New York S 2657: Establishes the bilingual teachers of tomorrow teacher recruitment and retention program

Status: REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE (as of 2026-01-28)

State: New York · Session: 2025-2026 · Bill: S 2657

Sponsors: Kevin S. Parker, Jeremy Cooney, John Liu, Lea Webb, Rachel May, Robert Jackson

Bill Text

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S02657 Summary:

BILL NOS02657 

&nbsp

SAME ASSAME AS A00334

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SPONSORPARKER

&nbsp

COSPNSRCOONEY, JACKSON, LIU, MAY, WEBB

&nbsp

MLTSPNSR

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Add §3615, Ed L

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Establishes the bilingual teachers of tomorrow teacher recruitment and retention program to attract and retain bilingual, certified teachers in schools with a bilingual teacher shortage; provides for grants and procedures for applying for such grants and eligibility requirements for fund distribution.

Go to top S02657 Actions:

BILL NOS02657 

&nbsp

01/22/2025REFERRED TO EDUCATION

01/28/20251ST REPORT CAL.210

02/03/20252ND REPORT CAL.

02/04/2025ADVANCED TO THIRD READING 

02/12/2025PASSED SENATE

02/12/2025DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY

02/12/2025referred to education

01/07/2026died in assembly

01/07/2026returned to senate

01/07/2026REFERRED TO EDUCATION

01/28/2026REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE

Go to topS02657 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topS02657 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topS02657 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 2657

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN SENATE

 January 22, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by Sens. PARKER, COONEY, JACKSON, LIU, MAY -- read twice and
 ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on
 Education

 AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing the
 bilingual teachers of tomorrow teacher recruitment and retention
 program

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 3615
 2 to read as follows:
 3 § 3615. Bilingual teachers of tomorrow teacher recruitment and
 4 retention program. 1. Definitions. a. The term "school with a bilingual
 5 teacher shortage" means a public school in which there was a shortage of
 6 bilingual, certified teachers in the previous school year and there is a
 7 projected shortage in the current school year as determined by the
 8 commissioner.
 9 b. The term "bilingual, certified teacher" means a teacher who holds a
 10 permanent or professional state teaching certificate appropriate to the
 11 teaching position, including the subject area if applicable, in which
 12 such teacher is to be employed and who is fully qualified to teach in a
 13 bilingual education program.
 14 c. The term "school district" shall mean a common, union free,
 15 central, central high school, or city school district.
 16 d. The term "board of education" shall mean the governing board of any
 17 public school or public school district defined in paragraph c of this
 18 subdivision.
 19 e. The term "year of service" shall mean ten months of continuous
 20 full-time service as a teacher during a school year, generally occurring
 21 between September first and June thirtieth.
 22 2. Application and funding. a. Grants shall be made to school
 23 districts for bilingual, certified teacher recruitment and retention

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD00170-01-5

 S. 2657 2

 1 activities necessary to increase the number of bilingual, certified
 2 teachers in schools with a bilingual teacher shortage.
 3 b. Such grants shall be awarded to school districts, within the limits
 4 of funds appropriated therefor, through a competitive process that takes
 5 into consideration the magnitude of any shortage of bilingual, certified
 6 teachers in the school district, the fiscal capacity of the district,
 7 and the number of new bilingual, certified teachers the school district
 8 intends to hire in the coming school year. Grants provided pursuant to
 9 this section shall be used only for the purposes enumerated in this
 10 section.
 11 c. Not more than sixty percent of the funds allocated pursuant to this
 12 section shall be made available to any one school district.
 13 d. Any school district receiving funds under this section shall main-
 14 tain any local effort in the current year equivalent to such effort in
 15 the base year for any local program related to the recruitment or
 16 retention of teachers or any program that has purposes that are similar
 17 to any purpose of this section or the district sh

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