Provisions of Chapter 425 of the Laws of 2002 Relevant to Unsafe School Choice
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the provision of supplemental educational services, attendance at a safe public school and the suspension of pupils who bring a firearm to or possess a firearm at a school and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof
Became a law August 13, 2002, with the approval of the Governor.
Passed by a majority vote, three-fifths being present.
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1...
§ 2. Section 2802 of the education law is amended by adding a new sub-division 7 to read as follows:
7. Notwithstanding any other provision of state or local law, rule or regulation to the contrary, any student who attends a persistently dangerous public elementary or secondary school, as determined by the commissioner pursuant to paragraph a of this subdivision, or who is a victim of a violent criminal offense, as defined pursuant to paragraph b of this subdivision, that occurred on the grounds of a public elementary or secondary school that the student attends, shall be allowed to attend a safe public school within the local educational agency to the extent required by section ninety-five hundred thirty-two of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
a...
b. Each local educational agency required to provide unsafe school choice shall establish procedures for determinations by the superintendent of schools or other chief school officer of whether a student is the victim of a violent criminal offense that occurred on school grounds of the school that the student attends. Such superintendent of schools or other chief school officer shall, prior to making any such determination, consult with any law enforcement agency investigating such alleged violent criminal offense and consider any reports or records provided by such agency. The trustees or board of education or other governing board of a local educational agency may provide, by local rule or by-law, for appeal of the determination of the superintendent of schools to such governing board. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the determination of such chief school officer pursuant to this paragraph shall not have collateral estoppels effect in any student disciplinary proceeding brought against the alleged victim or perpetrator of such violent criminal offense. For purposes of this subdivision, "violent criminal offense" shall mean a crime that involved infliction of serious physical injury upon another as defined in the penal law, a sex offense that involved forcible compulsion or any other offense defined in the penal law that involved the use or threatened use of a deadly weapon.
c. Each local educational agency, as defined in subsection twenty-six of section ninety-one hundred one of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, that is required to provide school choice pursuant to section ninety-five hundred thirty-two of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 shall establish procedures for notification of parents of, or persons in parental relation to, students attending schools that have been designated as persistently dangerous and parents of, or persons in parental relation to, students who are victims of violent criminal offenses of their right to transfer to a safe public school within the local educational agency and procedures for such transfer, except that nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to require such notification where there are no other public schools within the local educational agency at the same grade level or such transfer to a safe public school within the local educational agency is otherwise impossible or to require a local educational agency that has only one public school within the local educational agency or only one public school at each grade level to develop such procedures. The commissioner shall be authorized to adopt any regulations deemed necessary to assure that local educational agencies implement the provisions of this subdivision.
§ 3...
§ 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2002 and shall expire and be deemed repealed June 30, 2003.