New York Senate Bill S09539

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/23/26
• Refer: 3/23/26
• Report Pass: 5/5/26
• Engrossed: 6/2/26

Caption

Requires the department of health, in consultation with the commissioner of education, to create and issue a five-year plan with proposals to best mitigate the persistence of lead in schools.

Summary

This bill amends the Public Health Law to strengthen New York’s reporting and planning requirements for lead in school drinking water. It would require school districts, BOCES, and certain school districts treated as public water systems to post all testing results, laboratory reports, and lead remediation plans publicly on their websites and to transmit those results to the Department of Health, the State Education Department, and the relevant county health department. The bill also directs the Commissioner of Education and the Commissioner of Health to publish a triennial report based on tap water testing results and make that report available to the public and state leaders. In addition to expanding disclosure, the bill requires the Department of Health to maintain a more transparent reporting system that tracks original test results for fixtures exceeding the lead action level of 5 parts per billion and tracks remediation progress over time. Within 180 days after the new subdivision takes effect, the department must also issue a five-year statewide plan with proposals to reduce persistent lead in school water, including any funding or technical assistance the department intends to provide to school districts for testing and lead removal. The act would take effect immediately.

Impact

The bill would amend section 1110 of the Public Health Law, adding new statewide reporting, tracking, and planning obligations for school water lead testing and remediation. It would increase public access to testing data and remediation plans, require more formal interagency reporting, and create a new state-level five-year mitigation plan. School districts, BOCES, and qualifying public-water-system school districts would be directly affected, along with the Department of Health and the State Education Department, which would take on additional reporting and coordination duties.

Sentiment

No committee transcript or vote record is provided, so there is no documented debate or recorded support/opposition to assess. Based on the bill text and caption, the measure appears to be framed as a public health and transparency initiative aimed at addressing lead exposure in schools, suggesting an overall policy goal likely to be viewed favorably by advocates for child health, school safety, and environmental transparency.

Contention

The main policy issues likely to draw attention are the added administrative burden on school districts and state agencies, the costs of expanded testing, public reporting, and remediation, and the scope of state funding or technical assistance that may be needed to implement the five-year plan. Another possible point of contention is the bill’s emphasis on public disclosure of original test results and remediation progress, which could raise concerns about compliance, data management, and how quickly districts can meet the 5 ppb action-level standard.