Authorizes school district property to be used for not-for-profit dental clinics providing care to families in the district upon the approval of the trustees or board of education of a school district.

---

S1945-2013 Actions

• Jan 9, 2013: REFERRED TO EDUCATION

S1945-2013 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S1945

TITLE  OF  BILL:    An  act  to  amend the education law, in relation to
authorizing the use of schoolhouses and grounds by not-for-profit dental
clinics

PURPOSE:  To add not-for-profit health clinics and dental clinics to the
list of authorized uses of school grounds upon the approval of the trus-
tees or board of education of a school district.

SUMMARY:

Sections 1 and 2 of the bill amend section 414 of the Education  Law  to
add  health  clinics and dental clinics to the list of uses which may be
authorized on school grounds by the trustees or board of education of  a
school district. Such clinics serve families of the school district.

Section 3 establishes the effective date for the legislation.

EXISTING LAW:

Section 414 of the Education Law lists many uses of school grounds which
may  be  authorized  by  the  trustees or board of education of a school
district, including public libraries, teaching of the  arts,  recreation
and  physical  activities,  civic  forums, and child care services. This
bill would extend that list to allow not-for-profit health  clinics  and
dental clinics on school grounds at local option.

JUSTIFICATION:    Not-for-profit  health clinics and dental clinics have
been operating in many New York schools and have been promoted by feder-
al, state and local public health agencies as sound public health policy
and practice. However, current law is unclear as to whether such clinics
may be authorized by school districts.

For many children and their families, access to health and  dental  care
is  unreachable  because  of geographic, economic, language and cultural
barriers. This is compounded by a shortage of health and dental  profes-
sionals  in  many areas of the state. Programs such as the North Country
Children's Clinic are critical to promoting dental health to underserved
populations in the state and struggle with operational  costs.  Many  of
these  programs use portable dental equipment to provide dental services
in school settings.

This legislation would make it clear in the law, that  important  health
and  dental  programs  could  be  provided in those school districts who
wished to allow it.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:  S2778A of 2004 - Passed Senate  S7137  of  2012  -
referred to education

FISCAL  IMPLICATIONS:   None. Any services provided would be paid for by
existing federal, state or other programs and would  be  operated  on  a
not-for-profit basis.

LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately.

S1945-2013 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                    1945

                         2013-2014 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                                 (PREFILED)

                               January 9, 2013
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sen. RITCHIE -- 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 authorizing the use of
    schoolhouses and grounds by not-for-profit dental clinics

    THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
  BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


    Section  1.  Subdivision  1  of  section  414  of the education law is
  amended by adding a new paragraph (l) to read as follows:

    (L) FOR APPROVED SCHOOL DENTAL CLINICS.
    (I) FOR PURPOSES OF THIS PARAGRAPH THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL MEAN:

    (A) "APPROVED SCHOOL DENTAL CLINIC" MEANS A NOT-FOR-PROFIT CLINIC THAT
  WILL PROVIDE SERVICES DURING SCHOOL HOURS  AND/OR  NON-SCHOOL  HOURS  TO
  SCHOOL-AGE AND PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN.
    (B)  "SERVICES"  MEANS  DENTAL SERVICES AND SHALL NOT INCLUDE INSTRUC-
  TIONAL SERVICES UNLESS THE INDIVIDUAL IS CERTIFIED OR LICENSED TO TEACH.
    (C) "SCHOOL" MEANS A PUBLIC  SCHOOL  DISTRICT,  BOARD  OF  COOPERATIVE
  EDUCATIONAL SERVICES OR COUNTY VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND EXTENSION BOARD.
    (II)  HEALTH  PROFESSIONALS  WHO  PROVIDE  SERVICES IN APPROVED SCHOOL
  DENTAL HEALTH CLINICS SHALL BE DULY LICENSED PURSUANT TO THE  PROVISIONS
  OF  TITLE  EIGHT  OF THIS CHAPTER, UNLESS OTHERWISE EXEMPTED BY LAW, AND
  SHALL BE AUTHORIZED TO PROVIDE SUCH SERVICES TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED  BY
  THEIR RESPECTIVE PRACTICE ACTS.
    (III)  EXCEPT WHERE OTHERWISE AUTHORIZED BY LAW, THE COST OF PROVIDING
  DENTAL HEALTH SERVICES PURSUANT TO THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL NOT BE A  CHARGE
  UPON  THE  SCHOOL DISTRICT.   BUILDING SPACE USED EXCLUSIVELY FOR SUCH A
  CLINIC SHALL BE EXCLUDED FROM THE RATED CAPACITY OF THE SCHOOL  BUILDING
  FOR THE PURPOSE OF COMPUTING BUILDING AID PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION SIX OF
  SECTION THIRTY-SIX HUNDRED TWO OF THIS CHAPTER.
    S  2. Subdivision 2 of section 414 of the education law, as amended by
  chapter 513 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:


   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD02396-01-3

 S. 1945                             2

    2. The trustees or board of education shall determine  the  terms  and
  conditions  for  such use which may include rental at least in an amount
  sufficient to cover all resulting expenses for  the  purposes  of  para-
  graphs  (a),  (b),  (c),  (d),  (e), (g), (i), (j) [and], (k) AND (L) of
  subdivision  one  of  this section. Any such use, pursuant to paragraphs
  (a), (c), (d), (h) [and],  (j)  AND  (L)  of  subdivision  one  of  this
  section,  shall  not  allow  the  exclusion of any district child solely
  because said child is not attending a district school or  not  attending
  the district school which is sponsoring such use or on which grounds the
  use is to occur.
    S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.