S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  4227

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            February 2, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M.  of A. DIAZ -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ALFANO,
  BARRA, J. RIVERA -- read once and referred to the Committee on  Educa-
  tion

AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to enacting the preserva-
  tion of quality education act

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
"the preservation of quality education act".
  S  2.  Legislative  findings and purpose. The legislature supports the
goal of achieving high standards in education. It finds,  however,  that
standardized  state-wide  tests such as the regents examinations are not
the only valid measurement of success  in  meeting  high  standards.  In
fact,  a  rigid  application  of  a high stakes testing regime can bring
unwanted and unanticipated harm to schools  and  school  districts  that
successfully  use  multiple  measures  of student achievement to provide
quality education  that  is  accountable  to  parents  and  the  public.
Furthermore,  high-stakes  testing  has  been found to have a dispropor-
tionate negative impact on recent immigrants and English language  lear-
ners,  as well as on successful vocational education programs. The costs
frequently associated with one-size-fits all  statewide  examinations  -
teaching that focuses narrowly on test preparation, an increased dropout
rate,  flight  of  creative quality teachers, and a paradoxical watering
down of standards in an effort  to  prevent  excessive  dropouts  -  can
outweigh  the  perceived  benefits  when a school or school district has
achieved or shows promise  towards  achieving  an  otherwise  successful
method of teaching and assessing its students.
  Thus,  for  some,  the  policy decision to impose the same test on all
students in all districts, despite  the  great  variety  of  educational
experiences across more than 700 districts, is wrong. New York state has
a  long, rich history of local control in education, particularly in the

