NY State Senate Bill 2009-S2129

Senate Bill S2129

2009-2010 Legislative Session

Relates to notification upon the projected opening, closing or consolidation of any public school in New York city

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Cities Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 06, 2010	referred to cities
Feb 11, 2009	referred to cities

2009-S2129 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Cities
Law Section:: New York City Charter
Laws Affected:: Add §530, NYC Chart

2009-S2129 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires notification of certain public officials and parents upon the projected opening, closing or consolidation of any public school in New York city.

2009-S2129 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S2129

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the New York city charter, in relation to notification
when the city board of education is considering the opening, closing
and/or consolidation of a school

 PURPOSE :
Section One. Explanation.  Section Two. Requirements and proceedings
for notification and closing/consolidations.  Section Three. Effective
Date.

 JUSTIFICATION :
The New York City Board of Education currently informs the community
of school closings and consolidations in Community Education Council
meetings. However, barring internal Board of Education regulations
regarding the notification, there is currently no official manner in
which and in what timeframe these notifications are to take place.
This has resulted in numerous community protests which further strain
the relationship between the community and education officials. In the
recent years there have been consolidations of elementary schools and
high schools, potentially putting younger children at risk of violence
and bad influences from their older counterparts. Furthermore there
are recorded cases of high performing schools being closed and the
students being forced to attend a lower performing school within the
district.

This legislation seeks to put an end to these problems by having the
New York City Board of Education notify local and state elected
officials, local community boards, as well as the parents or guardians
of the children attending the affected school. This bill also puts a
one-year timeframe on the time between notification and closure or
consolidation.  This legislation charges the New York City Board of
Education with the creation of a mechanism which ensures meaningful
discourse involving the families of the students, elected officials,
and the community in relation to the closure or consolidation as well
as creates a mechanism for the dissemination of information at least
one year prior to closing or consolidation. This bill also requires,
in the event of a closing or consolidation, that the New York City
Board of Education ensure that the closing or consolidation results in
students being sent from the lower achieving school to a higher
achieving school.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
S.296 of 2007-2008.  Referred to Cities.
S.8066 of 2005-2006. Referred to Rules.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
To be determined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it
shall have become law, provided, however, that effective immediately,
the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation
necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are
authorized and directed to be made and completed on or before such
effective date.

2009-S2129 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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

                                  2129

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            February 11, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  GOLDEN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Cities

AN ACT to amend the New York city charter, in relation  to  notification
  upon  the  projected  opening,  closing or consolidation of any public
  school in New York city

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

  Section 1. The legislature hereby finds that the issue of school clos-
ings  and/or  consolidation  is  one  which  elicits great passions in a
community and among its elected state and local public officials.
  The legislature further finds that the New  York  city  department  of
education  has sometimes failed to notify elected state and local public
officials of planned school closings and/or  consolidations  within  the
respective  communities  of such elected public officials, and that this
omission frustrates the duty of such public officials to  be  responsive
to  the  important issues raised by its constituencies and other locally
elected public officials.
  The legislature therefore finds and declares that there is a necessity
for the implementation of this act, which creates a  specific  statutory
requirement  and schedule for public and public official notification of
New York city department of education  school  closings  and/or  consol-
idations.
  S  2.  Chapter  20 of the New York city charter is amended by adding a
new section 530 to read as follows:
  S 530. NOTIFICATION. AT LEAST TWELVE MONTHS  PRIOR  TO  ANY  PROJECTED
SCHOOL OPENING, CLOSING AND/OR CONSOLIDATION, THE NEW YORK CITY BOARD OF
EDUCATION  SHALL  NOTIFY  ELECTED  STATE  AND LOCAL PUBLIC OFFICIALS WHO
REPRESENT THE AFFECTED COMMUNITY, APPROPRIATE CITY  COMMUNITY  BOARD  OR
BOARDS  HAVING  JURISDICTION,  AND  THE PARENTS OR GUARDIANS OF CHILDREN
ATTENDING AN AFFECTED SCHOOL OR SCHOOLS.  THE BOARD OF  EDUCATION  SHALL
DEVELOP  A  METHOD  TO OBTAIN MEANINGFUL INPUT BY SUCH ELECTED STATE AND

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD07231-01-9

S. 2129                             2

LOCAL PUBLIC OFFICIALS, CITY COMMUNITY BOARDS, AND THE PARENTS OR GUARD-
IANS OF CHILDREN ATTENDING AN AFFECTED SCHOOL OR SCHOOLS, AND SHALL SEEK
SUCH INPUT. A COPY OF THE NOTIFICATION PROVIDED AND THE MEANS OF PROVID-
ING  INPUT  SHALL  ALSO  BE DISPLAYED IN A PROMINENT LOCATION WITHIN ANY
SCHOOL OR SCHOOLS IN THE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT MAY  BE  AFFECTED  BY
SUCH AN OPENING, CLOSING AND/OR CONSOLIDATION.
  S 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
it shall have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediate-
ly,  the  addition,  amendment  and/or  repeal of any rule or regulation
necessary for the implementation of this act on its  effective  date  is
authorized  and  directed  to  be  made  and completed on or before such
effective date.

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