NY State Senate Bill 2009-S6470

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Education Committee

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

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 18, 2010	referred to education

2009-S6470 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §2852, 2851, 2853, 2854 &2857, add §211-e, Ed L

2009-S6470 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to charter schools and the designation of receivers for under-performing schools.

2009-S6470 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S6470

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the education law, in relation to charter schools


 PURPOSE :

This bill would enhance the states chances to win Round One funds in
the United States Department of Education Race to the Top (RTTT)
competition by raising the cap on charter schools to 460, increasing
transparency, accountability and ethics in relation to charter schools
and providing for the use of Education Management Organizations (EMO)
to directly manage schools

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 of the bill would increase the charter school cap from 200
to 460, which is 10% of the total number of public schools (4,540).

Section 2 of the bill would require charter schools to hold regular
meetings.

Section 3 of the bill would require charter schools to establish
standards for the public disclosure of any conflicts of interest that

are brought before the charter school's board of trustees.

Section 4 of the bill would clarify that the commencement of the
5-year charter is when classroom instruction begins.

Section 5 of the bill would require charter schools to demonstrate the
efforts taken to include high-need students in their schools.

Section 6 of the bill would clarify that the Regents should
incorporate the charter school as an education corporation and that
the commencement of the 5year charter is when classroom instruction
begins.

Section 7 of the bill is intentionally omitted.

Section 8 of the bill would require charter schools to maintain the
same ethical standards as school districts.

Section 9 of the bill would require charter schools to provide
expanded learning opportunities for students with disabilities or
English language learners (ELLs).

Section 10 of 1he bill would require the chartering entitles to post
charter school annual reports on their web sites and would require
charter schools to make their reports publicly available.

Section 11 of the bill would require the publication of charter
schools closed in a preceding year that includes a description of the
reasons for closure.

Section 12 of the bill would require the Regents to make available the
best practices employed by charter schools.

Section 13 of the bill would authorize schools using proven,
not-far-profit education management organizations (EMOs) to directly
manage schools to help raise the achievement of high needs students.

Section 14 of the bill would provide for severability.


Section 15 of the bill would have the enactment take effect
immediately.

 EXISTING LAW :

Currently the State Is nearing the cap of 200 new charter schools.

 STATEMENT IN SUPPORT :

These amendments to the Education law will Improve the State's chances
for success in the federal government Race to the Top (RTTT)
competition. The United States Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan has
made it clear that the competition will be intense. It is imperative
that New York State take any and all actions necessary to strengthen
our application.

Approximately 8% of the RTTT application's total points are tied to
charter schools. While New York charter schools remain among the best
in the nation, the State will lose points in this category because of
our cap. Maximum· points are provided to schools with no cap or a
"high" cap. A high cap is defined as exceeding 10% of the total number
of public schools in the State. The State Education Department
estimates there are 4,540 public schools in New York Stat~. A cap of
460 will meet the 10% threshold.

The bill also strengthens our application by authorizing Educational
Management Organizations (EMOs) to directly manage schools. School
districts would be authorized to enter into contracts with approved
EMOs for the purpose of managing individual schools within the
district in order to turn around the persistently lowest achieving
schools. EMOs will be non-profit entities authorized and selected
through a rigorous process focused on proved success in raising the
achievement of high needs students.

The bill will also increase transparency and accountability of charter
schools, ensure that they provide expanded learning opportunities for
students with disabilities or English language learners (ELLs), and
maintain the same ethical standards and requirements as public
schools.

 BUDGET IMPLICATIONS :

There is no cost to the state to enact the provisions of this bill.
Furthermore, the bill's enactment could provide New York enough points
In the RTTT to secure up to $700 million in direct federal aid to
education.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This bill would take effect immediately upon enactment.

