S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
9101
I N A S S E M B L Y
February 7, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. K. BROWN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law and the retirement and social security
law, in relation to increasing the required number of instructional
days in a school year to two hundred
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 551 of the education law, as added by chapter 414
of the laws of 1972, is amended to read as follows:
§ 551. Apportionment. 1. In order to meet proper health, welfare and
safety standards in qualifying schools for the benefit of the pupils
enrolled therein, there shall be apportioned health, welfare and safety
grants by the commissioner to each qualifying school for the school
years beginning on and after July first, nineteen hundred seventy-one,
an amount equal to the product of thirty dollars multiplied by the aver-
age daily attendance of pupils receiving instruction in such school, to
be applied for costs of maintenance and repair. Such apportionment shall
be increased by ten dollars multiplied by the average daily attendance
of pupils receiving instruction in a school building constructed prior
to nineteen hundred forty-seven. In no event shall the per pupil annual
allowance computed under this section exceed fifty per centum of the
average per pupil cost of equivalent maintenance and repair in the
public schools of the state on a state-wide basis, as determined by the
commissioner, and in no event shall the apportionment to a qualifying
school exceed the amount of expenditures for maintenance and repair of
such school as reported pursuant to section five hundred fifty-two of
this article.
2. The apportionment pursuant to this section shall be reduced by one
[one hundred eightieth] TWO HUNDREDTH for each day less than [one
hundred eighty] TWO HUNDRED days that such school was actually in total
session in the base year, except that the commissioner may disregard
such reduction up to five days if he finds that the school was not in
session for [one hundred eighty] TWO HUNDRED days because of extraor-
dinary adverse weather conditions, impairment of heating facilities,
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13099-02-3
A. 9101 2
insufficiency of water supply, shortage of fuel or the destruction of a
school building, and if the commissioner further finds that such school
cannot make up such days of instruction during the school year. No such
reduction shall be made, however, for any day on which such school was
in session for the purpose of administering the regents examinations or
the regents scholarship examinations, or any day, not to exceed three
days, when such school was not in session because of a conference of
teachers called by the principal of the school.
§ 2. Subdivision 2 of section 1704 of the education law, as amended by
chapter 543 of the laws of 1971, is amended to read as follows:
2. Except as otherwise provided by law, no board of education or
community board in the city school district of the city of New York
shall provide for a school year consisting of fewer than [one hundred
eighty] TWO HUNDRED days of school.
§ 3. Paragraph a of subdivision 4 of section 3204 of the education
law, as amended by section 7 of part A of chapter 56 of the laws of
2022, is amended to read as follows:
a. A full time day school or class, except as otherwise prescribed,
shall be in session for not less than [one hundred eighty] TWO HUNDRED
days each year, exclusive of legal holidays that occur during the term
of said school and exclusive of Saturdays.
§ 4. Paragraph m of subdivision 12 and subdivision 16 of section
3602-e of the education law, paragraph m of subdivision 12 as amended by
section 19 of part B of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007 and subdivision
16 as amended by section 18 of part A of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013,
are amended to read as follows:
m. a process for the waiver of the time requirements established
pursuant to this subdivision in order to authorize the operation of a
summer universal prekindergarten program limited to the months of July
and August, upon a finding by the commissioner that the school district
is unable to operate the program during the regular school session
because of a lack of available space pursuant to regulations of the
commissioner. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the
contrary, such process shall provide for a reduction of the aid per
prekindergarten pupil payable for pupils served pursuant to such waiver
by one [one-hundred eightieth] TWO HUNDREDTH of the aid per prekinder-
garten pupil determined pursuant to paragraph a of subdivision ten [or
subparagraph (i) of paragraph b of subdivision ten-a] of this section
for each day less than [one hundred eighty] TWO HUNDRED days that the
summer program is in session.
16. The grant payable to a school district pursuant to this section in
the current year shall be reduced by [one one-hundred eightieth] TWO
HUNDREDTH for each day less than [one hundred eighty] TWO HUNDRED days
that the universal prekindergarten classes of the district were actually
in session, except that the commissioner may disregard such reduction
for any deficiency that may be disregarded in computing total foundation
aid pursuant to subdivision seven or eight of section thirty-six hundred
four of this [chapter] PART and in addition may disregard a reduction
for any deficiency that is caused by a delay in the opening of public
school classes due to extraordinarily adverse weather conditions or
other cause cited in such subdivision seven of section thirty-six
hundred four that results in cancellation of the prekindergarten program
or of transportation to such program.
