BILL NUMBER: S30
SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to allocating the Amistad
commission to work alongside the department of education and on behalf
of students in New York state; and to repeal certain provisions of the
arts and cultural affairs law relating to the Amistad commission
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Allocates the Amistad commission from cultural affairs law to education
law and requires instruction on their findings in grade school.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of this bill repeals existing article 57-B of the arts and
cultural affairs law.
Section 2 of this bill moves what was contained in article 57-B of the
arts and cultural affairs law into education law under article 25
section 1301 through section 1306.
Section 3 of this bill adds subdivision 3-a to section 801 of the educa-
tion law requiring that the board of regents shall prescribe courses on
the information and findings of the Amistad Commission.
Section 4 establishes a timeline for implementation without leaving our
state absent current law in our legal framework.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The Amistad Commission should be under state education law because it
aims to infuse the history of Africans and African Americans in to the
curriculum. It is important the education department has the legal
authority to oversee continued historical discovery and to share that
with our state's youth throughout our public and private schools before
students reach adulthood.
In New York, the Amistad Commission is charged with surveying school
curricula to find out how much is included about "the African slave
trade and slavery in America" and to make recommendations for improve-
ment, especially as it relates to New York's contributions both econom-
ically and historically. Currently, schools are required to cover slav-
ery, including the Underground Railroad and the freedom trail. This
bill would ensure the expansion of that curriculum, which is pivotal to
understanding American history.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023: S5334A Comrie/ A1939A Zinerman
2022: S9443 Comrie/ A9399 Zinerman
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:,
This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, that section
1305 of the education law, as added by section two of this act, and
subdivision 3--a of section 801 of the education law as added by section
three of this act shall take effect on July 2025.

Statutes affected:
S30: 801 education law