New York A 1080: Establishes a mandatory statewide, classroom-based water safety education program

Bill Text

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A01080 Summary:

BILL NOA01080A

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SAME ASSAME AS S09480

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SPONSORPheffer Amato

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COSPNSRHyndman, Zinerman, Buttenschon, Otis, Simon, Anderson, Paulin, Rosenthal, Lunsford, Raga,
 Seawright, Kelles, Gonzalez-Rojas, Epstein

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MLTSPNSR

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Add §804-e, Ed L

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Establishes a mandatory statewide, classroom-based water safety education program; provides that the commissioner of education shall work with New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance certified educators to develop and promulgate a statewide, age-appropriate, classroom-based water safety education guidance document; provides that within twenty-four months of the effective date of the bill, the department of education shall initiate statewide implementation of water safety education; provides that instruction shall be classroom-based and waterless and shall not require student access to aquatic facilities, swimming instruction, or in-water assessment.

Go to top A01080 Actions:

BILL NOA01080A

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01/08/2025referred to education

01/07/2026referred to education

02/26/2026amend (t) and recommit to education

02/26/2026print number 1080a

Go to topA01080 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topA01080 Floor&nbspVotes:

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

Go to topA01080 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 1080--A

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN ASSEMBLY

 January 8, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by M. of A. PHEFFER AMATO, HYNDMAN, ZINERMAN, BUTTENSCHON,
 OTIS, SIMON, ANDERSON, PAULIN, ROSENTHAL, LUNSFORD, RAGA, SEAWRIGHT,
 KELLES, GONZALEZ-ROJAS -- read once and referred to the Committee on
 Education -- recommitted to the Committee on Education in accordance
 with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended,
 ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

 AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing a manda-
 tory statewide, classroom-based water safety education program

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

 1 Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature hereby
 2 finds that:
 3 1. accidental drowning is a leading cause of preventable injury and
 4 death among children and adolescents, and disproportionately impacts
 5 communities with limited access to aquatic education and safety
 6 resources.
 7 2. access to foundational water safety knowledge is a matter of public
 8 health and safety, comparable to fire safety, traffic safety, and emer-
 9 gency preparedness education.
 10 3. longstanding inequities in access to swimming instruction and
 11 aquatic facilities necessitate a classroom-based, waterless approach to
 12 water safety education to ensure universal reach.
 13 4. establishing a state-developed, statewide water safety guidance
 14 document will promote consistency, equity, and accountability across
 15 public schools and early-childhood education settings.
 16 5. time is of the essence with New York state geography and climate
 17 changing, our extensive coastlines, rivers, lakes and increasing expo-
 18 sure to extreme weather and flooding, all New Yorkers across all regions
 19 face evolving water-related risks.
 20 It is therefore the intent of the legislature to require the develop-
 21 ment and implementation of a statewide, age-appropriate, classroom-based

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD02436-02-6

 A. 1080--A 2

 1 water safety education, integrated into existing educational frameworks,
 2 and delivered equitably to students throughout New York state. This is
 3 essential to scaling proven drowning prevention measures that are
 4 currently inaccessible to children in our most resource-limited neigh-
 5 borhoods.
 6 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 804-e to
 7 read as follows:
 8 § 804-e. Statewide water safety education program in public schools.
 9 1. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms
 10 shall have the following meanings:
 11 (a) "water safety education" shall mean age-appropriate instruction
 12 designed to equip students with knowledge and decision-making skill