Grants school districts the ability to implement telehealth school-based mental health clinics; establishes the student mental telehealth reimbursement fund; relates to funding the student mental telehealth reimbursement fund.
This bill (A 4833) requires that a state or fiscal monitor must be actively operating in a school district before any new charter school application can be approved. It directly affects school districts seeking to establish new charter schools, as they must first have an oversight official (either a state monitor or fiscal monitor) in place. The key provision amends education law to add a new requirement: charter school applications are disallowed if no such monitor is operating in the district. This creates a concrete condition for approval, focusing on district oversight rather than other factors like student enrollment percentages.
Requires school districts to provide instructional programming and services in reading and literacy which are evidence based and aligned with state standards; requires teachers in grades pre-K through five to attend professional development courses in reading education.
This bill requires New York public schools (K-12) to incorporate instruction in civility, citizenship, and character education into their existing curricula. It mandates teaching specific principles including honesty, tolerance, respect, personal responsibility, and anti-bullying measures, with explicit emphasis on addressing harassment and discrimination based on race, gender, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and other protected characteristics. The instruction must also cover safe and responsible internet use. The bill directs school regents to design how this component integrates into current courses, with the education commissioner handling regulatory details.
S 1474 requires all public elementary, middle, and high schools (state-controlled or state-funded) to include agriculture instruction starting in the 2026-2027 school year. The bill mandates teaching topics like food origins, farm-to-market processes, sustainability, resource conservation, rural culture, and agricultural careers. This instruction must be approved by both the Education and Agriculture departments and can integrate with science, math, history, or business courses.
Provides that the commissioner of education may also withhold from any district or city its share of the public money of the state for willfully disobeying any provision of law, or for such decisions, orders or regulations as aforesaid whose willful violation constitutes an immediate threat to the health, safety, education or welfare of students, employees or visitors at such common school, educational institution, school district or public school.
Adopts the interstate teacher mobility compact to facilitate the mobility of teachers across member states, with the goal of supporting teachers through new pathways to licensure; establishes a regulatory framework to expedite and enhance the ability of teachers to move across state lines.
Creates a set of media literacy standards for students in grades kindergarten through twelve which focuses on internet safety, civility and digital citizenship.
Establishes instruction in financial literacy for students in sixth through eighth grade; requires such instruction to include content on budgeting, savings, credit, debt, insurance, investment, and other issues associated with personal financial responsibility as determined by the education department.
Bill S 1424 amends the education law to expand protections against discrimination for students. It prohibits discrimination by school employees or other students on school property or at school functions based on a student's religious attire, clothing, or facial hair. This bill adds these specific protections to existing anti-discrimination provisions covering characteristics like race, religion, and disability. It also clarifies that certain gender-based admissions and disability-related actions permitted under other laws are not prohibited.
