§ 3611 — Racial and cultural awareness fund

§ 3611. Racial and cultural awareness fund. 1. There is hereby\nestablished in the joint custody of the state comptroller and the\ncommissioner of taxation and finance a fund to be known as the racial\nand cultural awareness fund.\n 2. Such fund shall consist of all revenues received from any source,\npublic or private, for the purposes provided in this section and all\nother moneys credited or transferred thereto from any other fund or\nsource pursuant to law. No monies from the state general fund shall be\ntransferred to, or otherwise made available for deposit into this fund.\n 3. Moneys of the fund, following appropriation by the legislature, may\nbe expended for operational and planning grants to local school\ndistricts to promote racial and cultural understanding and awareness, as\nprovided in this section. Moneys shall be paid out of the fund on the\naudit and warrant of the state comptroller on vouchers certified or\napproved by the commissioner.\n 4. A school district, or two or more school districts acting jointly,\nshall be eligible to receive a planning or operational grant, or both,\npursuant to the provisions of this section for the purposes of\ndeveloping and implementing programs designed to meet local needs in the\nreduction and prevention of racial and cultural conflict, such programs\nto be approved by the commissioner in accordance with regulations\nadopted by him for such purpose. A school district which applies for a\nplanning grant pursuant to subdivision five of this section for such new\nprograms shall not be eligible for an operational grant pursuant to\nsubdivision six of this section until the school year following the year\nin which the planning grant was received. For purposes of this section\nas applied within the city of New York, such city school district shall\nbe eligible for multiple awards on behalf of each community school\ndistrict or high school district as though each was a separate school\ndistrict.\n 5. A school district shall be eligible to apply for a planning grant\non a one-year competitive basis for the purpose of planning for the\nimplementation of programs for prevention and reduction of racial and\ncultural conflict. Applications shall be evaluated on a competitive\nbasis and such grants shall be awarded accordingly. Applications shall\ninclude the planning budget and program description for prevention and\nreduction of racial and cultural conflict. A school district which\nreceives a competitive planning grant and implements a successful\nplanning program shall be eligible to apply for a two-year operational\ngrant. Reports may be required for the purposes of program evaluation.\n 6. A school district shall be eligible to receive an operational grant\nover a two-year period as provided in this section for programs for the\nprevention and reduction of racial and cultural conflict. First-year\napplications shall be evaluated on a competitive basis and grants shall\nbe awarded accordingly. Both first-year applications and continuing\napplications shall include the operating budget and program description\nfor prevention and reduction of racial and cultural conflict for\napproval of the proposed program and the estimated expenditures for the\ncurrent year. Reports may be required as necessary for the purposes of\nprogram evaluation.\n 7. An advisory committee shall be established and assigned to the\ndepartment to consult, review and make recommendations concerning\npolicy, procedure, program content and community needs. Such advisory\ncommittee shall consist of ten members appointed by the commissioner.\nSuch appointees shall include representatives from civil/human rights\norganizations; educators; community-based organizations and members of\nparent associations.\n 8. The commissioner may adopt rules and regulations as are necessary\nand appropriate to carry out the provisions of this section.\n 9. The commissioner shall issue an annual report to the legislature\nconcerning the overall and individual programs, detailing their impact;\nand shall include any report or materials produced by the advisory\ncommittee.\n