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Bill

S 9861

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

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Pete Harckham and 1 co-sponsor

Adds a non-voting ex-officio faculty/staff member to each NY community college board with same privileges as voting members.

REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION
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Bill Summary · S 9861

Summary of Bill S. 9861 (2025-2026) – New York

Purpose and Intent

  • The bill amends the Education Law to include a faculty or staff member as an ex-officio, non-voting member of the board of trustees for each New York community college. This addition would run alongside the existing student member and other voting and non-voting participants.
  • The overall aim appears to broaden governance representation on community college boards by incorporating a faculty/staff voice into deliberations, while preserving the governance structure and voting rights of current members.

Key Provisions and Changes

Section 1: Community College Boards of Trustees

  • Current structure: Boards consist of ten or eleven members, with several appointed by local sponsors/government, one student member (one-year term, initially nine months), and one ex-officio non-voting faculty/staff member (two-year term; term starting July 27, 2027 under this bill’s schedule).
  • Change: Adds a faculty or staff member as an ex-officio, non-voting member who shall have the same parliamentary privileges as voting members (e.g., making motions, placing items on the agenda). This is in addition to the student member and other trustees.
  • Election/appointment specifics: Student member elections follow rules set by campus student associations per State University guidelines; faculty/staff member elections follow rules set by the largest faculty organization on each campus.
  • Term details: The initial terms for the new faculty/staff member would commence July 1, 2027. The governor’s initial appointments and local appointments are described with staggered term lengths (two, four, six, eight years for governor appointments; one, three, five, seven, nine years for local appointments).
  • Vacancies: Filled in the same manner as original selections.
  • Miscellaneous: The board selects its own chair; trustees are non-compensated but reimbursed for actual expenses. Provisions for ethics, disclosure, and professional activity restrictions apply.

Section 2: Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and Related Alignment

  • The bill makes parallel augmentations to governance for FIT and related regional governance provisions, ensuring consistency with the new ex-officio faculty/staff member concept, including similar term commencements (notably July 27, 2027 for FIT’s faculty/staff ex-officio member if applicable, though the excerpt also shows historical and transitional language for FIT that may require careful parsing).
  • The structure for FIT mirrors the community college model in terms of ex-officio faculty/staff and student members, with identical rights and responsibilities.

Section 3: Regional Boards of Trustees

  • Revisions to governance language for community college regions and Jamestown region to reflect the inclusion of a faculty/staff member as ex-officio, non-voting, with the same privileges and obligations as other board members.
  • Specific term schedules and appointment patterns are updated to align with the new governance structure.

Section 4: Effective Date

  • The act would take effect immediately upon enactment.

Who Would Be Affected

  • All New York community colleges (and specific provisions for FIT and Jamestown region) would add a faculty or staff ex-officio, non-voting trustee.
  • Student governance processes and campus faculty organizations would be involved in the election and regulation of the new ex-officio member.
  • Governing bodies and regional boards would adopt the updated term schedules, appointment processes, and governance norms.

Procedural and Timeline Highlights

  • Initial appointments for the new ex-officio faculty/staff member would begin in July 2027.
  • Regional boards and FIT governance are aligned to reflect these changes, with transitional language for existing boards.
  • The bill is effective immediately if enacted.

Note: The text includes comprehensive structural and term-based adjustments beyond the core addition, ensuring consistency across community colleges, regional boards, and FIT.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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