Prohibits discrimination of students on school property or at a school function based on religious attire, clothing or facial hair

Latest action Feb 26, 2026

Prohibits discrimination of students on school property or at a school function based on religious attire, clothing or facial hair.

Not chosen yet

Where it stands

Passed one of the two chambers; it still needs the other.

Introduced
In committee
Up for a vote
Passed one chamber
Passed
Enacted

New York State Senate

Same as A6792, the matching bill in the Assembly.

Amends the Education Law.

Committee

Education · New York State Assembly

Also referred to Education · New York State Senate.

Purpose, from the sponsor's memo

The intent of this legislation is to further protect the religious rights of all New Yorker's, especially our youth. New York State is a multicultural state made up of many religious denominations, and we must make every effort to pursue equal representation.

Filed with the bill. Read it on nysenate.gov (opens in a new tab)

Recorded votes

Vote: Floor vote
NY SenateFeb 26, 2026Result: passed
(57) (0) (0) (6)
Vote: Committee vote · Education
Senate EducationFeb 10, 2026Result: passed
(15) (0) (0) (0)
Vote: Floor vote
NY SenateApr 24, 2025Result: passed
(51) (0) (0) (11)
Vote: Committee vote · Education
Senate EducationApr 8, 2025Result: passed
(15) (0) (0) (0)

Cosponsors

David Weprin, James Skoufis and 6 more on Agora

Democratic8

See the full list on nysenate.gov

The sponsor's argument

Why John Liu says this is needed

This legislation was inspired by the recent story about Noor Alexandria Abukaram who ran a personal-best time in a cross-country meet. In 2019, the 16-year-old Ohio high school student found out her race didn't count after its completion. Abukaram was disqualified from her team's meet for wearing a hijab while in the competition. Similarly, the same year in New York, a Buffalo student was questioned by an assistant principal about wearing a hijab in school, and was asked to provide proof of her faith to continue wearing it. A few years earli- er in 2017, a substitute teacher ordered a second-grade Bronx student to remove her hijab. When she did not comply, he ripped it from her head. Currently, NYS statute already prohibits discrimination of students based on "religion" or "religious practice" on school property or at school functions in section 12 of the Education Law, which would include sporting events (the definition of "school function" is in section 11). While religious attire, clothing and facial hair would likely be consid- ered a religious practice, this bill would make clear that no student should be subjected to any such discrimination, protecting students from the situations described above.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.

Full history

Feb 26, 2026
Sent to the executive
DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
NY Senate
Feb 26, 2026
Passed a chamber
PASSED SENATE
NY Senate
Feb 26, 2026
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO EDUCATION
NY Assembly
Feb 24, 2026
Advanced to Third Reading
ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
NY Senate
Feb 11, 2026
2ND Report CAL.
2ND REPORT CAL.
NY Senate

Show full history (12 earlier events)

Feb 10, 2026
1ST Report CAL.316
1ST REPORT CAL.316
NY Senate
Jan 7, 2026
Died in Assembly
DIED IN ASSEMBLY
NY Assembly
Jan 7, 2026
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO EDUCATION
NY Assembly
Jan 7, 2026
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO EDUCATION
NY Senate
Apr 24, 2025
Sent to the executive
DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
NY Senate
Apr 24, 2025
Passed a chamber
PASSED SENATE
NY Senate
Apr 24, 2025
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO EDUCATION
NY Assembly
Apr 10, 2025
Advanced to Third Reading
ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
NY Senate
Apr 9, 2025
2ND Report CAL.
2ND REPORT CAL.
NY Senate
Apr 8, 2025
1ST Report CAL.667
1ST REPORT CAL.667
NY Senate
Mar 14, 2025
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO EDUCATION
NY Assembly
Jan 9, 2025
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO EDUCATION
NY Senate

About this record

Summary: The summary comes from NY Open Legislation, the New York State Senate's public record. For more, see How we handle summaries.
Cosponsors: The list shows the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.
Party colors: Parties are shown in the same neutral colors.
Source: From NY Open Legislation, the NY Senate and Assembly, and official rosters. This record was last updated Nov 2, 2026. About our data

Read the record

Read on NY Senate (opens in a new tab) The official record on nysenate.gov.

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