S 1349: Requires school districts to provide information regarding water safety to parents or students upon enrollment.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1349 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 9, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. CLEARE -- 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 school districts to provide information regarding water safety and swimming certification to certain parents or students upon enrollment The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 3205 of the education law is amended by adding a 2 new subdivision 4 to read as follows: 3 4. a. Beginning with the two thousand twenty-six--two thousand twen- 4 ty-seven school year, each school district shall provide, to a parent or 5 guardian who initially enrolls their child in the school, information on 6 the important role water safety education courses and swimming lessons 7 play in saving lives. The information must be provided electronically or 8 in hard copy and must include local options for age-appropriate water 9 safety courses and swimming lessons that result in a certificate indi- 10 cating successful completion, including courses and lessons offered for 11 free or at a reduced price. If the student is eighteen years of age or 12 older, or is under the age of twenty-one and is enrolling in adult 13 education classes, the information must be provided to the student. 14 b. For the purposes of this subdivision, the term "water safety" shall 15 mean age-appropriate education intended to promote safety in, on, and 16 around bodies of water and reduce the risk of injury, including fatal or 17 non-fatal drowning. 18 § 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD04032-01-5