Assembly BillIntroduced
A 7979: Enacts "Alexandra's law" to require school districts and charter schools to include in the curriculum or instruction teaching students how to recognize and react to rip currents, rip tides and undertows.
What A 7979 does, verified January 9, 2026
The bill aims to require school districts and charter schools to include instruction on recognizing and reacting to rip currents, rip tides, and undertows in their middle school and high school curricula. The instruction will be taught in consultation with the American Red Cross and other relevant agencies. School districts and charter schools are also required to establish policies and procedures for selecting instructional materials to implement this requirement. The bill will take effect on July 1, 2026, and will apply to schools starting from that date.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: referred to education (2026-01-07)Alert me
Quick answers about A 7979
- What is the current status of A 7979?
- As of January 9, 2026, A 7979 is recorded as "Introduced": it has been introduced and is waiting for its first committee hearing or floor vote. The last recorded action, on January 7, 2026, was "referred to education".
- Did A 7979 pass?
- Not yet. A 7979 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
- Who wrote A 7979, and where is it now?
- A 7979 was authored by Asm. Rebecca Seawright. Its committee of record is Assembly Education.
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions2 total · showing 2
| Jan. 07, 2026 | referred to education |
| Apr. 16, 2025 | referred to education |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, April 16, 2025 · 298 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7979 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY April 16, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SEAWRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring rip current, rip tide and undertow curriculum or instruction 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 "Alexandra's Law." 3 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 804-e to 4 read as follows: 5 § 804-e. Rip current, rip tide and undertow curriculum or instruction. 6 1. School districts and charter schools, in consultation with the Ameri- 7 can Red Cross and any other appropriate agency, shall include instruc- 8 tion on teaching students how to recognize and react to rip currents, 9 rip tides and undertows in an appropriate place in the curriculum of 10 middle school and high school students. 11 2. School districts and charter schools shall have policies and proce- 12 dures in place pertaining to the selection of instructional materials to 13 implement the requirements of subdivision one of this section. 14 § 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026 and shall apply to school 15 years commencing on or after such date. Effective immediately, the addi- 16 tion, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for 17 the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to 18 be made and completed on or before such effective date. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD11387-02-5
Text of A 7979 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions