S 4787: Requires the commissioner of education to make a report on the extent of all existing resources and best practices available for swimming instruction classes in public schools and establish a working group on swimming education.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4787 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE February 12, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SANDERS -- 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 reporting on swimming education in a public school; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration thereof 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 819 to 2 read as follows: 3 § 819. Swimming education. (a) Within one year of the effective date 4 of this section, the commissioner shall allocate monies from existing 5 budgetary resources to inventory and report to the education committee 6 of the legislature on the extent of all existing resources and best 7 practices available for swimming instruction classes in public schools. 8 (b) The commissioner shall establish a working group on swimming 9 education which shall be composed of not more than fifteen individuals 10 representing interested stakeholders, including: 11 (i) the commissioner or their designee; 12 (ii) physical education teachers who teach at any grade level from 13 kindergarten through twelve; 14 (iii) school administrators who work at an elementary school, middle 15 school or high school; 16 (iv) members of school board associations; 17 (v) individuals who represent not-for-profit recreational and fitness 18 organizations across the state; 19 (vi) individuals who represent public park and recreation departments 20 across the state; and 21 (vii) any other stakeholder the commissioner deems necessary, includ- 22 ing but not limited to, community members who are underserved and 23 disproportionately impacted by the current distribution of swimming 24 resources in their public school districts. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00597-01-5 
 S. 4787 2 1 (c) Eighteen months after the effective date of this section, the 2 working group on swimming education shall submit a report to the educa- 3 tion committee, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of 4 the assembly, of such working group's findings and recommendations 5 regarding resources, personnel and any other costs needed to make swim- 6 ming instruction available in all public schools for children of all 7 ages. Such report shall consider the commissioner's report pursuant to 8 subdivision (a) of this section. 9 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be 10 deemed repealed six months after the working group on swimming education 11 reports its findings and recommendations to the legislature pursuant to 12 subdivision (c) of section 817 of the education law as added by section 13 one of this act; provided that the commissioner of education shall noti- 14 fy the legislative bill drafting commission upon the submission of the 15 report required in subdivision (c) of section 817 of the education law 16 as added by section one of this act in order that the commission may 17 maintain an accurate and timely effective data base of the official text 18 of the laws of the state of New York in furtherance of effectuating the 19 provisions of section 44 of the legislative law and section 70-b of the 20 public officers law.