STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8217 IN SENATE January 16, 2024 ___________ Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- 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 enacting the "media literacy act of 2024" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "media literacy act of 2024". 3 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 3006-a of the education law, as added by 4 section 2 of subpart C of part EE of chapter 56 of the laws of 2015, is 5 amended and a new subdivision 4 is added to read as follows: 6 2. a. During each five-year registration period beginning on or after 7 July first, two thousand sixteen, an applicant for registration shall 8 successfully complete a minimum of one hundred hours of continuing 9 teacher and leader education, as defined by the commissioner. The 10 department shall issue rigorous standards for courses, programs, and 11 activities, that shall qualify as continuing teacher and leader educa- 12 tion pursuant to this section. For purposes of this section, a peer 13 review teacher, or a principal acting as an independent trained evalu- 14 ator, conducting a classroom observation as part of the teacher evalu- 15 ation system pursuant to section three thousand twelve-d of this article 16 may credit such time towards his or her continuing teacher and leader 17 effectiveness requirements. 18 b. During each five-year registration period beginning on or after a 19 date which shall be determined by the commissioner, any teacher who is 20 an applicant for registration shall successfully complete a minimum of 21 five hours of professional development related to media literacy educa- 22 tion and any library media specialist shall complete a minimum of 23 fifteen hours of professional development related to media literacy 24 education, as defined by the commissioner. Such professional develop- 25 ment related to media literacy education shall be counted toward the one 26 hundred hours of continuing teacher and leader education required by 27 paragraph a of this subdivision. The commissioner shall require that: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD13787-02-4
S. 8217 2 1 (i) professional development related to media literacy education 2 incorporates the principles and practices of the department's culturally 3 responsive-sustaining framework; 4 (ii) professional development related to media literacy education is 5 provided by or in coordination with a library media specialist or an 6 employee from a school district's library system in every school 7 district; 8 (iii) library media specialists in every school district receive 9 specific training in how to provide professional development related to 10 media literacy education to teachers of all grade levels and subject 11 areas contained in their schools, which shall include instruction on how 12 to effectively integrate media literacy education into such teachers' 13 curricula; and 14 (iv) the department creates and provides model curricula, teaching and 15 professional development resources on its website, which incorporate 16 media literacy education. 17 c. Nothing in this section shall limit the ability of local school 18 districts to agree pursuant to collective bargaining to additional hours 19 of professional development or continuing teacher or leader education 20 above the minimum requirements set forth in this section. 21 [c.] d. A certified individual who has not satisfied the continuing 22 teacher and leader education requirements shall not be issued a five- 23 year registration certificate by the department and shall not practice 24 unless and until a registration or conditional registration certificate 25 is issued as provided in subdivision three of this section. For purposes 26 of this subdivision, "continuing teacher and leader education require- 27 ments" shall mean activities designed to improve the teacher or leader's 28 pedagogical and/or leadership skills, targeted at improving student 29 performance, including but not limited to formal continuing teacher and 30 leader education activities. Such activities shall promote the profes- 31 sionalization of teaching and be closely aligned to district goals for 32 student performance which meet the standards prescribed by regulations 33 of the commissioner. To fulfill the continuing teacher and leader educa- 34 tion requirement, programs must be taken from sponsors approved by the 35 department, which shall include but not be limited to school districts, 36 pursuant to the regulations of the commissioner. 37 4. For the purposes of this section, "library media specialist" shall 38 mean an individual employed by a school district as a library media 39 specialist pursuant to 8 NYCRR 91.2. 40 § 3. The education law is amended by adding a new section 286 to read 41 as follows: 42 § 286. School library media specialist. 1. Notwithstanding any other 43 provision of law to the contrary and subject to the provisions of subdi- 44 vision two of this section, each school district shall employ a certi- 45 fied school library media specialist in each elementary, intermediate, 46 middle, junior high and senior high school within three years of the 47 effective date of this section. 48 2. Employment of certified school library media specialist shall be in 49 accordance with the following standards: 50 a. In each school with an enrollment of not more than one hundred 51 students, a certified school library media specialist shall be employed 52 as fifteen-hundredths of a full-time equivalent staff member; 53 b. In each school with an enrollment of more than one hundred but not 54 more than three hundred students, a certified school library media 55 specialist shall be employed as a three-tenths of a full-time equivalent 56 staff member;
S. 8217 3 1 c. In each elementary or secondary school with an enrollment of more 2 than three hundred but no more than five hundred students, a certified 3 school library media specialist shall be employed as a one-half of a 4 full-time equivalent staff member; 5 d. In each school with an enrollment of more than five hundred 6 students, a certified school library media specialist shall be employed 7 as a full-time equivalent staff member; 8 e. In each school with an enrollment of more than one thousand 9 students but no more than two thousand students, a certified school 10 library media specialist and a support staff person shall be employed as 11 a full-time equivalent staff member; 12 f. (i) In each school with an enrollment of at least two thousand 13 students, two certified school library media specialists and two support 14 staff persons shall be employed as a full-time equivalent staff member; 15 (ii) An additional full-time equivalent staff member shall be employed 16 as a support staff person for each additional one thousand students 17 enrolled in a school. 