STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
848
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 9, 2019
___________
Introduced by Sen. BENJAMIN -- 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 creating a gun
violence prevention program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "gun
2 violence prevention act".
3 § 2. Legislative intent. Gunshot injuries are a major cause of death
4 for children and adolescents in the United States, accounting for twelve
5 percent of all premature deaths. Further, for every young person who
6 dies as the result of a gunshot injury, five others are seriously
7 injured by a gunshot. Concentrated efforts in the areas of drug and
8 alcohol abuse prevention have demonstrated that preventive education can
9 reduce risks for youth. But although there are many drug prevention
10 programs, there are few gun violence prevention programs in existence.
11 The intent of the legislature in enacting the "gun violence prevention
12 act" is to implement a gun violence prevention program for school-aged
13 youth and their families to help young people to develop victim
14 prevention skills and to rehearse behaviors needed to manage problems,
15 such as conflict and peer pressure, non-violently, without guns. The
16 program would not oppose gun ownership or the well-supervised use of
17 guns for hunting or sport.
18 § 3. The education law is amended by adding a new section 3204-a to
19 read as follows:
20 § 3204-a. Gun violence prevention program. 1. The department, in
21 consultation with school districts, the department of health, the divi-
22 sion of criminal justice services, the department of environmental
23 conservation and any other educational organizations, is authorized and
24 directed to develop and make available to school districts a gun
25 violence prevention program. The program shall include: practical
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01800-01-9
S. 848 2
1 skills which students can use outside the classroom; opportunities for
2 self-reflection and role-play of students' coping mechanisms and
3 emotions; student-set goals for change; the development of competency
4 and leadership skills to address issues with peers and the community;
5 and parental and community involvement and support in the program.
6 2. Every school may instruct students in pre-kindergarten through
7 twelfth grade with respect to gun violence prevention using materials
8 provided by the department for such purpose. Each school electing to
9 provide such instruction may request information and resources therefor
10 from the department pursuant to this article.
11 3. The department shall provide a report to the governor and the
12 legislature on or before July first, two thousand twenty-two, assessing
13 the results of the gun violence prevention program established pursuant
14 to the provisions of this section. The report shall include findings as
15 to the program's impact on reducing gunshot injuries among children and
16 adolescents and shall offer recommendations as to whether the gun
17 violence prevention program should be expanded, modified or eliminated,
18 and whether or not other gun violence prevention programs should be
19 authorized.
20 § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
21 it shall have become a law.