Bill > A1458

Introduced Session

This bill requires a board of education of a school district in which classrooms or other facilities used by students have electrically operated partitions installed after the bill's effective date to ensure that these partitions comply with the following: (1) the partition is equipped with two key-operated, tamper-proof, control stations that are located at opposite ends and opposite sides of, and in view of, the partition, and which are designed and constructed to require simultaneous activation of both control stations to operate the partition; (2) the electric device controlling the operation of the partition is capable of being reversed at any point in the extend or stack travel cycle; and (3) devices are provided for all partitions that will stop the forward or backward motion of the partition and stop the stacking motion of the partition when an object passes between the leading panel of the partition and a termination point, or when an object is in the stacking area of the partition. Additionally, the bill requires that the boards of education of school districts with electrically operated partitions installed prior to the effective date of the bill that do not have the above safety features comply with the following: (1) the partition will not be operated while students or other individuals, other than the required operators, are present in the space being divided; (2) the partition will only be operated by individuals appropriately trained in the safe operation of the partition; and (3) appropriate signage stating these requirements will be posted adjacent to each partition operating mechanism. The bill would also require that the board of education of a school district in which classrooms or other facilities used by students have electrically operated partitions ensure that: (1) notice regarding the safe and proper operation and supervision of the partition will be posted in the immediate vicinity of the partition; (2) a procedure is established for the notification of all school employees and all other persons who regularly make use of the area in which the partition is located of the safe and proper procedure for the operation of the partition. Staff will also be trained in the safe operation of the partition; (3) students will not be permitted to operate the partition. Students may be present while the partition is being operated only if the safety features detailed in subsection a. of the bill are installed. Any students present will be required to be under the direct supervision of trained staff; and (4) safety features will not be tampered with and all equipment will be maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. Additionally, all equipment will be installed in a fail-safe manner so that the failure of any safety device renders the electrically operated partition inoperable until the device is repaired. The bill imposes the safety feature requirements only in the case of electrically operated partitions installed in public school buildings after the effective date of the bill. Additionally, the bill specifies the conditions under which a partition installed prior to the bill's effective date may be operated if it has not been modified to include the safety features required on newly installed partitions.

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Paul Moriarty (D)*,  Joseph Egan (D), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee (on 01/14/2020)