New York S 4080: Requires school districts to establish a language assistance program for limited English proficient parents of students

Bill Text

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S04080 Summary:

BILL NOS04080 

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SAME ASNo Same As

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SPONSORPARKER

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COSPNSR

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MLTSPNSR

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Amd §305, Ed L

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Requires school districts to establish a language assistance program for limited English proficient parents of students; requires record keeping and annual reporting; permits districts to jointly establish such programs.

Go to top S04080 Actions:

BILL NOS04080 

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01/31/2025REFERRED TO EDUCATION

01/07/2026REFERRED TO EDUCATION

Go to topS04080 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topS04080 Floor&nbspVotes:

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

Go to topS04080 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 4080

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN SENATE

 January 31, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- 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 requiring public
 school districts to provide language assistance to limited English
 proficient parents of students

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

 1 Section 1. Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding a new
 2 subdivision 63 to read as follows:
 3 63. a. All school districts shall establish a language assistance
 4 program where limited English proficient parents would have effective
 5 access to communicate with teachers and school personnel. This compre-
 6 hensive program shall include, but is not limited to:
 7 (1) Providing that all frequently used forms and other written materi-
 8 als that are sent home to limited English proficient parents in their
 9 primary language;
 10 (2) Providing language assistance to limited English proficient
 11 parents in their primary language who call or come into school with
 12 concerns related to their child's schooling;
 13 (3) Providing language assistance services to limited English profi-
 14 cient parents in their primary language to facilitate parent attendance
 15 at school-sponsored programs designed for communication with parents
 16 including, but not limited to, parent-teacher conferences, workshops and
 17 school fairs.
 18 b. A notice of the availability of the language assistance programs
 19 for limited English proficient parents established pursuant to paragraph
 20 a of this subdivision shall be mailed to the homes of such limited
 21 English proficient parents in a notice written in their primary
 22 language.
 23 c. Each school district shall keep a record documenting its language
 24 assistance program and shall submit a summary report annually to the

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD02241-02-5

 S. 4080 2

 1 commissioner. Such record and report shall include, but not be limited
 2 to:
 3 (1) The number of limited English proficient parents who receive such
 4 assistance;
 5 (2) The number of limited English proficient households where one
 6 parent is English language proficient; and
 7 (3) The number of complaints filed by limited English proficient
 8 parents; and
 9 (4) The number of bilingual personnel used to assist in the language
 10 assistance and translation services.
 11 d. The commissioner shall promulgate such rules and regulations as may
 12 be necessary and proper to implement the provisions of this subdivision,
 13 including but not limited to, the methodology to be used by each school
 14 district to determine or assess the primary languages, the number of
 15 limited English proficient parents, the percentage of limited English
 16 proficient parents to students and the native language of such limited
 17 English proficient parents, and a complaint procedure for any parent who
 18 alleges a school's non-compliance with the provisions of this subdivi-
 19 sion.
 20 e. For purposes of this subdivision:
 21 (1) "Primary language" means one of the five most common languages in
 22 a school district, other than English, (i) spoken and used to communi-
 23 cate, by limited English proficient parents and (ii) non-English speak-
 24 ing residents or limited English proficient parents constitutes more
 25 than five percent of the residents of a school dist