NY S00443

Permits boards of education in union free and central school districts wholly or partially within Orange County to establish 3-9 wards (for union free districts) or 5, 7, or 9 wards (for central districts) for electing individual trustees or board members by ward, subject to voter referendum.

Requires the board to pass a resolution at least 180 days before the referendum that assesses whether the ward system would cause historic disenfranchisement or discrimination based on race, gender, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation, and mandates at least three public hearings.

Establishes requirements for ward boundaries to be contiguous, contain approximately equal populations, conform to school attendance zones and geographic boundaries, and retain contiguous communities of interest, with maps filed with district clerks and county boards of elections within 10 days.

Allows trustees or board members to be elected for 3, 4, or 5-year terms with initial staggered terms, and requires wards to be redefined or reconfirmed following each federal decennial census with voter approval; districts may also abolish the ward system by referendum.

Provides that polling locations must accommodate at least one location per 15,000 eligible voters with hours between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m., and all existing provisions of education law apply except as modified by this act.