BILL NUMBER:  S7463

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend chapter 425 of the laws of 2002, amending the
education law relating to the provision of supplemental educational
services, attendance at a safe public school and the suspension of
pupils who bring a firearm to or possess a firearm at a school and to
amend chapter 101 of the laws of 2003, amending the education law
relating to implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, in
relation to extending the effectiveness thereof


 PURPOSE OF THE BILL :
To keep New York in compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act of
2001 (Public Law 107-110), which amended the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.A § 6301, et. seq), by extending the
effectiveness of the provisions of the Education Law enacted to comply
with such federal law by one additional year.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF THE BILL :
Section 1 of the bill would amend § 4 of Chapter 425 of the Laws of
2002 to extend the effectiveness of the provisions of such act
relating to supplemental educational services, unsafe school choice
and compliance with the Gun Free Schools Act until June 30, 2011.

Section 2 of the bill would amend § 5 of Chapter 101 of the Laws of
              

2003 to extend the effectiveness of the provisions of such act
relating to the education of homeless children and the transfer of
student disciplinary records until June 30, 2011.

Section 3 of the bill would be the effective date.

 STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE BILL :
The Legislature in 2002 enacted interim legislation, Chapter 425 of
the Laws of 2002, to enable the Department to provide the United
States Department of Education (USED) with the assurances of
compliance required to secure Title I funds and other federal funding
under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). These federal funds, which
total in excess of $1.76 billion annually, including more than $1.2
billion in funding under Title I, Part A, are critical to the ability
of school districts and Title I charter schools with concentrations of
students in poverty to meet state academic performance standards.
Chapter 425 made amendments to state law that were needed immediately
to provide the Commissioner of Education with the authority to
implement key provisions of the NCLB, relating to: providing
supplemental educational services to students in schools receiving
Title I funds that have been identified as schools in need of
improvement (SINI) for more than one year, providing school choice to
students who are victims of a violent criminal offense or attend a
school identified as persistently dangerous, and implementing the
provisions of the Gun Free Schools Act that generally require a
minimum 1-year suspension and referral to the criminal justice system
of students who bring a firearm to school.

Chapter 101 of the Laws of 2003 extended the provisions of Chapter 425
until June 30, 2005, and made additional amendments to state law
relating to implementation of the NCLB that would also sunset on June
30, 2005. Chapter 129 of the Laws of 2005 extended the effectiveness
of the provisions of both Chapter 425 and Chapter 101 by one year,
until June 30, 2006. The provisions of both chapters subsequently have
been extended by Chapter 153 of the Laws of 2006, Chapter 220 of the
Laws of 2007, Chapter 126 of the Laws of 2008 and Chapter 158 of the
Laws of 2009, and would expire and be deemed repealed on June 30,
2010.


Chapter 101 conformed the definition of "homeless child" in paragraph
a of subdivision 1 of section 3209 of the Education Law to the
definition of "homeless children and youths" contained in section
725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance
Improvements Act of 2001 (42 U.S.C. §§ 11431, et. seq.), as amended in
Title X of the NCLB.  Chapter 101 also added a new subdivision 2-a to
section 3209 of the Education Law relating to the requirement that
each local educational agency designate a local educational agency
liaison for homeless children and otherwise comply with the applicable
provisions of § 722(g)(3)-(7) of the McKinney-Vento Assistance Act (42
U.S.C.  11432(g)(3)-(7)) relating to the immediate enrollment of
homeless children, records of homeless children, dispute resolution
procedures and comparable services and coordination of services for
homeless children. Finally, Chapter 101 added a new subdivision 7 to §
3214 of the Education Law to comply with the requirement of section
4155 of the NCLB that states have a procedure in place to facilitate
the transfer of disciplinary records (suspensions and expulsions) to
any public or private elementary or secondary school in which the
student enrolls, or seeks, intends or is instructed to enroll on a
full-time or part-time basis.

If the provisions of Chapter 425 of the Laws of 2002 and Chapter 101
of the Laws of 2003 were allowed to expire, the provisions of state
law needed to fully comply with Title I and Title IV of the NCLB and
the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act
would no longer be in place. Since certain of these requirements, such
as those in the Gun Free Schools Act, unsafe school choice and the
transfer of disciplinary records, are imposed as a condition of
receiving all funds under the NCLB, a lapse in these statutes would
place all of New York's ESEA fimds at risk of a federal disallowance.
ESEA funds, particularly Title I, are of critical importance to school
districts with concentrations of children in poverty, such as the Big
Five city school districts. The flow of these funds cannot be allowed
to be disrupted. A lapse in the provisions of New York law needed to
implement the McKinney-Vento Act relating to the education of homeless
children would expose the state to liability in federal court. The
State Education Department has submitted separate legislation amending
Education Law §3209 relating to the education of homeless children,
but it is imperative that the amendments made by Chapter 101 of the
Laws of 2003 remain in effect, as proposed in this bill.

The provisions of Chapter 425 of the Laws of 2002 and Chapter 101 of
the Laws of 2003 have now been extended several times, most recently
by Chapter 158 of the Laws of 2009. At this juncture, an extension of
the provisions of state law implementing the NCLB is appropriate,
rather than legislation to make such provisions permanent. The Obama
administration has issued a proposal to reauthorize NCLB, which
Congress has yet to consider. Actual reauthorization may not occur
until 2011 or after. When the NCLB is reauthorized, conforming
amendments may be needed in state law that can be proposed as
permanent law.

 BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS OF THE BILL :
The bill would not result in any additional costs to the state or to
school districts. Enactment of this bill is necessary to preserve New
York's funding under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965, as amended, which totals approximately $1.76 billion annually.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
None. This is a new proposal.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
The bill would take effect immediately, except that if this act
becomes a law on or after June 30, 2010 it would take effect
immediately and be deemed to have been in full force and effect on and
after June 30, 2010.