2009-S6470 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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

                                  6470

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            January 18, 2010
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  C. JOHNSON  -- read twice and ordered printed, and
  when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education

AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to charter schools

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

  Section  1.  Subdivision  9  of  section 2852 of the education law, as
amended by section 2 of part D-2 of chapter 57 of the laws of  2007,  is
amended to read as follows:
  9.  The total number of charters issued pursuant to this article shall
not exceed [two] FOUR hundred SIXTY. [One] TWO hundred  THIRTY  of  such
charters  shall  be  issued  on the recommendation of the charter entity
described in paragraph (b) of subdivision three of section  twenty-eight
hundred  fifty-one of this article, and [one] TWO hundred THIRTY of such
charters shall be issued on the  recommendation  of  the  other  charter
entities  set forth in subdivision three of section twenty-eight hundred
fifty-one of this article[, provided that up to fifty of the  additional
charters authorized to be issued by the chapter of the laws of two thou-
sand  seven  which  amended  this  subdivision effective July first, two
thousand seven shall be reserved for a city school district  of  a  city
having  a population of one million or more]. The failure of any body to
issue the regulations authorized pursuant  to  this  article  shall  not
[effect]  AFFECT  the authority of a charter entity to propose a charter
to the board of regents or the board of regents' authority to grant such
charter. A conversion of an existing public school to a  charter  school
or the renewal or extension of a charter shall not be counted toward the
numerical limits established by this subdivision.
  S  2.  Paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of section 2851 of the education
law, as added by chapter 4 of the laws of 1998, is amended  to  read  as
follows:
  (c)  The proposed governance structure of the school, including a list
of members of the initial board of trustees, a description of the quali-
fications, terms and method of appointment or election of trustees,  the
organizational  structure  of the school, A PROCEDURE FOR CONDUCTING AND
PUBLICIZING REGULAR BOARD OF TRUSTEE MEETINGS AT  EACH  CHARTER  SCHOOL,

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

                                                           LBD12182-02-0

S. 6470                             2

and  the  processes to be followed by the school to promote parental and
staff involvement in school governance.
  S  3.  Paragraph (v) of subdivision 2 of section 2851 of the education
law, as added by chapter 4 of the laws of 1998, is amended  to  read  as
follows:
  (v)  A  code  of  ethics for the charter school, setting forth for the
guidance of its  trustees,  officers  and  employees  the  standards  of
conduct  expected of them INCLUDING STANDARDS WITH RESPECT TO DISCLOSURE
OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST REGARDING ANY MATTER BROUGHT BEFORE  THE  BOARD
OF TRUSTEES.
  S  4.  Paragraph (p) of subdivision 2 of section 2851 of the education
law, as added by chapter 4 of the laws of 1998, is amended  to  read  as
follows:
  (p)  The  term  of  the  proposed charter, which shall not exceed five
years; PROVIDED HOWEVER, THE TERM OF SUCH  PROPOSED  CHARTER  SHALL  NOT
EXCEED  FIVE  YEARS  IN WHICH INSTRUCTION IS PROVIDED TO PUPILS PLUS THE
PERIOD COMMENCING WITH THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE CHARTER AND ENDING WITH
THE OPENING OF THE SCHOOL FOR INSTRUCTION.
  S 5. Subdivision 4 of section 2851 of the education law is amended  by
adding a new paragraph (e) to read as follows:
  (E)  A  DEMONSTRATION OF THE EFFORTS TO BE TAKEN BY THE CHARTER SCHOOL
TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN HIGH-NEED STUDENTS, INCLUDING STUDENTS AT RISK  OF
EDUCATIONAL  FAILURE  OR  STUDENTS  WHO ARE OTHERWISE IN NEED OF SPECIAL
ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT.
  S 6. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 2853 of  the  education
law,  as  added  by chapter 4 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as
follows:
  (a) Upon the approval of a charter by the board of regents, the  board
of  regents  shall incorporate the charter school as an education corpo-
ration for a term not to exceed five years, PROVIDED HOWEVER  THE  BOARD
OF  REGENTS  SHALL INCORPORATE THE CHARTER SCHOOL AS AN EDUCATION CORPO-
RATION FOR A TERM NOT TO EXCEED  FIVE  YEARS  IN  WHICH  INSTRUCTION  IS
PROVIDED TO PUPILS PLUS THE PERIOD COMMENCING WITH THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF
THE  CHARTER  AND ENDING WITH THE OPENING OF THE SCHOOL FOR INSTRUCTION.
Such certificate of incorporation shall not modify or limit any terms of
the charter approved by the board of regents. Upon approval of an appli-
cation to renew a charter, the board of regents shall extend the certif-
icate of incorporation for a term not to exceed five years. Upon  termi-
nation  or  nonrenewal  of  the  charter of a charter school pursuant to
section twenty-eight hundred fifty-five of this article, the certificate
of incorporation of the charter school shall be revoked by the board  of
regents  pursuant  to  section  two  hundred  nineteen  of this chapter,
provided that compliance with the notice  and  hearing  requirements  of
such  section  twenty-eight  hundred fifty-five of this article shall be
deemed to satisfy the notice and hearing requirements  of  such  section
two  hundred nineteen. It shall be the duty of the trustees of the char-
ter school to obtain federal tax-exempt status no later  than  one  year
following  approval  of  a  charter  school by the board of regents. For
purposes of this article, "certificate of incorporation" shall mean  the
provisional  charter  issued by the board of regents to form the charter
school as an educational corporation pursuant to  sections  two  hundred
sixteen and two hundred seventeen of this chapter.
  S 7. Intentionally omitted.
  S  8. Subdivision 1 of section 2854 of the education law is amended by
adding a new paragraph (f) to read as follows:

