Senate Education Committee advances 'Protect All Students' bill after debate over religious protections and parent notification

The New York State Senate Education Committee voted to advance S.4544, titled in the transcript "the Jackery Law Protect All Students Act," which would extend anti-bullying protections to students in nonpublic schools.

Committee Chair Shelley Mayer, chair of the Senate Education Committee, said the bill was developed after a family tragedy and that sponsors have amended the measure to address concerns from Catholic and Jewish school communities. "We do owe it to this family to move this bill along and continue to work on anythings that that have to be resolved," Mayer said.

The measure prompted sustained questioning from committee members about two specific deletions from earlier drafts: an explicit statement protecting religious exercise and a grant program that appeared in an assembly companion. One senator who identified concerns during the hearing said the previous language explicitly stated that "nothing in this section is intended to infringe upon the right of ... free exercise of religion" and urged reinserting such language; that provision was not in the current bill as amended. That same senator also argued parents should be notified when a child is the target of serious bullying, noting past cases where the absence of notification preceded tragedies. The senator said, "The number 1 most important people in the lives of our children are notified mandated wise when their child is being bullied in school." (Speaker in transcript not otherwise identified.)

Sponsor remarks in the hearing, as read by committee staff, said the sponsor has worked with nonpublic school communities and amended the bill to reduce burdens on them; Mayer said she understood why some members preferred including religious-protection language but added that the committee's understanding was the U.S. Constitution already protects religious schools' practices. "That provision that you're referencing is really a protection in the constitution ... so we believe that's protected already by the constitution," Mayer said.

Committee discussion also noted that an assembly version included a grant to help schools comply; committee members were told that the grant language had been removed, likely because the state budget process made new appropriations impractical at this time. Mayer said the sponsor was open to continuing negotiations on those points.

After debate, a motion to advance the bill was moved and seconded; the committee recorded a voice vote in which the bill was advanced (referred to finance). One senator voiced opposition on the record and said they preferred the measure be returned to earlier language and reconciled with the assembly version. The transcript records the motion to move the bill, a second, and a voice vote recorded as "Aye" with at least one recorded opponent; the bill was sent to the finance committee for further action.

The committee did not adopt language in the current version explicitly restating First Amendment protections for religious institutions, nor did it include a compliance grant. Committee leaders said those are open for further negotiation before final passage.

The committee hearing portion on S.4544 closed with the bill advancing to finance for further consideration.