S 178: Establishes a school air conditioning system grant program to provide schools with funding to install air conditioning systems in certain areas; makes an appropriation therefor.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 178 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. PERSAUD -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing a school air conditioning system grant program; and making an appropriation therefor The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 409-o 2 to read as follows: 3 § 409-o. School air conditioning system grant program. 1. For purposes 4 of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings: 5 (a) "Covered area" shall include, but not be limited to, classrooms, 6 cafeterias, gymnasiums, libraries, and other areas in which students 7 congregate for educational purposes. 8 (b) "School" shall include, but not be limited to, a school district, 9 public school, board of cooperative educational services, special act 10 school district as defined in section four thousand one of this chapter, 11 approved preschool special education program pursuant to section forty- 12 four hundred ten of this chapter, schools and programs authorized by 13 articles eighty-one and eighty-nine of this chapter, or any public, 14 private or charter primary or secondary education school. 15 2. There is hereby established within the department a school air 16 conditioning system grant program. The purpose of the program shall be 17 to provide grants from amounts appropriated therefor to schools to 18 provide schools with funding for the installation of air conditioning 19 systems in covered areas. Grants shall be made with priority given to 20 schools that currently have no air conditioning systems in any covered 21 areas. 22 § 2. The sum of five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000) is hereby 23 appropriated to the department of education out of any moneys in the EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00865-01-5 
 S. 178 2 1 state treasury in the general fund to the credit of the local assistance 2 account, not otherwise appropriated, and made immediately available for 3 the sole purpose of administering a school air conditioning system grant 4 program to assist schools with installing air conditioning systems in 5 covered areas, pursuant to section one of this act. Such moneys shall be 6 payable on the audit and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers certi- 7 fied or approved by the commissioner of education in the manner 8 prescribed by law. 9 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.