation to students of the district, students and other 33 persons deemed appropriate to receive such information; 34 h. evidence-based policies and procedures for annual school safety 35 training for staff and students; provided that the district must certify 36 to the commissioner that all staff have undergone annual training on the 37 emergency response plan, and that the school safety training include 38 components on violence prevention and mental health, such training may 39 be implemented and conducted in conjunction with existing professional 40 development and training; provided however that new employees hired 41 after the start of the school year shall receive training within thirty 42 days of such hire or as part of a district's existing new hire training 43 program, whichever is sooner, and shall include; 44 (i) evidence-based professional development and training programs that 45 are able to achieve third-party validation, such as curriculum accredi- 46 tation from an independent higher education learning institution; 47 (ii) instruction from professionally credentialed instructors with 48 functional and instructional experience, skill level, and credentialing; 49 (iii) instructional methodology that includes an interactive delivery 50 model inclusive of group discussions, scenario based and tabletop exer- 51 cise, and follows professional instructional protocol; 52 (iv) the same training for all school personnel including administra- 53 tors, teachers, and staff at all levels, including school resource offi- 54 cers, to offset their own separate training focused on threat mitigation 55 and threat neutralization, and to ensure familiarity, continuity, and 56 consistency; and
A. 4534 6 1 (v) site-specific and customizable training curriculum that can be 2 adapted to each school site's specific risk profile and threat level, 3 and should include participation in order to familiarize them with a 4 school's approach; 5 i. protocols for responding to bomb threats, hostage-takings, intru- 6 sions and kidnappings; 7 j. evidence-based strategies for improving communication among 8 students and between students and staff and reporting of potentially 9 violent incidents, such as the establishment of youth-run programs, peer 10 mediation, conflict resolution, creating a forum or designating a mentor 11 for students concerned with bullying or violence and establishing anony- 12 mous reporting mechanisms for school violence; 13 k. a description of the duties of hall monitors and any other school 14 safety personnel, the training required of all personnel acting in a 15 school security capacity, and the hiring and screening process for all 16 personnel acting in a school security capacity; 17 l. the designation of the superintendent, or superintendent's desig- 18 nee, as the district chief emergency officer responsible for coordinat- 19 ing communication between school staff and law enforcement and first 20 responders, and ensuring staff understanding of the district-level safe- 21 ty plan. The chief emergency officer shall also be responsible for 22 ensuring the completion and yearly updating of building-level emergency 23 response plans; and 24 m. protocols for responding to a declared state disaster emergency 25 involving a communicable disease that are substantially consistent with 26 the provisions of section twenty-seven-c of the labor law. 27 § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 28 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend- 29 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen- 30 tation of this act on or before its effective date are authorized to be 31 made and completed on or before such effective date.