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD04675-01-9
              

A. 4227                             2

areas of curriculum and assessment. The purpose behind this tradition is
to enable the consumers of education  -  parents  -  together  with  the
professionals  who  must be directly responsive to those parents - local
teachers and administrators - to determine what is best for the children
in  their  school district. This legislation seeks to uphold that tradi-
tion while maintaining public accountability for  schools'  performance.
The  legislation  enables parents to have the final say in whether their
children must take high stakes  standardized  tests  as  part  of  their
educational  program,  as long as the school, group of schools or school
district has demonstrated its quality or possesses special promise.  The
parental  opt-out  procedure  will  allow  exempted students in approved
schools and districts to be awarded a state-endorsed  diploma,  provided
the students meet the rigorous local requirements for graduation.
  S  3. The education law is amended by adding a new section 319 to read
as follows:
  S 319. DESIGNATION OF QUALITY EDUCATIONAL  UNITS  AND  PROCEDURES  FOR
WAIVER  OF  EXAMINATION  REQUIREMENTS.  1.  A  SCHOOL DISTRICT, GROUP OF
SCHOOLS OR SCHOOL EXHIBITING THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERISTICS OF QUALITY OR
SPECIAL PROMISE OVER A THREE-YEAR PERIOD SHALL BE KNOWN  AS  A  "QUALITY
EDUCATIONAL  UNIT":  (A)  SUCCESSFUL  ALIGNMENT  OF  ITS INSTRUCTION AND
ASSESSMENTS TO THE KEY IDEAS OF THE NEW YORK STATE  LEARNING  STANDARDS;
(B) MAINTENANCE OF A COLLEGE ADMISSION RATE BY ITS GRADUATES EQUAL TO OR
GREATER THAN THE STATEWIDE AVERAGE FOR SUCH ADMISSION, OR IN THE CASE OF
A GROUP OF SCHOOLS OR SCHOOL IN A BIG FIVE CITY (NEW YORK CITY, BUFFALO,
ROCHESTER,  SYRACUSE  AND YONKERS) THE AVERAGE FOR SUCH ADMISSION IN THE
CITY IN WHICH THE GROUP OF SCHOOLS OR SCHOOL IS LOCATED; OR IN THE  CASE
OF  A  VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION OR PROFESSIONAL INTERNSHIP BASED PROGRAM, A
POST-SECONDARY JOB PLACEMENT RATE EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN THE STATEWIDE
AVERAGE FOR SUCH PLACEMENT, OR IN THE CASE OF  A  GROUP  OF  SCHOOLS  OR
SCHOOL  IN A BIG FIVE CITY THE AVERAGE FOR SUCH PLACEMENT IN THE CITY IN
WHICH THE GROUP OF SCHOOLS OR SCHOOL IS LOCATED; (C) MAINTENANCE  OF  AN
ANNUAL  DROPOUT RATE EQUAL TO OR LOWER THAN THE STATEWIDE ANNUAL DROPOUT
RATE, OR IN THE CASE OF A GROUP OF SCHOOLS OR SCHOOL IN A BIG FIVE CITY,
THE ANNUAL DROPOUT RATE OF THE CITY IN WHICH THE  GROUP  OF  SCHOOLS  OR
SCHOOL  IS  LOCATED; AND (D) MAINTENANCE OF A RECORD OF ATTENDANCE EQUAL
TO OR GREATER THAN THE STATEWIDE AVERAGE ATTENDANCE RATE, OR IN THE CASE
OF A GROUP OF SCHOOLS OR SCHOOL IN A BIG FIVE CITY, THE AVERAGE  ATTEND-
ANCE  RATE  OF  THE  CITY  IN  WHICH  THE  GROUP OF SCHOOLS OR SCHOOL IS
LOCATED.
  2. (A) THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF ANY SCHOOL DISTRICT MAY  PETITION  THE
DEPARTMENT  FOR  RECOGNITION  OF  THE ENTIRE SCHOOL DISTRICT, A GROUP OF
SCHOOLS OR A SCHOOL AS A QUALITY EDUCATIONAL UNIT AND FOR AN  ACCOMPANY-
ING WAIVER FOR THE STUDENTS THEREIN FROM HAVING TO TAKE AND PASS THE NEW
YORK  STATE  STANDARDIZED  EXAMINATIONS  FOR  GRADUATION  OR  PROMOTION,
PROVIDED THAT THE MAJORITY OF  PARENT-VOTERS  RESIDING  IN  THE  QUALITY
EDUCATIONAL UNIT SHALL HAVE ELECTED TO OPT-OUT FROM THE STATEWIDE STAND-
ARDIZED  EXAMINATIONS.  AS  USED IN THIS SECTION, THE NEW YORK STATE, OR
STATEWIDE, STANDARDIZED EXAMINATIONS MEAN THE FIVE STATEWIDE HIGH SCHOOL
REGENTS EXAMINATIONS AND  ANY  STATEWIDE  EXAMINATIONS  USED  FOR  GRADE
PROMOTION  DECISIONS.  THE  DEPARTMENT  SHALL DEEM A QUALITY EDUCATIONAL
UNIT TO BE ANY SCHOOL DISTRICT, GROUP OF  SCHOOLS  OR  SCHOOL  THAT  THE
BOARD  OF TRUSTEES OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT DEMONSTRATES TO THE DEPARTMENT
BY A PREPONDERANCE OF THE EVIDENCE  CONSTITUTES  A  QUALITY  EDUCATIONAL
UNIT AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION. THE DEPARTMENT SHALL
GRANT  TO  A QUALITY EDUCATIONAL UNIT THE PETITIONED-FOR WAIVER FROM THE
STATEWIDE STANDARDIZED EXAMINATIONS.

