NY State Senate Bill

Senate Bill S4685A

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Provides for the inclusion of a faculty or staff member on the board of trustees of community colleges

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - On Floor Calendar

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

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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Apr 03, 2025	amended on third reading 4685a
Mar 10, 2025	advanced to third reading
Mar 05, 2025	2nd report cal.
Mar 04, 2025	1st report cal.457
Feb 11, 2025	referred to higher education

Votes

- Mar 4, 2025 - Higher Education Committee Vote
  S4685A
  
  6
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  5
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Higher Education Committee Vote: Mar 4, 2025
      
      aye (6)
      
      Gounardes
      
      Jackson
      
      Liu
      
      Rivera
      
      Stavisky
      
      Webb
      
      aye wr (5)
      
      Fahy
      
      Griffo
      
      May
      
      Murray
      
      Oberacker

Bill Amendments

Original

A (Active)

2025-S4685 - Details

Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §6306, Ed L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S6342

2025-S4685 - Summary

Provides for the inclusion of a faculty or staff member on the board of trustees of community colleges elected by and from among the faculty and staff of the college.

2025-S4685 - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S4685

SPONSOR: STAVISKY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to including a faculty or
staff member on the board of trustees of community colleges

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This legislation expands the Board of Trustees for community colleges to
include an eleventh, ex-officio, non-voting member who shall be elected
by and from among the faculty and staff of the college.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends subdivision 1 of section 6306 of the educa-
tion law to expand, from ten to eleven, the number of community college
trustees. The amendment provides that the eleventh member shall be
elected by and from among the faculty and staff of the college as an
ex-officio and non-voting member.

Section 2 of the bill contains the effective: date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

SUNY community colleges are currently administered by a separate Board
of Trustees composed of ten members, five appointed by the local Legis-
lative body or board, or other appropriate governing agency; four by the
governor and one member elected by and from among the students at the
college. There is no faculty or staff representation on any of the
boards. Consequently, faculty input is often limited to a few minutes
during the "public comment', period of trustee meetings. Since the
faculty and staff interact with the students daily, they are keenly
aware of what is going on at their institutions and what policy deci-
sions may or may not be working. This legislation seeks to give
faculty/staff a voice, albeit a non-voting one, on their boards of trus-
tees.

The SUNY Board of Trustees was recently expanded to include the Presi-
dent of the University Faculty Senate as a non-voting, ex-officio
member. The inclusion of a faculty member has resulted in a collabora-
tive improvement between the trustees, administrators, and faculty, all
in furtherance of the SUNY mission. Including community college
faculty/staff on their boards will yield the same results.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2023 -2024- S.6342 /A.6782 - Referred to Higher Education

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S4685 - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4685
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 11, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed 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
 student  member  shall  be  subject  to  every provision of any general,
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00418-01-5

 S. 4685                             2
 
 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.

2025-S4685A (ACTIVE) - Details

Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §6306, Ed L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S6342

2025-S4685A (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides for the inclusion of a faculty or staff member on the board of trustees of community colleges elected by and from among the faculty and staff of the college.

2025-S4685A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S4685A

SPONSOR: STAVISKY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to including a faculty or
staff member on the board of trustees of community colleges

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This legislation expands the Board of Trustees for community colleges to
include an eleventh, ex-officio, non-voting member who shall be elected
by and from among the faculty and staff of the college.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends subdivision 1 of section 6306 of the educa-
tion law to expand, from ten to eleven, the number of community college
trustees. The amendment provides that the eleventh member shall be
elected by and from among the faculty and staff of the college as an
ex-officio and non-voting member.

Section 2 of the bill contains the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

SUNY community colleges are currently administered by a separate Board
of Trustees composed of ten members, five appointed by the local Legis-
lative body or board, or other appropriate governing agency; four by the
governor and one member elected by and from among the students at the
college. There is no faculty or staff representation on any of the
boards. Consequently, faculty input is often limited to a few minutes
during the "public comment',period of trustee meetings.  Since the
faculty and staff interact with the students daily, they are keenly
aware of what is going on at their institutions and what policy deci-
sions may or may not be working. This legislation seeks to give
faculty/staff a voice, albeit a non-voting one, on their boards of trus-
tees.

The SUNY Board of Trustees was recently expanded to include the Presi-
dent of the University Faculty Senate as a non-voting, ex-officio
member. The inclusion of a faculty member has resulted in a collabora-
tive improvement between the trustees, administrators, and faculty, all
in furtherance of the SUNY mission. Including community college
faculty/staff on their boards will yield the same results.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2023 -2024- S.6342 /A.6782 - Referred to Higher Education

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S4685A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  4685--A
     Cal. No. 457
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 11, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed  to  the  Committee  on  Higher  Education  --
   reported  favorably  from  said committee, ordered to first and second
   report, ordered to a third reading,  amended  and  ordered  reprinted,
   retaining its place in the order of third reading
 
 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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD00418-02-5
 S. 4685--A                          2
 
 members, including but not limited to  the  right  to  make  and  second
 motions  and  to place items on the agenda. Such COMMUNITY COLLEGE BOARD
 MEMBERS, INCLUDING THE FACULTY OR STAFF  AND  student  [member]  MEMBERS
 shall  be subject to SECTION EIGHT HUNDRED FIVE-A OF THE GENERAL MUNICI-
 PAL LAW, SECTION ONE HUNDRED FIVE OF THE PUBLIC OFFICERS LAW  AND  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 regu-
 lations 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
 LARGEST  FACULTY  ORGANIZATION  ON  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.

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