S. 6470                             3

  (F) A CHARTER SCHOOL SHALL BE SUBJECT TO THE  PROVISIONS  OF  SECTIONS
EIGHT  HUNDRED,  EIGHT  HUNDRED  ONE,  EIGHT  HUNDRED TWO, EIGHT HUNDRED
THREE, EIGHT HUNDRED FOUR, EIGHT HUNDRED  FOUR-A,  EIGHT  HUNDRED  FIVE,
EIGHT  HUNDRED FIVE-A, EIGHT HUNDRED FIVE-B AND EIGHT HUNDRED SIX OF THE
GENERAL  MUNICIPAL  LAW TO THE SAME EXTENT SUCH SECTIONS APPLY TO SCHOOL
DISTRICTS.
  S 9. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 2854 of  the  education
law,  as  amended  by section 5 of part D-2 of chapter 57 of the laws of
2007, is amended to read as follows:
  (a) A charter school shall be nonsectarian in its programs,  admission
policies,  employment  practices, and all other operations and shall not
charge tuition or fees; provided that a charter school may  require  the
payment of fees on the same basis and to the same extent as other public
schools.  A  charter  school shall not discriminate against any student,
employee or any other person on the basis of ethnicity, national origin,
gender, or disability or any other ground that would be unlawful if done
by a school. Admission of students shall not be limited on the basis  of
intellectual  ability,  measures  of  achievement  or aptitude, athletic
ability, disability, race, creed, gender, national origin, religion,  or
ancestry;  provided,  however,  that  nothing  in  this article shall be
construed to prevent the establishment of a single-sex charter school or
a charter school designed to provide expanded learning opportunities for
students at-risk of academic failure OR STUDENTS WHO  ARE  OTHERWISE  IN
NEED  OF  SPECIAL ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT SUCH AS STUDENTS WITH DISABILI-
TIES AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS;  and  provided,  further,  that  the
charter  school  shall  demonstrate  good  faith  efforts to attract and
retain a comparable or greater enrollment of students with  disabilities
and  limited English proficient students when compared to the enrollment
figures for such students in the school district in  which  the  charter
school  is  located.    A charter shall not be issued to any school that
would be wholly or in part under the control or direction of  any  reli-
gious  denomination,  or  in  which any denominational tenet or doctrine
would be taught.
  S 10. Subdivision 2 of section 2857 of the education law,  as  amended
by  section  7 of part D-2 of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007, is amended
to read as follows:
  2. Each charter school shall submit to the charter entity and  to  the
board  of regents an annual report. Such report shall be issued no later
than the first day of August of each year for the preceding school  year
AND SHALL BE MADE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE BY SUCH DATE AND SHALL BE POSTED ON
THE  CHARTER  ENTITY'S WEBSITE.  The annual report shall be in such form
as shall be prescribed by the commissioner and shall  include  at  least
the following components:
  (a)  a charter school report card, which shall include measures of the
comparative academic and fiscal performance of the school, as prescribed
by the commissioner in regulations adopted for such purpose. Such  meas-
ures  shall  include,  but  not be limited to, graduation rates, dropout
rates, performance of students  on  standardized  tests,  college  entry
rates,  total  spending per pupil and administrative spending per pupil.
Such measures shall be presented in a format that is  easily  comparable
to  similar public schools. In addition, the charter school shall ensure
that such information is easily accessible to  the  community  INCLUDING
MAKING  IT  PUBLICLY AVAILABLE BY TRANSMITTING IT TO LOCAL NEWSPAPERS OF
GENERAL CIRCULATION AND MAKING IT AVAILABLE FOR DISTRIBUTION AT BOARD OF
TRUSTEE MEETINGS.