§ 5. Subdivisions 7 and 8 of section 3604 of the education law, subdi-
vision 7 as amended by chapter 107 of the laws of 2020 and subdivision 8
A. 9101 3
as amended by chapter 359 of the laws of 2023, are amended to read as
follows:
7. No district shall be entitled to any portion of such school moneys
on such apportionment unless the report of the trustees or board of
education for the preceding school year shall show that the public
schools were actually in session in the district and taught by a quali-
fied teacher or by successive qualified teachers or by qualified teach-
ers for not less than [one hundred eighty] TWO HUNDRED days. The moneys
payable to a school district pursuant to section thirty-six hundred
nine-a of this part in the current year shall be reduced by one [one-
hundred eightieth] TWO HUNDREDTH of the district's total foundation aid
for the base year for each day less than [one hundred eighty] TWO
HUNDRED days that the schools of the district were actually in session,
except that the commissioner may disregard such reduction in the appor-
tionment of public money: (i) for any day or days on which session had
been previously scheduled but the superintendent was required to close
the school or schools due to a properly executed declaration of a state
or local state of emergency pursuant to article two-B of the executive
law; or (ii) for up to five days if he or she finds that the schools of
the district were not in session for [one hundred eighty] TWO HUNDRED
days because of extraordinarily adverse weather conditions, impairment
of heating facilities, insufficiency of water supply, shortage of fuel,
lack of electricity, natural gas leakage, unacceptable levels of chemi-
cal substances, a credible threat to student safety as reasonably deter-
mined by a lead school official or the destruction of a school building
either in whole or in part, and if, further, the commissioner finds that
such district cannot make up such days of instruction by using for the
secondary grades all scheduled vacation days which occur prior to the
first scheduled regents examination day in June, and for the elementary
grades all scheduled vacation days which occur prior to the last sched-
uled regents examination day in June; or (iii) for any day or days in
the two thousand nineteen -- two thousand twenty school year on which
session had been previously scheduled but the chancellor of the city
school district of the city of New York or the superintendent of a
district closed the school or schools due to a determination by the
chancellor or superintendent that it was in the best interest of public
health or safety of the school district to close the school or schools
in response to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. For the purposes of this
subdivision, "scheduled vacation days" shall mean days on which the
schools of the district are not in session and for which no prohibition
exists in subdivision eight of this section for them to be in session.
8. No school shall be in session on a Saturday, the first day of the
second lunar month after the winter solstice in the preceding calendar
year known as Asian Lunar New Year, or a legal holiday, except general
election day, Washington's birthday and Lincoln's birthday, and except
that driver education classes may be conducted on a Saturday. A defi-
ciency not exceeding four days during any school year caused by teach-
ers' attendance upon conferences held by superintendents of schools of
city school districts or other school districts employing superinten-
dents of schools shall be excused by the commissioner, notwithstanding
any provision of law, rule or regulation to the contrary, a school
district may elect to schedule such conference days in the [last] FIRST
two weeks of August, subject to collective bargaining requirements
pursuant to article fourteen of the civil service law, and such days
shall be counted towards the required [one hundred eighty] TWO HUNDRED
days of session, provided however, that such scheduling shall not alter
A. 9101 4
the obligation of the school district to provide transportation to
students in non-public elementary and secondary schools or charter
schools. At least two such conference days during such school year shall
be dedicated to staff attendance upon conferences providing staff devel-
opment relating to implementation of the new high learning standards and
assessments, as adopted by the board of regents. Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, rule or regulation to the contrary, school
districts may elect to use one or more of such allowable conference days
in units of not less than one hour each to provide staff development
activities relating to implementation of the new high learning standards
and assessments. A district making such election may provide such staff
development on any day during which sessions are allowed and apply such
units to satisfy a deficiency in the length of one or more daily
sessions of instruction for pupils as specified in regulations of the
commissioner. The commissioner shall assure that such conference days
include appropriate school violence prevention and intervention train-
ing, and may require that up to one such conference day be dedicated for
such purpose.
§ 6. Subdivision 2-a of section 3635 of the education law, as amended
by chapter 359 of the laws of 2023, is amended to read as follows:
2-a. The superintendent of each city school district, in a city having
a population in excess of one million, shall prepare a public school
calendar and shall notify officials of nonpublic schools to which trans-
portation has been requested not later than the first day of June in
each year, of the days on which the public schools will be in session in
the following school year. Such school district which provides transpor-
tation to nonpublic schools shall provide such transportation for the
same number of days as the public schools are open but shall not provide
transportation services for more than [one hundred eighty] TWO HUNDRED
days. Officials of each nonpublic school to which transportation is
provided by a city school district of a city having a population in
excess of one million may notify such district, not later than the first
day of July of each school year, of a maximum of five days, exclusive of
Saturdays, Sundays or legal holidays upon which public schools are
required to be closed, on which the public schools are scheduled to be
closed, except that in any year in which the first or last day of Pass-
over and Easter Sunday are separated by more than seven days, such offi-
cials may notify the district of a maximum of ten days, but such school
district will be required to provide for transportation to such nonpub-
lic school provided that such five or ten additional days, whichever is
applicable, are limited to the following: the Tuesday, Wednesday, Thurs-
day and Friday after Labor Day, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, the week in
which public schools are closed for spring recess, December twenty-
fourth and the week between Christmas day and New Year's day, the Tues-
day, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday after the observance of Washington's
birthday, the first day of the second lunar month after the winter sols-
tice in the preceding calendar year, known as Asian Lunar New Year, and,
in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens only, Anniversary Day as desig-
nated in section twenty-five hundred eighty-six of this chapter.
