NY State Senate Bill 2011-S4631

Senate Bill S4631

2011-2012 Legislative Session

Relates to Project SAVE and a term of incarceration preventing a student from continuously attending school

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 04, 2012	referred to codes
Jun 11, 2011	committee discharged and committed to rules
Apr 14, 2011	referred to codes

co-Sponsors

2011-S4631 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A7354
Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Criminal Procedure Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§380.90 & 720.35, CP L

2011-S4631 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to Project SAVE and a term of incarceration preventing a student from continuously attending school.

2011-S4631 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S4631

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to Project SAVE, Safe
Schools Against Violence in Education Act, and a term of incarceration
preventing a student from continuously attending school

This is one in a series of measures being introduced at the request of
the Chief Administrative Judge upon the recommendation of her
Advisory Committee on Criminal Law and Procedure.

This measure would amend sections 380.90 and 720.35 of the Criminal
Procedure Law ("CPL") to clarify that the mandatory school
notification provisions of the "Project SAVE, the Safe Schools
Against Violence in Education Act" apply only to cases where the
student is sentenced to a period of incarceration that will interfere
with the student's school attendance.

In 2000, the Legislature enacted the "Project SAVE, Safe Schools
Against Violence in Education Act" (L. 2000, c. 181). As part of the
Act, the Legislature amended both CPL 720.35 and 380.90 to provide
for automatic notification "to the designated educational official of
the school in which such person in enrolled as a student" whenever a
student under the age of nineteen is convicted of a Crime or is the
subject of a youthful offender adjudication. The purpose of the

legislation was to insure increased coordination between the criminal
justice system and the school that a defendant attends.

The unambiguous language of both statutes provides that the court must
notify the school in all cases regardless of the sentence the student
receives. The Legislature, however, may have intended a more narrow
reach by wanting to limit mandatory notification only to cases where
the court's sentence included a period of incarceration
that would force the student to be absent from school. The Family
Court Act explicitly provides that mandatory reporting Ro schools
only occurs when the student is placed away from his or her home.
Although no such explicit language can be found in the Criminal
Procedure Law, the practice commentary to CPL 380.20 provides that
"[a]lthough the provision lacks clarity with respect to whether it is
limited to cases where the youngster is sentenced to incarceration or
includes those who were held in detention before conviction and then
released upon sentencing, it apparently only applies where the
student is sentenced to incarceration." A similar note is found in
connection with the practice commentary to CPL 735.20: "While new
subdivision three, read literally, appears to require notification
for all Youthful Offender adjudications of students enrolled in
public and private schools, when read in conjunction with CPL
380.90 and the Family Court Act the intended construction seems
limited to cases where the youth has been removed from the home and
placed elsewhere."

Notwithstanding the practice commentary, settled rules of statutory
construction provide that while courts are obliged to interpret a
statute to effectuate the intent of the Legislature, "when the
statute "is clear and unambiguous, it should be construed so as to


give effect to the plain meaning of its words" (People ex rel. Harris
v. Sullivan, 74 NY2d 305,309 (1989)). Nor are courts permitted to
legislate under the guise of judicial interpretation (People v.
Finnegan, 85 NY2d 53,58 (1995)). Thus, even though the Legislature
might have intended mandatory notification only in cases in which the
student is incarcerated, the absence of explicit direction in the
statutes has generated inconsistent application of the notification
requirements of sections 720.35 and 380.90.

This measure would promote a consistent application of the statutes by
expressly limiting mandatory notification to instances where the
defendant is unable to regularly attend school because the court has
imposed a period of incarceration.

This measure, which would have no meaningful fiscal impact on the
State, would take effect 90 days after it shall have become a law and
shall apply to any sentence imposed on or after such effective date.

2011 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None. New proposal.

2011-S4631 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  4631

                       2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                             April 14, 2011
                               ___________

Introduced by Sen. FLANAGAN -- (at request of the Office of Court Admin-
  istration)  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be
  committed to the Committee on Codes

AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to Project SAVE,
  Safe Schools Against Violence in Education Act, and a term  of  incar-
  ceration preventing a student from continuously attending school

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 380.90 of the  criminal  procedure
law,  as added by chapter 181 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as
follows:
  2. Whenever a person under the age of nineteen who is  enrolled  as  a
student  in  a  public  or  private  elementary  or  secondary school is
sentenced for a crime, the court that has sentenced  such  person  shall
provide  notification  of  the conviction and sentence to the designated
educational official of the school in which such person is enrolled as a
student IN ANY CASE WHERE THE COURT SENTENCES SUCH PERSON TO A  TERM  OF
INCARCERATION  THAT  WILL PREVENT THE PERSON FROM CONTINUOUSLY ATTENDING
SCHOOL.  Such notification shall be used by the  designated  educational
official  only  for  purposes  related to the execution of the student's
educational plan, where applicable,  successful  school  adjustment  and
reentry into the community. Such notification shall be kept separate and
apart from such student's school records and shall be accessible only by
the designated educational official. Such notification shall not be part
of  such  student's permanent school record and shall not be appended to
or included in any documentation regarding such  student  and  shall  be
destroyed  at  such  time  as  such student is no longer enrolled in the
school district. At no time shall such  notification  be  used  for  any
purpose other than those specified in this subdivision.
  S 2. Subdivision 3 of section 720.35 of the criminal procedure law, as
added by chapter 181 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD09514-01-1

S. 4631                             2

  3. If a youth who has been adjudicated a youthful offender is enrolled
as  a  student in a public or private elementary or secondary school the
court that has adjudicated  the  youth  as  a  youthful  offender  shall
provide  notification of such adjudication to the designated educational
official  of  the school in which such youth is enrolled as a student IN
ANY CASE WHERE THE COURT SENTENCES THE YOUTH TO A TERM OF  INCARCERATION
THAT  WILL  PREVENT  THE YOUTH FROM CONTINUOUSLY ATTENDING SCHOOL.  Such
notification shall be used by the designated educational  official  only
for purposes related to the execution of the student's educational plan,
where  applicable,  successful  school  adjustment  and reentry into the
community. Such notification shall be kept separate and apart from  such
student's  school records and shall be accessible only by the designated
educational official. Such  notification  shall  not  be  part  of  such
student's  permanent  school  record  and  shall  not  be appended to or
included in any  documentation  regarding  such  student  and  shall  be
destroyed  at  such  time  as  such student is no longer enrolled in the
school district. At no time shall such  notification  be  used  for  any
purpose other than those specified in this subdivision.
  S  3.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
have become a law and shall apply to any sentence  impose  on  or  after
such effective date.

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Senate Bill S4631

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Sponsored By

John J. Flanagan