BILL NUMBER: S56

SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing an amendment
to the Constitution, in relation to education of pupils through under-
graduate

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This amendment would require New York to provide free, quality education
from prekindergarten through post secondary school.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of this amendment amends section one of article eleven of
the Constitution by adding a requirement of the state to provide quali-
ty, free public education for prekindergarten through college.

Section two states that the foregoing amendment be referred to the first
regular legislative session convening after the next succeeding general
              

election of members of the assembly, and, in conformity with section 1
of article 19 of the Constitution, be published for three months previ-
ous to the time of such election.

 
EXISTING LAW:

The Constitution does not currently require public education to be qual-
ity nor does it include post secondary education in its definition of
free, common schools in the State.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The U.S. needs a public education system for the 21st century that goes
beyond our outdated concept of K-12 education and redefines our commit-
ment to education to include both early childhood development and post-
secondary schooling. New York should become the first state in the coun-
try to constitutionally guarantee free, quality public education from
pre-K through college.

We know the kind of basic, quality public education students need to
compete and succeed in the future, but New York is not currently commit-
ted to providing it to them. While recent strides have been made to make
pre-K and postsecondary education more accessible to all New Yorkers
through universal pre-kindergarten (UPK) and the Excelsior Scholarship,
the latter of which is a program that allows students to attend state
university and city university colleges tuition-free if they attend
full-time and meet certain income requirements. But these programs by
themselves are insufficient. Even with UPK and Excelsior, millions of
young New Yorkers are left behind: students who don't have access to
free pre-K and those whose families don't meet income requirements or
are unable to attend school full-time; 79 percent of 4-year-olds in the
state outside of New York City lack full-day pre-K.

Although post-secondary education is necessary for students to have
their best chance at future success, the costs of college makes it inac-
cessible for many.

In order to succeed in the 21st century job market, most students will
need some post-secondary education at a minimum. Current projections
indicate that 3.5 million jobs in New York State will require an associ-
ate's degree or higher by 2024.

New York should set an example for the country by adopting a constitu-
tional amendment guaranteeing pre-K and college education for all, so
that every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2022: S1079 - Opinion Referred to Judiciary

2021: S1079 - Referred to Judiciary

2020: S5255 - Opinion Referred to Judiciary

2019: S5255 - Opinion Referred to Judiciary

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall be referred to the first regular legislative session
convening after the next succeeding general election of members of the
Assembly, and, in conformity with Section 1 of Article 19 of the Consti-
tution, be published for three months previous to the time of such
election.