S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                       2013-2014 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            January 30, 2013
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. CAMARA, STEVENSON, ROSENTHAL, CRESPO, ZEBROWSKI,
  CASTRO, ROBERTS, ESPINAL, RAMOS, WEPRIN -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of
  A. CYMBROWITZ, GOTTFRIED, MONTESANO, PEOPLES-STOKES, PERRY,  ROBINSON,
  SALADINO,  THIELE,  TITONE,  WRIGHT  --  read once and referred to the
  Committee on Education

AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to attendance  of  minors
  at full-time day instruction

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

  Section 1. Section 3205 of the education law, subdivision 1 as amended
by chapter 262 of the laws of 1959, paragraphs a and b of subdivision  1
as  amended  by chapter 296 of the laws of 1969, paragraph c of subdivi-
sion 1 as amended by chapter 518 of the laws of  1993,  paragraph  b  of
subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 975 of the laws of 1966, paragraph c
of  subdivision  2  as separately amended by chapters 157 and 167 of the
laws of 2012, subdivision 3 as amended by chapter 183  of  the  laws  of
2004, is amended to read as follows:
  S 3205. Attendance  of minors upon full time day instruction. 1. a. In
each school district of the state, each  minor  from  six  to  [sixteen]
EIGHTEEN years of age shall attend upon full time instruction, EXCEPT AS
PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION FOUR OF THIS SECTION.
  b. Each minor from six to [sixteen] EIGHTEEN years of age on an Indian
reservation  shall  attend  upon  full  time  day instruction, EXCEPT AS
PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION FOUR OF THIS SECTION.
  c. For purposes of this article, a minor who becomes six years of  age
on  or before the first of December in any school year shall be required
to attend upon full time instruction from the first day that the  appro-
priate  public  schools are in session in September of such school year,
and a minor who becomes six years of age after the first of December  in
any  school  year shall be required to attend upon full time instruction
from the first day of session in the following September; and, except as

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD07395-01-3
              

A. 4000                             2

otherwise provided in  subdivision  three  of  this  section,  shall  be
required  to  remain  in attendance until the last day of session in the
school year in which the minor becomes sixteen years of age.
  2.  Exceptions.  a.  A minor who has completed a four-year high school
course of study OR HAS PASSED  A  HIGH  SCHOOL  EQUIVALENCY  EXAMINATION
shall  not  be subject to the provisions of THIS part [one of this arti-
cle] in respect to required attendance upon instruction.
  b. A minor for whom application for a full-time employment certificate
has been made and who is eligible therefor may,  though  unemployed,  be
permitted to attend part time school not less than twenty hours per week
instead of full time school.
  c. The board of education of the Syracuse city school district and the
board  of  education of the city school district of the city of New York
and the board of education of the city school district of  the  city  of
Rochester  are hereby authorized to require minors who are five years of
age on or before December  first  to  attend  kindergarten  instruction.
However, the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to:
  (i)  Minors whose parents elect not to enroll their children in school
until the following September.
  (ii) Students enrolled in non-public schools or in home instruction.
  D. A MINOR SEVENTEEN YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER WHO PARTICIPATES, WITH  THE
CONSENT  OF  THE  SCHOOL DISTRICT AND THE PERSON IN PARENTAL RELATION TO
SUCH MINOR, IN A COURSE OF INSTRUCTION  IN  VOCATIONAL  OR  OCCUPATIONAL
SKILLS  SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS PART WITH RESPECT
TO REQUIRED ATTENDANCE UPON INSTRUCTION.
  3. In each school district, the board of education shall have power to
require minors [from sixteen to seventeen] EIGHTEEN years of age who are
not employed to attend upon full time day instruction until the last day
of session in the school year in which the student  becomes  [seventeen]
EIGHTEEN years of age.
  4.  IN  EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT OF THE STATE, EACH PERSON OVER THE AGE OF
EIGHTEEN YEARS AND UNDER THE AGE OF NINETEEN YEARS, WHO DOES NOT  ATTEND
UPON  FULL-TIME  INSTRUCTION,  SHALL ENROLL AND PARTICIPATE IN A GENERAL
EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT COURSE OF STUDY UNTIL HE OR SHE REACHES THE AGE OF
NINETEEN YEARS, OR HE OR SHE PASSES THE HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY EXAMINA-
TION FOR SUCH COURSE OF STUDY, WHICHEVER SHALL OCCUR FIRST.
  S 2. This act shall  take  effect  on  the  first  of  September  next
succeeding  the  date on which it shall have become a law or on the same
date and in the same manner as chapter 157 of the laws of 2012, whichev-
er shall occur later.