Provides for the inclusion of a faculty or staff member on the board of trustees of community colleges, the official text

S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  4685--B
     Cal. No. 457
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 11, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sens. STAVISKY, HARCKHAM -- read twice and ordered print-
   ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Educa-
   tion -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered to  first  and
   second  report,  ordered  to  a  third  reading,  amended  and ordered
   reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading -- passed
   by Senate and delivered to the Assembly, recalled, vote  reconsidered,
   restored  to  third  reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining
   its place in the order of third reading
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to including a faculty or
   staff member on the board of trustees of community colleges
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  The opening paragraph of subdivision 1 of section 6306 of
 the education law, as amended by chapter 268 of the  laws  of  2003,  is
 amended to read as follows:
   Each  community  college,  except  in  the  city of New York, shall be
 administered by a board of trustees of [ten]  ELEVEN  members,  nine  of
 whom shall be appointed for terms of seven years in annual rotation, and
 [one member] TWO MEMBERS elected as herein provided, except that initial
 appointments  shall be made for terms of one to nine years respectively.
 Five members shall be appointed by the local legislative body or  board,
 or  other  appropriate  governing agency, one of whom may be a member of
 such local legislative body or board,  or  other  appropriate  governing
 agency,  four,  from among persons residing in the sponsoring community,
 by the governor and one member elected by and from among the students of
 the college who shall serve as a member of  the  board  for  a  one-year
 term,  provided,  however,  that  the  term  of the student member first
 elected shall be nine months commencing October first, nineteen  hundred
 seventy-five,  AND  ONE  OF  WHOM SHALL BE ELECTED BY AND FROM AMONG THE
 FACULTY AND STAFF OF THE COLLEGE, EX-OFFICIO AND NON-VOTING,  WHO  SHALL
 SERVE  A  TWO-YEAR TERM, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT THE TERM OF THE FACULTY
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00418-05-5
 S. 4685--B                          2
 
 OR STAFF MEMBER FIRST ELECTED SHALL COMMENCE JULY  FIRST,  TWO  THOUSAND
 TWENTY-SIX.  The  FACULTY  OR  STAFF  MEMBER AND student member shall be
 afforded the same parliamentary privileges as are conferred upon  voting
 members,  including  but  not  limited  to  the right to make and second
 motions and to place items on the agenda.  Such  FACULTY  OR  STAFF  AND
 student  [member]  MEMBERS  shall  be  subject to every provision of any
 general, special or local law, ordinance, charter, code, rule  or  regu-
 lation  applying  to  the  members  of  such  board  with respect to the
 discharge  of  their  duties  including,  but  not  limited  to,   those
 provisions  setting  forth  codes of ethics, disclosure requirements and
 prohibiting business and professional activities. The  election  of  the
 student  member  shall  be  conducted in accordance with rules and regu-
 lations promulgated by  the  respective  representative  campus  student
 association  in  accordance  with  guidelines  established  by the state
 university trustees. THE ELECTION OF THE FACULTY OR STAFF  MEMBER  SHALL
 BE CONDUCTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH RULES AND REGULATIONS PROMULGATED BY THE
 LARGEST  FACULTY  ORGANIZATION  ON  EACH  CAMPUS.  In the event that the
 student member ceases to be a student  at  the  institution,  [he]  THEY
 shall  be  required  to  resign.  IN THE EVENT THAT THE FACULTY OR STAFF
 MEMBER CEASES TO BE AN  EMPLOYEE  AT  THE  INSTITUTION,  THEY  SHALL  BE
 REQUIRED  TO  RESIGN.  The  governor's initial appointments shall be for
 terms of two, four, six and eight years respectively and those by  local
 authorities  for terms of one, three, five, seven and nine years respec-
 tively. Vacancies shall be filled for unexpired terms in the same manner
 as original selections by the authority  responsible  for  the  original
 selection.  The  board  shall select its own [chairman] CHAIR from among
 its voting membership. Where two or more  local  sponsors  join  in  the
 establishment  of a community college, the apportionment of the appoint-
 ments among them shall be made by the state university trustees.   Trus-
 tees shall receive no compensation for their services but shall be reim-
 bursed  for  their expenses actually and necessarily incurred by them in
 the performance of their duties under this  article.  Members  initially
 appointed  or elected under this subdivision to the board of trustees of
 any community college hereafter established shall take office immediate-
 ly upon their selection and qualification, but for purposes of determin-
 ing the expiration of their respective terms and the commencement of the
 terms of their successors, the term  of  office  of  each  such  initial
 member shall be deemed to have commenced on the first day of July of the
 year  in  which such college was established. The terms of office of all
 members of the boards  of  trustees  of  community  colleges  heretofore
 established, appointed or elected as provided in this subdivision, shall
 terminate on the thirtieth day of June of the calendar year within which
 such  terms  expire  under  the provisions of this subdivision as hereby
 amended. For the purpose of determining such year all initial  terms  of
 office  of  appointed  members  of  the  boards of trustees of community
 colleges heretofore established shall be deemed to have commenced on the
 first day of July of the year in which such  colleges  were  established
 and  the  terms  of  their  successors  for full terms, if any, shall be
 deemed to have commenced upon the expiration of the number of years from
 such date for which such initial appointments were made.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.