Committee advances bill requiring cultural competency module in basic training for first responders
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Summary
The Finance Committee advanced S518c (Prasad), which would add cultural competency content to basic and pre-employment training for police, sheriffs, firefighters, corrections and emergency medical personnel, requiring the content to comprise 5% of basic training.
The New York State Senate Finance Committee on Jan. 20 advanced S518c, a bill to add cultural competency training to the basic and pre‑employment curricula for state and municipal police, sheriffs, members of fire departments, correction officers, and emergency medical technicians.
Committee discussion focused on what ‘‘cultural competency’’ would require in already crowded training schedules. A bill representative described the proposed content as sensitivity training covering race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age and disability, and said it would amount to 5% of any basic training course.
An unidentified senator questioned how the new requirement would fit alongside existing mandatory trainings such as de‑escalation, asking, "I just don't understand what cultural competency training would look like in a field that is already crowded with a lot of requirements." Senator Mann, who represents districts with diverse EMS providers, said the bill was a "modest improvement" that would help responders in communities where language and cultural differences are common.
Senator Jeremy Cooney moved the bill in committee and Senator Bailey seconded it; the committee approved the measure by voice vote and reported it to the Senate floor. No amendments were adopted in committee.
Supporters said the requirement aims to improve on-the-ground interactions between responders and diverse communities; sponsors and staff indicated they would provide implementing guidance and curricula details as the bill moves forward.