A. 4227                             3

  (B) A QUALITY EDUCATIONAL UNIT MAY INCLUDE A NEWLY FORMED SCHOOL AMONG
A GROUP OF  SCHOOLS  APPLYING  TO  BECOME  A  QUALITY  EDUCATIONAL  UNIT
PROVIDED  THAT  SUCH NEW SCHOOLS ARE APPROVED FOR INCLUSION BY THE BOARD
OF TRUSTEES OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT SUBMITTING THE QUALITY EDUCATIONAL UNIT
APPLICATION  AND  BY  THE  EXISTING  SCHOOLS  IN THE PROSPECTIVE QUALITY
EDUCATIONAL UNIT.
  (C) THE DESIGNATION OF A QUALITY  EDUCATIONAL  UNIT  AND  ACCOMPANYING
EXAMINATION  WAIVER SHALL LAST FOR A TERM OF FOUR YEARS FROM THE DATE OF
DESIGNATION AND GRANTING OF THE WAIVER BY THE DEPARTMENT. THE  BOARD  OF
TRUSTEES  OF  THE SCHOOL DISTRICT CAN PETITION FOR RENEWAL OF THE DESIG-
NATION AND ACCOMPANYING WAIVER AT THE END OF THE FOUR-YEAR TERM.
  (D) SHOULD THE DEPARTMENT DENY A PETITION BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES  OF
A  SCHOOL  DISTRICT  FOR  DESIGNATION  AND WAIVER, THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SHALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO APPEAL THE RULING TO A THREE-PERSON  ARBITRATION
PANEL.    THE  RULING  OF  THE ARBITRATION PANEL SHALL BE BINDING ON THE
DEPARTMENT.
  3. (A) AT THE ELECTION FOR MEMBERS OF A SCHOOL BOARD THAT OCCURS IMME-
DIATELY PRIOR TO PETITIONING FOR THE DESIGNATION OR  RENEWAL  OF  DESIG-
NATION  OF  A  SCHOOL  DISTRICT, GROUP OF SCHOOLS OR SCHOOL AS A QUALITY
EDUCATIONAL UNIT, THE PETITIONING BOARD OF  TRUSTEES  SHALL  SUBMIT  THE
QUESTION  FOR ALL PARENTS AND GUARDIANS WITH STUDENTS IN THE PROSPECTIVE
QUALITY EDUCATIONAL UNIT AS TO WHETHER THE PARENTS AND GUARDIANS  DESIRE
TO  OPT-OUT OF THE NEW YORK STATE STANDARDIZED EXAMINATIONS ON BEHALF OF
THEIR CHILDREN. SHOULD A MAJORITY OF PARENT AND GUARDIAN VOTERS  IN  THE
PROSPECTIVE  QUALITY EDUCATIONAL UNIT CHOOSE TO OPT-OUT OF THE STATEWIDE
STANDARDIZED EXAMINATIONS AND THE DEPARTMENT APPROVES THE DESIGNATION OF
THE QUALITY EDUCATIONAL UNIT, THE SCHOOL OR GROUP OF SCHOOLS IN THE UNIT
SHALL NOT BE REQUIRED TO ADMINISTER  THE  WAIVED  EXAMINATIONS  AND  THE
STUDENTS  IN THOSE SCHOOLS OR GROUPS OF SCHOOLS SHALL NOT BE REQUIRED TO
PASS THE WAIVED EXAMINATIONS FOR GRADUATION OR  PROMOTION.  STUDENTS  IN
THE  APPROVED  QUALITY EDUCATIONAL UNIT SHALL RECEIVE A REGENTS ENDORSED
DIPLOMA UPON COMPLETION OF ALL OTHER GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS MANDATED BY
THE LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT, THE QUALITY EDUCATIONAL UNIT, AND THIS  CHAP-
TER.
  (B)  FOR  SCHOOL  DISTRICTS  LOCATED  WITHIN  THE  CITY OF NEW YORK, A
SPECIAL ELECTION WILL BE HELD AT EACH SCHOOL THAT IS TO BE PART  OF  THE
QUALITY  EDUCATIONAL UNIT. THE SPECIAL ELECTION SHALL BE HELD WITHIN ONE
WEEK OF THE DATE OF THE FILING WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF THE  PETITION  FOR
RECOGNITION  AS  A  QUALITY EDUCATIONAL UNIT. THE SPECIAL ELECTION SHALL
POSE THE QUESTION FOR ALL PARENTS AND GUARDIANS  WITH  STUDENTS  IN  THE
PROSPECTIVE QUALITY EDUCATIONAL UNIT AS TO WHETHER THE PARENTS AND GUAR-
DIANS  DESIRE TO OPT-OUT OF THE NEW YORK STATE STANDARDIZED EXAMINATIONS
ON BEHALF OF THEIR CHILDREN. SHOULD A MAJORITY OF THE VOTERS  CHOOSE  TO
OPT-OUT  OF  THE  STATEWIDE STANDARDIZED EXAMINATIONS AND THE DEPARTMENT
APPROVES THE DESIGNATION AS A QUALITY EDUCATIONAL UNIT, THE STUDENTS  IN
SUCH SCHOOL SHALL NOT BE REQUIRED TO TAKE THE STANDARDIZED EXAMINATIONS.
  S  4.  This  act  shall  take  effect  on  the first of September next
succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.