New York Senate Bill S08437 Latest Draft

   
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8437--A  IN SENATE January 30, 2024 ___________ Introduced by Sen. CHU -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to establish a commission for the educational advancement of multilingual learners in New York; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Commission established. (a) A commission, to be known as 2 the commission for the educational advancement of multilingual learners, 3 hereafter referred to as "the commission", is hereby established to 4 study and provide a report on the best practices and legislative recom- 5 mendations to close the achievement gap and high school graduation rates 6 between multilingual learners and their English proficient peers from 7 prekindergarten through twelfth grade. Such report will advise the 8 legislature, the governor, the board of regents, and New York state 9 education officials on the best practices and legislative recommenda- 10 tions to close the achievement gap, and the feasibility and cost to 11 implement such practices in schools. 12 (b) The commission shall be composed of nine members, appointed as 13 follows: (i) two members shall be appointed by the governor; (ii) two 14 members shall be appointed by the speaker of the assembly; (iii) two 15 members shall be appointed by the temporary president of the senate; 16 (iv) two members shall be appointed by the commissioner of the New York 17 state department of education; and (v) one member shall be the chancel- 18 lor of the board of regents or appointed thereof. The commission shall 19 be chaired by a person chosen by a majority vote at the first meeting of 20 the commission. The vice-chairperson of the commission shall be 21 appointed by the chairperson. Vacancies in the membership of the commis- 22 sion shall be filled in the manner provided for original appointments. 23 (c) The commission shall be made up of at least: (i) one education 24 professional who specializes in English to Speakers of Other Languages 25 and Bilingual Programs; (ii) one teacher who has experience working with EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07786-04-4 
 S. 8437--A 2 1 multilingual students; (iii) one education professional who has experi- 2 ence working with early childhood multilingual learners; (iv) one educa- 3 tion professional who has experience with multilingual newcomers and 4 high school graduation; and (v) one education professional who has 5 expertise in education equity of New York state students. 6 (d) The members of the commission shall receive no compensation for 7 their services, but shall be allowed their actual and necessary expenses 8 incurred in the performance of their duties hereunder. 9 (e) The commission shall commence no later than 30 days after this act 10 shall become a law. 11 § 2. Appointments to commission. The legislative leaders, the gover- 12 nor, the chancellor of the board of regents, and the commissioner of 13 education shall submit their appointments to the board of regents, and 14 the board of regents shall make such appointments, no later than 30 days 15 after this act shall become a law. 16 § 3. Commission staff and agency liaison. (a) The commissioner of 17 education shall designate such employees of the department of education 18 as are reasonably necessary to provide support services to the commis- 19 sion. The commissioner of education shall appoint one or more represen- 20 tatives of the department of education to serve as liaison between such 21 department and the commission. 22 (b) All state agencies, public authorities, public benefit corpo- 23 rations and any public school district in New York state shall provide 24 such assistance as may be reasonably requested by the chair of the 25 commission. 26 (c) The commission, acting by the chair of the commission, may employ 27 additional staff and consultants, who shall be paid from amounts avail- 28 able to the commission for such purposes. 29 § 4. Accomplishment of purpose. The commission shall be authorized and 30 empowered to undertake any studies, inquiries, surveys or analyses it 31 may deem relevant. The commission shall meet and hold public hearings or 32 private meetings within or outside the state, and shall have all the 33 powers of a legislative committee pursuant to the legislative law. 34 § 5. Report on best practices and legislative recommendations. The 35 commission shall make a report of its findings, including any recommen- 36 dations for legislative action as it may deem necessary and appropriate, 37 to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of 38 the assembly, the chairperson of the senate committee on education, the 39 chairperson of the senate committee on New York City education, the 40 chairperson of the assembly committee on education, the board of 41 regents, and the commissioner of education no later than December 31, 42 2024. 43 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be 44 deemed repealed 2 years after such date.