Assemblyman Zebrowski’s School Fire Safety Reform Legislation Passes Assembly

The bill reforms the current, outdated law to ensure inspection of schools and filing of fire safety reports to the State Education Department

Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski (D-New City) announced that his legislation to reform fire safety inspections in public and private schools has once again passed the Assembly (A.2985A). Assemblyman Zebrowski has been a leader in improving fire safety in schools for years and this marks the second time that the bill has passed since being introduced. The legislation modernizes the process of conducting annual fire inspections to improve safety as well as respond to the evolving technology in today’s society.

The reforms include: clarifies that only qualified individuals may conduct inspections, provides schools flexibility in regard to the public notice requirements by allowing them to post inspection notices electronically, and removes the “hold harmless’ provision that does not hold inspectors who made errors on inspection reports liable. The legislation also ensures proper oversight over the fire safety report (FSR) process by empowering the Commissioner of Education to inspect schools with delinquent FSRs.

“These are long-overdue and necessary reforms that will bring our current laws up-to-date with today’s basic fire and safety requirements. In the year 2018, every student in New York State must be learning in a safe structure. Parents have enough to worry about when it comes to their kids, having reservations whether the school they send them every day is structurally sound or not should not be one of them,” said Assemblyman Zebrowski.

Current law requires that both public and private schools submit an annual fire safety report however; there is no recourse for schools that fail to submit in a timely manner or do not submit at all. Currently, the Commissioner has the authority to take action if a public school fails to comply with the inspection requirement, but there is no similar process for private schools. This legislation codifies the recourse for a public school’s failure to file a timely FSR by possible revocation of the school’s certificate of occupancy, which SED issues. The bill also establishes a process for private schools: if they do not file an FSR within 90 days of the December 16th deadline, the Commissioner shall order the school to be inspected. If they refuse the inspection, SED must notify the local government, who issues the certificate of occupancy, of their non-compliance.

“This legislation gives the State Education Department and Commissioner of Education the necessary authority to take action and keep our kids safe. It is imperative that there is a clear process in place when schools fail to adhere to inspection requirements. This bill truly modernizes the inspection process and provides assurances that we are sending our students to thoroughly vetted and safe buildings,” concluded Assemblyman Zebrowski.

Zebrowski’s bill also includes modern updates to help improve compliance. It streamlines communication between schools and the State Education Department when filing fire safety reports. The legislation encourages the integration of technology by allowing SED to electronically send FSR forms and allowing schools to satisfy notice requirements by posting the notice on their website.

The bill is now in the Senate, where Senator David Carlucci carries the legislation.