S 5088: Requires school districts to have diversity, equity and inclusion officers to develop methods to diversify the personnel of the school district and to recommend changes to district policies and practices to reduce racial disparities in hiring school district employees, particularly teachers; requires boards of education to annually report information regarding such policies and practices to the department of education; requires the department of education to annually report such information to the legislature.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5088 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE February 18, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- 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 school district diver- sity, equity and inclusion officers The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 2101 of the education law, as 2 amended by chapter 107 of the laws of 1976, is amended to read as 3 follows: 4 1. Each common school district shall have one or three trustees as the 5 district determines, a collector except in first class towns and except 6 as may be otherwise provided by law, a diversity, equity and inclusion 7 officer, and if the district so decides a treasurer. 8 § 2. Section 2102 of the education law, as amended by chapter 737 of 9 the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows: 10 § 2102. Qualifications of officers. Every school district officer 11 must be able to read and write and must be a qualified voter of the 12 district; and each member of a board of education of a union free school 13 district, common school district or a central school district shall have 14 been a resident of the school district, or in the case of a person qual- 15 ified by subdivision three of section twenty hundred twelve of this 16 chapter to vote in a district election, a resident of the district or 17 reservation, for at least one year prior to the election. Notwithstand- 18 ing the provisions of any other general or special law to the contrary, 19 a school district treasurer, collector, diversity, equity and inclusion 20 officer or clerk need not be a resident of the school district to hold 21 such office in such district. 22 § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 2103 of the education law is amended to 23 read as follows: 24 1. No district superintendent or supervisor is eligible to the office 25 of trustee or member of a board of education, and no trustee or member EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00413-01-5 
 S. 5088 2 1 of a board of education can hold the office of district clerk, collec- 2 tor, diversity, equity and inclusion officer, treasurer or librarian, 3 except as otherwise provided by section twenty-one hundred thirty. 4 § 4. Section 2103 of the education law is amended by adding a new 5 subdivision 5 to read as follows: 6 5. An administrative employee of the school district shall be 7 appointed as the school district diversity, equity and inclusion offi- 8 cer. 9 § 5. The part heading of part 2 of article 43 of the education law is 10 amended to read as follows: 11 DISTRICT CLERK; TREASURER; DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION 12 OFFICER; COLLECTOR 13 § 6. The education law is amended by adding a new section 2131 to 14 read as follows: 15 § 2131. Duties of diversity, equity and inclusion officer. It shall 16 be the duty of the diversity, equity and inclusion officer of each 17 school district to develop methods to diversify the personnel of the 18 school district, with an emphasis on diversifying teaching staff. The 19 diversity, equity and inclusion officer shall annually review racial and 20 ethnic disparities within the school district and shall encourage and 21 assist in the recruitment and retention of a more racially and 22 ethnically diverse staff. The diversity, equity and inclusion officer 23 shall also review school district policies and practices and recommend 24 changes to such policies and practices to reduce racial and ethnic 25 disparities in hiring school district employees, particularly teachers. 26 The diversity, equity and inclusion officer shall publish an annual 27 report on the school district's plans, processes and progress in hiring 28 and retaining educators of color. Such report shall be presented to the 29 local board of education and shall be available to the public. 30 § 7. Section 1709 of the education law is amended by adding a new 31 subdivision 44 to read as follows: 32 44. To prepare a report in response to the annual report presented to 33 the board of education by the diversity, equity and inclusion officer 34 pursuant to section twenty-one hundred thirty-one of this title relating 35 to the school district's plans, processes and progress in hiring and 36 retaining educators of color and to submit such report to the depart- 37 ment. 38 § 8. Section 1804 of the education law is amended by adding a new 39 subdivision 13 to read as follows: 40 13. The board shall prepare a report in response to the annual report 41 presented to the board of education by the diversity, equity and inclu- 42 sion officer pursuant to section twenty-one hundred thirty-one of this 43 title relating to the school district's plans, processes and progress in 44 hiring and retaining educators of color and to submit such report to the 45 department. 46 § 9. Section 2503 of the education law is amended by adding a new 47 subdivision 22 to read as follows: 48 22. Shall prepare a report in response to the annual report presented 49 to the board of education by the diversity, equity and inclusion officer 50 pursuant to section twenty-one hundred thirty-one of this title relating 51 to the school district's plans, processes and progress in hiring and 52 retaining educators of color and to submit such report to the depart- 53 ment. 54 § 10. Section 2554 of the education law is amended by adding a new 55 subdivision 29 to read as follows: 
 S. 5088 3 1 29. To prepare a report in response to the annual report presented to 2 the board of education by the diversity, equity and inclusion officer 3 pursuant to section twenty-one hundred thirty-one of this title relating 4 to the school district's plans, processes and progress in hiring and 5 retaining educators of color and to submit such report to the depart- 6 ment. 7 § 11. Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding a new 8 subdivision 63 to read as follows: 9 63. The commissioner shall prepare an annual report based on the 10 reports submitted to the department by local boards of education on 11 school districts' plans, processes and progress in hiring and retaining 12 educators of color and shall submit such report to the legislature annu- 13 ally. 14 § 12. This act shall take effect immediately.