This bill updates a previous resolution to reappropriate state funds for the 2026 fiscal year to support school districts, public libraries, colleges, and arts organizations. It allows these funds to be distributed according to a specific plan that lists each recipient and their share, which must be approved by the Senate president and the budget director. The plan must then be ratified by a majority vote of the entire Senate before the money can be spent. Additionally, the bill permits transferring these funds between relevant agencies like the State Education Department and the City University of New York as needed.
This bill lowers the compulsory school age from six to five years old for full-time instruction in New York State. It requires children who turn five on or before December 1st to start school in September of that year, while those turning five after December 1st can begin the following September. Parents may choose to delay kindergarten enrollment until the next September, and the bill maintains exceptions for high school completers and full-time workers. The change affects all school districts and parents of five-year-old children.
This bill prohibits public and nonpublic schools, including charter schools, from purchasing or using biometric identifying technology like facial recognition for most purposes. The law allows exceptions for fingerprinting prospective employees to comply with education laws, logging into digital devices for academic use, and identifying employees who have provided written consent or whose unions have consented. The bill requires the director of the state education department to prepare a detailed report analyzing privacy risks, civil rights impacts, security effectiveness, data retention, breach risks, costs, and other factors before any such technology can be authorized for school use. This report must be made public and shared with state leaders while seeking feedback from teachers, parents, safety experts, and privacy advocates through public hearings.
Establishes the mental health educational opportunity program and the mental health higher educational opportunity program to provide additional educational opportunities for students at certain universities and colleges in the state to enroll in academic programs that lead to a degree or degrees required for licensure in any of the mental health professions.
Authorizes the commissioner of taxation and finance to establish segment special equalization rates starting in fiscal year 2026 for the Amityville Union Free School District and Farmingdale Union Free School District for the segments of the districts in the towns of Babylon and Oyster Bay.
Provides that for the purposes of educational leave, an eligible incarcerated individual shall include an incarcerated individual who is within two years of being an eligible incarcerated individual.
Requires the administration of certain vaccines for children in accordance with regulations issued by the commissioner, utilizing generally accepted medical standards and based on recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Physicians, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or other similar nationally or internationally recognized scientific organizations.
Requires anti-bias training for every medical student, medical resident and physician assistant student in the state; requires the department of health to make an annual report on the implementation and effectiveness of such training.
Enacts the "public university emergency contraception education act" requiring public universities to develop, produce and distribute informational materials related to emergency contraception.
This bill (S 6155) modifies New York's Excelsior Scholarship program to help current recipients maintain eligibility as their income grows. It allows the maximum allowable adjusted gross income threshold to increase by up to 3% annually after the first semester of receiving the scholarship, rather than requiring students to stay below a fixed income limit. The state education corporation (the "corporation") will review and determine if this annual 3% increase (or further increases at its discretion) prevents disqualification due to rising household income. This directly affects undergraduate students at New York state public colleges who currently receive the Excelsior Scholarship and experience typical annual income growth.