18 3. The commissioner may, upon application by a school district, waive 19 the applicability of the provisions of subdivisions one and two of this 20 section for up to two years, if such application demonstrates the school 21 is within a designated shortage area for certified school library media 22 specialists, and such application demonstrates that such school has a 23 two-year plan to be in compliance with the provisions of this section; 24 however, no such waiver shall be granted for more than two consecutive 25 school years. 26 § 4. Subdivision 2 of section 711 of the education law, as amended by 27 chapter 571 of the laws of 2023, is amended to read as follows: 28 2. School library materials, for the purposes of this article shall 29 mean digital materials, audio/visual materials and printed materials 30 that may or may not require magnification which meet all of the follow- 31 ing criteria: (1) materials which are catalogued and processed as part 32 of the school library or media center for use by elementary and/or 33 secondary school children and teachers; (2) materials which with reason- 34 able care and use may be expected to last more than one year; and (3) 35 materials which would not be eligible for aid pursuant to sections seven 36 hundred one and seven hundred fifty-one of this title. School library 37 materials meeting these criteria may include (i) hard cover, paperback 38 books and e-books, periodicals, that is, print and digital publications 39 which are subscription-based and appear at regular intervals of less 40 than one year on a continuing basis for an indefinite period, documents 41 other than books, pamphlets, musical scores, other printed, digital and 42 published materials, (ii) for school year nineteen hundred eighty-six-- 43 eighty-seven and thereafter, audio/visual materials including films, 44 film strips, micro-film, sound recordings, processed slides, transparen- 45 cies, kinescopes, video tapes, maps, charts, globes, pictorial works, 46 including pictures and picture sets, reproductions, photographs, graphic 47 works, any audio/visual, online or electronic materials needed for media 48 literacy programs, and any other audio/visual materials of a similar 49 nature made. 50 § 5. For the purposes of sections five, six, seven and eight of this 51 act, the following terms shall have the following meanings: 52 1. "Digital citizenship" means a diverse set of skills related to 53 current technology and social media, including the norms of appropriate, 54 responsible, and healthy behavior.
S. 8217 4 1 2. "Media literacy" means the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, 2 and use media and information and encompasses the foundational skills 3 that lead to digital citizenship. 4 § 6. The commissioner of education, in cooperation with experts in 5 media literacy, the board of regents of the university of the state of 6 New York, and educators, shall appoint a media literacy advisory commit- 7 tee ("committee") to conduct a study on teaching of media literacy in 8 schools. 9 § 7. The group shall create a survey and submit to each school admin- 10 istrator in the state to provide feedback from teachers and students to 11 the state board of education to identify media literacy best practices 12 of and the current media literacy resources available to each district 13 to best inform future instruction. The survey shall include a checklist 14 of items for school districts to consider when updating policies and 15 procedures. The survey shall also inquire of teacher-librarians, princi- 16 pals, and technology directors to understand how they are currently 17 integrating digital citizenship and media literacy education in their 18 curriculum. 19 § 8. The committee shall make a report of its findings, including any 20 recommendations for legislative action as it may deem necessary and 21 appropriate, best practices for instruction that provides guidance that 22 identifies fake print and video media and to apply critical thinking 23 skills when consuming and producing media in any form. These recommenda- 24 tions and best practices may include, but are not limited to: 25 (a) revisions to state education standards and the state instructional 26 technology plan; 27 (b) revisions to policies and procedures on media literacy, including 28 digital citizenship and internet safety; 29 (c) school district processes necessary to develop customized school 30 district policies and procedures on electronic resources and internet 31 safety that can be used within a school district technology plan; 32 (d) best practices, resources, and models for instruction in media 33 literacy; 34 (e) best practices, resources, and models for instruction of digital 35 citizenship, including media literacy, that are compliant with the 36 federal universal service e-rate program administered by the schools and 37 libraries division of the universal service administrative company and 38 federal mandates established in the federal children's internet 39 protection act; and 40 (f) strategies that will support school districts in local implementa- 41 tion of the best practices and recommendations developed by the commit- 42 tee, including strategies for delivering professional development to 43 educators and administrators. 44 § 9. The report required by section seven of this act shall be deliv- 45 ered to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the 46 speaker of the assembly no later than one year after the effective date 47 of this act. 48 § 10. The education law is amended by adding a new section 756 to read 49 as follows: 50 § 756. Annual review of media literacy policy and procedures. 1. For 51 purposes of this section, "media literacy" shall be considered a broad 52 term that encompasses consumption and production of media and digital 53 products and is defined as the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, act 54 and create with all forms of communication, and encompasses the founda- 55 tional skills of digital citizenship and internet safety including the S. 8217 5 1 norms of appropriate, responsible, healthy behavior, and cyberbullying 2 prevention. 3 2. Beginning in the two thousand twenty-four--two thousand twenty-five 4 school year, a media literacy advisory committee shall be created within 5 the department to review and amend the policy and procedures on media 6 literacy. The committee, in conjunction with national or statewide 7 organizations focused on media literacy, shall: 8 (a) involve a representation of teachers, teacher-librarians, school 9 media specialists, other school employees, school administrators, 10 pupils, and community representatives with experience or expertise in 11 media literacy issues; 12 (b) consider customizing the model policy and procedures on electronic 13 resources; 14 (c) consider existing school district resources; and 15 (d) consider best practices, resources, and models for instruction in 16 media literacy. 17 § 11. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding 18 the date on which it shall have become a law.