New York Senate Bill S05228 Latest Draft

   
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5228--A 2023-2024 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE February 27, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education -- recommitted to the Committee on Education 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 education law, in relation to requiring public school districts to provide language assistance to limited English proficient parents of students The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding a new 2 subdivision 63 to read as follows: 3 63. a. All school districts shall establish a language assistance 4 program where limited English proficient parents would have effective 5 access to communicate with teachers and school personnel. This compre- 6 hensive program shall include, but is not limited to: 7 (1) Providing that all frequently used forms and other written materi- 8 als that are sent home to limited English proficient parents in their 9 primary language; 10 (2) Providing language assistance to limited English proficient 11 parents in their primary language who call or come into school with 12 concerns related to their child's schooling; 13 (3) Providing language assistance services to limited English profi- 14 cient parents in their primary language to facilitate parent attendance 15 at school-sponsored programs designed for communication with parents 16 including, but not limited to, parent-teacher conferences, workshops and 17 school fairs. 18 b. A notice of the availability of the language assistance programs 19 for limited English proficient parents established pursuant to paragraph 20 a of this subdivision shall be mailed to the homes of such limited EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01437-03-4 
 S. 5228--A 2 1 English proficient parents in a notice written in their primary 2 language. 3 c. Each school district shall keep a record documenting its language 4 assistance program and shall submit a summary report annually to the 5 commissioner. Such record and report shall include, but not be limited 6 to: 7 (1) The number of limited English proficient parents who receive such 8 assistance; 9 (2) The number of limited English proficient households where one 10 parent is English language proficient; and 11 (3) The number of complaints filed by limited English proficient 12 parents; and 13 (4) The number of bilingual personnel used to assist in the language 14 assistance and translation services. 15 d. The commissioner shall promulgate such rules and regulations as may 16 be necessary and proper to implement the provisions of this subdivision, 17 including but not limited to, the methodology to be used by each school 18 district to determine or assess the primary languages, the number of 19 limited English proficient parents, the percentage of limited English 20 proficient parents to students and the native language of such limited 21 English proficient parents, and a complaint procedure for any parent who 22 alleges a school's non-compliance with the provisions of this subdivi- 23 sion. 24 e. For purposes of this subdivision: 25 (1) "Primary language" means one of the five most common languages in 26 a school district, other than English, (i) spoken and used to communi- 27 cate, by limited English proficient parents and (ii) non-English speak- 28 ing residents or limited English proficient parents constitutes more 29 than five percent of the residents of a school district, as determined 30 by data from the two most recent federal decennial censuses. 31 (2) "Limited English proficient parents" means parents or parent of a 32 minor child who attends public school and such parents or parent is 33 unable to communicate effectively in English with teachers and school 34 personnel at the school attended by his or her child. 35 f. Nothing in this subdivision shall prohibit a school district from 36 entering into a cooperative agreement with other school districts to 37 jointly establish such a language assistance program. 38 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 39 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend- 40 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen- 41 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 42 completed on or before such effective date.