§ 7. Subdivision f of section 446 of the retirement and social securi-
ty law, as amended by chapter 210 of the laws of 1996, is amended to
read as follows:
f. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any member of the New
York state and local employees' retirement system who is subject to the
provisions of this article and who is employed by a school district, a
board of cooperative educational services, a vocational education and
A. 9101 5
extension board, an institution for the instruction of the deaf and of
the blind as enumerated in section four thousand two hundred one of the
education law, or a school district as enumerated in section one of
chapter five hundred sixty-six of the laws of nineteen hundred sixty-
seven as amended to date, shall have their service credit for service
rendered on or after January first, nineteen hundred ninety determined
by dividing the number of days worked in a school year by one hundred
eighty FOR DAYS WORKED PRIOR TO THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE CHAPTER OF THE
LAWS OF TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-THREE WHICH AMENDED THIS SUBDIVISION AND
DETERMINED BY DIVIDING THE NUMBER OF DAYS WORKED IN A SCHOOL YEAR BY
TWO HUNDRED FOR DAYS WORKED AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE CHAPTER OF
THE LAWS OF TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-THREE WHICH AMENDED THIS SUBDIVISION.
For the purpose of this section a school year will begin on July first
and end the following June thirtieth. No more than one year of service
may be credited during any such fiscal year. Credit for service rendered
before January first, nineteen hundred ninety shall be determined in the
same manner if a person eligible for such benefit shall file the appro-
priate application with the state comptroller on or before August
second, nineteen hundred ninety-six and, within five years of filing
such application, make payment for all costs necessary to finance the
receipt of such service credit.
§ 8. Subdivision f of section 513 of the retirement and social securi-
ty law, as amended by chapter 210 of the laws of 1996, is amended to
read as follows:
f. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any member of the New
York state and local employees' retirement system who is subject to the
provisions of this article and who is employed by a school district, a
board of cooperative educational services, a vocational education and
extension board, an institution for the instruction of the deaf and of
the blind as enumerated in section four thousand two hundred one of the
education law, or a school district as enumerated in section one of
chapter five hundred sixty-six of the laws of nineteen hundred sixty-
seven as amended to date, shall have their service credit for service
rendered on or after January first, nineteen hundred ninety determined
by dividing the number of days worked in a school year by one hundred
eighty FOR DAYS WORKED PRIOR TO THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE CHAPTER OF THE
LAWS OF TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-THREE WHICH AMENDED THIS SUBDIVISION AND
DETERMINED BY DIVIDING THE NUMBER OF DAYS WORKED IN A SCHOOL YEAR BY
TWO HUNDRED FOR DAYS WORKED AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE CHAPTER OF
THE LAWS OF TWO THOUSAND TWENTY THREE WHICH AMENDED THIS SUBDIVISION.
For the purpose of this section a school year will begin on July first
and end the following June thirtieth. No more than one year of service
may be credited during any such fiscal year. Credit for service rendered
before January first, nineteen hundred ninety shall be determined in the
same manner if a person eligible for such benefit shall file the appro-
priate application with the state comptroller on or before August
second, nineteen hundred ninety-six and, within five years of filing
such application, make payment for all costs necessary to finance the
receipt of such service credit.
§ 9. Subdivision f of section 609 of the retirement and social securi-
ty law, as amended by chapter 210 of the laws of 1996, is amended to
read as follows:
f. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any member of the New
York state and local employees' retirement system who is subject to the
provisions of this article and who is employed by a school district, a
board of cooperative educational services, a vocational education and
A. 9101 6
extension board, an institution for the instruction of the deaf and of
the blind as enumerated in section four thousand two hundred one of the
education law, or a school district as enumerated in section one of
chapter five hundred sixty-six of the laws of nineteen hundred sixty-
seven as amended to date, shall have their service credit for service
rendered on or after January first, nineteen hundred ninety determined
by dividing the number of days worked in a school year by one hundred
eighty FOR DAYS WORKED PRIOR TO THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE CHAPTER OF THE
LAWS OF TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-THREE WHICH AMENDED THIS SUBDIVISION AND
DETERMINED BY DIVIDING THE NUMBER OF DAYS WORKED IN A SCHOOL YEAR BY TWO
HUNDRED FOR DAYS WORKED AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE CHAPTER OF THE
LAWS OF TWO THOUSAND TWENTY THREE WHICH AMENDED THIS SUBDIVISION. For
the purpose of this section a school year will begin on July first and
end the following June thirtieth. No more than one year of service may
be credited during any such fiscal year. Credit for service rendered
before January first, nineteen hundred ninety shall be determined in the
same manner if a person eligible for such benefit shall file the appro-
priate application with the state comptroller on or before August
second, nineteen hundred ninety-six and, within five years of filing
such application, make payment for all costs necessary to finance the
receipt of such service credit.
§ 10. 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.