#s8935

State Senate Bill S8935, also known as Andre’s Law, will prohibit state education funds from being used to send disabled New Yorkers to out of state facilities that use adverse conditioning (think JRC). These practices have been illegal in New York since 2005 but for some reason, there was a loophole. This bill will close that loophole.

Think about this, New York State has spent $100 million over the past decade to send students to places like JRC. I wouldn’t be surprised if a sizable portion of JRC’s funds come from New York. This can be a significant step to get JRC shut down for good.

If you are a New Yorker, you can fill out the form in the link below, which will send a message to your state senator about how important passing S8935 is to our community. Or you can call them. We may need to contact them again since the current legislative session ends June 2nd. If we can get it passed in at least the Senate by June 2nd, half the battle will be done.

Also contact Senators Akshar, Brooks, Cleare, Felder, Mannion, Martucci, and Persaud. They’re the ones on the disabilities senate committee. We need this out of committee and presented to the senate as quickly as possible.

The Assembly hasn’t picked up Andre’s Law yet as a bill, but feel free to contact your assembly person as well. The Assembly is looking to pass a package of bills that will help disabled New Yorkers. Tell them to add S8935 to that list.

The Assembly and Senate are focused on disability legislation at the moment. It’s the perfect time to push for this bill to be passed.