S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5979
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 25, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  BRONSON,  LUNSFORD,  CLARK,  SLATER, JENSEN,
   EPSTEIN, SAYEGH, SHIMSKY, OTIS, MORINELLO, STIRPE, MEEKS -- read  once
   and referred to the Committee on Higher Education
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to including a faculty or
   staff member on the board of trustees of community colleges

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The opening paragraph of subdivision 1 of section  6306  of
 the  education  law,  as  amended by chapter 268 of the laws of 2003, is
 amended to read as follows:
   Each community college, except in the  city  of  New  York,  shall  be
 administered  by  a  board  of trustees of [ten] ELEVEN members, nine of
 whom shall be appointed for terms of seven years in annual rotation, and
 [one member] TWO MEMBERS elected as herein provided, except that initial
 appointments shall be made for terms of one to nine years  respectively.
 Five  members shall be appointed by the local legislative body or board,
 or other appropriate governing agency, one of whom may be  a  member  of
 such  local  legislative  body  or board, or other appropriate governing
 agency, four, from among persons residing in the  sponsoring  community,
 by the governor and one member elected by and from among the students of
 the  college  who  shall  serve  as a member of the board for a one-year
 term, provided, however, that the  term  of  the  student  member  first
 elected  shall be nine months commencing October first, nineteen hundred
 seventy-five, AND ONE OF WHOM SHALL BE ELECTED BY  AND  FROM  AMONG  THE
 FACULTY  AND  STAFF OF THE COLLEGE, EX-OFFICIO AND NON-VOTING, WHO SHALL
 SERVE A TWO-YEAR TERM, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT THE TERM OF  THE  FACULTY
 OR  STAFF  MEMBER  FIRST ELECTED SHALL COMMENCE JULY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND
 TWENTY-SIX. The FACULTY OR STAFF MEMBER  AND  student  member  shall  be
 afforded  the same parliamentary privileges as are conferred upon voting
 members, including but not limited to  the  right  to  make  and  second
 motions  and  to  place  items  on the agenda. Such FACULTY OR STAFF AND
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00418-01-5
              

 A. 5979                             2
 
 student member shall be subject  to  every  provision  of  any  general,
 special  or  local  law,  ordinance,  charter,  code, rule or regulation
 applying to the members of such board with respect to the  discharge  of
 their  duties  including,  but  not limited to, those provisions setting
 forth codes of ethics, disclosure requirements and prohibiting  business
 and professional activities. The election of the student member shall be
 conducted  in  accordance  with rules and regulations promulgated by the
 respective representative campus student association in accordance  with
 guidelines established by the state university trustees. THE ELECTION OF
 THE  FACULTY OR STAFF MEMBER SHALL BE CONDUCTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH RULES
 AND REGULATIONS PROMULGATED BY  THE  RESPECTIVE FACULTY SENATE OR EQUIV-
 ALENT FACULTY SHARED GOVERNANCE BODY OF EACH CAMPUS. In the  event  that
 the  student member ceases to be a student at the institution, [he] THEY
 shall be required to resign. IN THE EVENT  THAT  THE  FACULTY  OR  STAFF
 MEMBER  CEASES  TO  BE  AN  EMPLOYEE  AT  THE INSTITUTION, THEY SHALL BE
 REQUIRED TO RESIGN. The governor's initial  appointments  shall  be  for
 terms  of two, four, six and eight years respectively and those by local
 authorities for terms of one, three, five, seven and nine years  respec-
 tively. Vacancies shall be filled for unexpired terms in the same manner
 as  original  selections  by  the authority responsible for the original
 selection. The board shall select its own [chairman]  CHAIR  from  among
 its  voting  membership.  Where  two  or more local sponsors join in the
 establishment of a community college, the apportionment of the  appoint-
 ments  among them shall be made by the state university trustees.  Trus-
 tees shall receive no compensation for their services but shall be reim-
 bursed for their expenses actually and necessarily incurred by  them  in
 the  performance  of  their duties under this article. Members initially
 appointed or elected under this subdivision to the board of trustees  of
 any community college hereafter established shall take office immediate-
 ly upon their selection and qualification, but for purposes of determin-
 ing the expiration of their respective terms and the commencement of the
 terms  of  their  successors,  the  term  of office of each such initial
 member shall be deemed to have commenced on the first day of July of the
 year in which such college was established. The terms of office  of  all
 members  of  the  boards  of  trustees  of community colleges heretofore
 established, appointed or elected as provided in this subdivision, shall
 terminate on the thirtieth day of June of the calendar year within which
 such terms expire under the provisions of  this  subdivision  as  hereby
 amended.  For  the purpose of determining such year all initial terms of
 office of appointed members of  the  boards  of  trustees  of  community
 colleges heretofore established shall be deemed to have commenced on the
 first  day  of  July of the year in which such colleges were established
 and the terms of their successors for  full  terms,  if  any,  shall  be
 deemed to have commenced upon the expiration of the number of years from
 such date for which such initial appointments were made.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.