NY State Senate Bill 2021-S6053

Senate Bill S6053

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Establishes requirements for school libraries

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Libraries 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

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 05, 2022	referred to libraries
Mar 31, 2021	referred to libraries

2021-S6053 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A6339
Current Committee:: Senate Libraries
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §274, Ed L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S6744, A3174

2021-S6053 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires elementary and secondary school libraries provide equitable access to physical and digital media.

2021-S6053 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S6053

SPONSOR: KAPLAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to establishing require-
ments for elementary and secondary school libraries

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

The purpose of this bill is to ensure equal access to all school library
resources and ensure each library gets a budget allocation per student
basis to keep resources up to date and relevant.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Amends section 274 of the education law to establish a of
criteria every elementary and secondary school library must follow that
are established by the commissioner of education including: providing
equal access to materials, allow for flexible access to all library
resources for students, staff and faculty, receive a budget allocation

on per student basis and each school district shall evaluate their
school libraries annually using a rubric provided by the department of
education.

Section 2. Establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Current education regulations pertaining to school libraries has been
not updated in over twenty years and existing state education law
regarding school libraries has not been updated since 1970. With school
libraries playing an increasingly important role in the education proc-
ess and with the continuing advancement of technology that school
libraries offer to those they serve, now is the time to ensure that
state education law reflects the important work and capabilities of
these educational resources.

21st Century libraries are so much more than just books, they now
feature technological equipment, media resources, digital access to a
variety of resources including e-books and databases while providing
flexible and equitable access to space and staff for students, staff and
faculty in our schools. Amending § 274 of the education law will ensure
that school libraries have collections that reflect the needs of the
student body and school district's technological capabilities.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding the date
on which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addi-
tion, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for
the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to
be made and completed on or before such effective date.

2021-S6053 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6053
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 31, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  KAPLAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Libraries
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing  require-
   ments for elementary and secondary school libraries
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 274 of the education law  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   § 274. Use  and care of school library. 1. The school library shall be
 a part of the school equipment and shall be kept in the school  building
 at  all times. Such library shall be devoted to the exclusive use of the
 school, except as otherwise provided by the rules of the commissioner of
 education and except in a district where there is no  free  library,  in
 which  case  such  school library shall be a circulating library for the
 use of the residents of the district.
   2. EACH SCHOOL LIBRARY SHALL:
   A. PROVIDE PHYSICAL ACCESS TO RESOURCES INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
 BOOKS, TECHNOLOGICAL EQUIPMENT, MEDIA, AND OTHER TANGIBLE DOCUMENTS;
   B. PROVIDE DIGITAL ACCESS TO RESOURCES INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED  TO,
 E-BOOKS, DATABASES, SOFTWARE AND MEDIA;
   C.  PROVIDE  EQUITABLE, FLEXIBLE ACCESS TO LIBRARY SPACE AND ITS STAFF
 BY SCHOOL STUDENTS, STAFF AND FACULTY; AND
   D. RECEIVE A BUDGET ALLOCATION  ON  A  PER  STUDENT  BASIS  TO  ENSURE
 RESOURCES AND SERVICES REMAIN RELEVANT.
   3.  EACH  SCHOOL DISTRICT SHALL ANNUALLY EVALUATE THEIR SCHOOL LIBRARY
 USING A SCHOOL LIBRARY PROGRAM RUBRIC CREATED BY THE DEPARTMENT.
   4. The commissioner of education shall prescribe rules regulating
   [1.] A. The purchase, recording, safekeeping and loaning of  books  in
 school  libraries,  and  the use of such books by pupils and teachers in
 the public schools.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10405-02-1

 S. 6053                             2
 
   [2.] B. The conditions under which books in a school  library  may  be
 used by the public in a district in which a free library is situated.
   [3.]  C. The management of school libraries and their use as circulat-
 ing libraries by the residents of the district in which they  are  situ-
 ated.
   [4.]  D.  The contents and submission of reports of school librarians,
 teachers and other school authorities as to school libraries.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of July  next  succeeding
 the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the
 addition,  amendment  and/or  repeal of any rule or regulation necessary
 for the implementation of this act on its effective date are  authorized
 to be made and completed on or before such effective date.

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.