N.Y. Education Law § 809: Instruction in the humane treatment of animals

§ 809. Instruction in the humane treatment of animals. 1. The officer,

board or commission authorized or required to prescribe courses of

instruction shall cause instruction to be given in every elementary

school under state control or supported wholly or partly by public money

of the state, in the humane treatment and protection of animals and the

importance of the part they play in the economy of nature as well as the

necessity of controlling the proliferation of animals which are

subsequently abandoned and caused to suffer extreme cruelty. Such

instruction shall be for such period of time during each school year as

the board of regents may prescribe and may be joined with work in

literature, reading, language, nature study or ethnology. Such weekly

instruction may be divided into two or more periods. A school district

shall not be entitled to participate in the public school money on

account of any school or the attendance at any school subject to the

provisions of this section, if the instruction required hereby is not

given therein.

2. Study and care of live animals. Any school which cares for or uses

animals for study shall ensure that each animal in such school be

afforded the following: appropriate quarters; sufficient space for the

normal behavior and postural requirements of the species; proper

ventilation, lighting, and temperature control; adequate food and clean

drinking water; and quarters which shall be cleaned on a regular basis

and located in an area where undue stress and disturbance are minimized.

3. Application. The provisions of this section shall not be construed

to prohibit or constrain vocational instruction in the normal practice

of animal husbandry, or prohibit or constrain instruction in

environmental education activities as established by the department of

environmental conservation.

4. Dissection of animals. Any student expressing a moral or religious

objection to the performance or witnessing of the dissection of an

animal, either wholly or in part, shall be provided the opportunity to

undertake and complete an alternative project that shall be approved by

such student's teacher; provided, however, that such objection is

substantiated in writing by the student's parent or legal guardian.

Students who perform alternative projects who do not perform or witness

the dissection of animals shall not be penalized. The board of education

or trustees of a school district shall develop a policy to give

reasonable notice to all students enrolled in a course that includes the

dissection of an animal and students' parents or legal guardians about

their rights under this subdivision. Such notice shall be made available

upon request at the school and distributed to parents and students

enrolled in a course that includes dissection at least once at the

beginning of the school year.

5. Treatment of live vertebrate animals. a. Except as provided for in

this subdivision, no school district, school principal, administrator,

or teacher shall require or permit the performance of a lesson or

experimental study on a live vertebrate animal in any such school or

during any activity conducted under the auspices of such school whether

or not the activity takes place on the premises of such school where

such lesson or experimental study employs: (i) micro-organisms which

cause disease in humans or animals, (ii) ionizing radiation, (iii) known

cancer producing agents, (iv) chemicals at toxic levels, (v) drugs

producing pain or deformity, (vi) severe extremes of temperature, (vii)

electric or other shock, (viii) excessive noise, (ix) noxious fumes, (x)

exercise to exhaustion, (xi) overcrowding, (xii) paralysis by muscle

relaxants or other means, (xiii) deprivation or excess of food, water or

other essential nutrients, (xiv) surgery or other invasive procedures,

(xv) other extreme stimuli, or (xvi) termination of life.

b. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of this section, the

commissioner may, upon the submission of a written program plan, issue

to such school a written waiver of such restrictions for students

subject to the following provisions: (i) the student shall be in grade

ten, eleven, or twelve; and (ii) the student shall be under the

supervision of one or more teachers certified in science; and (iii) the

student shall be pursuing an accelerated course of study in the sciences

as defined by the commissioner in preparation for taking a state or

national advanced placement examination. The commissioner shall issue a

waiver of such restrictions for any teacher certified in science

instructing such student. The written program plan shall include, but

not be limited to: (i) the educational basis for requesting a waiver;

(ii) the objective of the lesson or experiment; (iii) the methods and

techniques to be used; and (iv) any other information required by the

commissioner.

6. Report. On or before the first day of January next succeeding the

effective date of this amended section, the commissioner shall annually

submit a report to the governor and the legislature which shall include,

but not be limited to, the number of written program plan proposals

submitted by schools and the number of such proposals subsequently

approved by the commissioner. In those cases where a program plan

proposal has been approved by the commissioner, such plan shall be

appended to and become a part of the commissioner's annual report.