New York S 4978: Establishes September fourth as "Mother Teresa Remembrance Day"

Bill Text

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 Speaker Carl E. Heastie

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S04978 Summary:

BILL NOS04978 

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SAME ASSAME AS A05821

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SPONSORCOMRIE

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COSPNSR

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MLTSPNSR

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Amd §§3006-a & 711, add §§286 & 756, Ed L

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Enacts the "media literacy act"; requires teachers and library media specialists to complete professional development related to media literacy education; requires a school library media specialist in each elementary, intermediate, middle, junior high and senior high school; directs the commissioner of education to appoint a media literacy advisory committee to study the teaching of media literacy; creates a media literacy advisory committee to annually review policy and procedures on media literacy.

Go to top S04978 Actions:

BILL NOS04978 

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02/14/2025REFERRED TO EDUCATION

01/07/2026REFERRED TO EDUCATION

Go to topS04978 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topS04978 Floor&nbspVotes:

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

Go to topS04978 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 4978

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN SENATE

 February 14, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- 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 enacting the "media
 literacy act"

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

 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
 2 the "media literacy act".
 3 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 3006-a of the education law, as added by
 4 section 2 of subpart C of part EE of chapter 56 of the laws of 2015, is
 5 amended and a new subdivision 4 is added to read as follows:
 6 2. a. During each five-year registration period beginning on or after
 7 July first, two thousand sixteen, an applicant for registration shall
 8 successfully complete a minimum of one hundred hours of continuing
 9 teacher and leader education, as defined by the commissioner. The
 10 department shall issue rigorous standards for courses, programs, and
 11 activities, that shall qualify as continuing teacher and leader educa-
 12 tion pursuant to this section. For purposes of this section, a peer
 13 review teacher, or a principal acting as an independent trained evalu-
 14 ator, conducting a classroom observation as part of the teacher evalu-
 15 ation system pursuant to section three thousand twelve-d of this article
 16 may credit such time towards [his or her] their continuing teacher and
 17 leader effectiveness requirements.
 18 b. During each five-year registration period beginning on or after a
 19 date which shall be determined by the commissioner, any teacher who is
 20 an applicant for registration shall successfully complete a minimum of
 21 five hours of professional development related to media literacy educa-
 22 tion and any library media specialist shall complete a minimum of
 23 fifteen hours of professional development related to media literacy
 24 education, as defined by the commissioner. Such professional develop-
 25 ment related to media literacy education shall be counted toward the one

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD05708-01-5

 S. 4978 2

 1 hundred hours of continuing teacher and leader education required by
 2 paragraph a of this subdivision. The commissioner shall require that:
 3 (i) professional development related to media literacy education
 4 incorporates the principles and practices of the department's culturally
 5 responsive-sustaining framework;
 6 (ii) professional development related to media literacy education is
 7 provided by or in coordination with a library media specialist or an
 8 employee from a school district's library system in every school
 9 district;
 10 (iii) library media specialists in every school district receive
 11 specific training in how to provide professional development related to
 12 media literacy education to teachers of all grade levels and subject
 13 areas contained in their schools, which shall include instruction on how
 14 to effectively integrate media literacy education into such teachers'
 15 curricula; and
 16 (iv) the department creates and provides model curr