S. 6470                             4

  (b) discussion of the progress made towards achievement of  the  goals
set forth in the charter.
  (c)  a  certified  financial  statement  setting forth, by appropriate
categories, the revenues and expenditures for the preceding school year,
including a copy of the most recent  independent  fiscal  audit  of  the
school  AND  ANY  AUDIT CONDUCTED BY THE COMPTROLLER OF THE STATE OF NEW
YORK.
  (D) EFFORTS TAKEN BY THE CHARTER SCHOOL IN THE EXISTING  SCHOOL  YEAR,
AND  A  PLAN  FOR  EFFORTS TO BE TAKEN IN THE SUCCEEDING SCHOOL YEAR, TO
ATTRACT AND RETAIN HIGH-NEED STUDENTS, INCLUDING  STUDENTS  AT  RISK  OF
EDUCATIONAL  FAILURE  OR  STUDENTS  WHO ARE OTHERWISE IN NEED OF SPECIAL
ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT.
  S 11. Subdivision 3 of section 2857 of the education law is amended by
adding a new paragraph (a-1) to read as follows:
  (A-1) A LIST INCLUDING THE NUMBER OF CHARTER SCHOOLS CLOSED DURING THE
PRECEDING YEAR, AND A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE REASONS THEREFOR  INCLUD-
ING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, NON-RENEWAL OF THE CHARTER OR REVOCATION OF THE
CHARTER;
  S  12.  Section  2857  of the education law is amended by adding a new
subdivision 5 to read as follows:
  5. THE BOARD OF REGENTS SHALL ON  AN  ANNUAL  BASIS  REVIEW  AND  MAKE
AVAILABLE  TO  SCHOOL  DISTRICTS  BEST EDUCATIONAL PRACTICES EMPLOYED BY
CHARTER SCHOOLS.
  S 13. The education law is amended by adding a new  section  211-e  to
read as follows:
  S   211-E.  EDUCATIONAL  MANAGEMENT  ORGANIZATIONS.  1.  EACH  COMMON,
CENTRAL, CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL, UNION  FREE,  EXCEPT  SPECIAL  ACT  SCHOOL
DISTRICTS  AS  DEFINED IN SECTION FOUR THOUSAND ONE OF THIS CHAPTER, AND
CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT SHALL BE AUTHORIZED TO ENTER  INTO  CONTRACTS  WITH
APPROVED  EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS FOR THE PURPOSE OF MANAG-
ING INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS WITHIN THE DISTRICT IN ORDER TO TURN  AROUND  THE
PERSISTENTLY  LOWEST-ACHIEVING SCHOOLS. CONTRACTS SHALL BE SOLICITED AND
AWARDED PURSUANT TO A COMPETITIVE REQUEST  FOR  PROPOSALS  PROCESS  THAT
SHALL  BE  DEVELOPED  BY THE BOARD OF EDUCATION IN CONSULTATION WITH THE
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS IN ACCORDANCE WITH COMMISSIONER'S  REGULATIONS
PURSUANT  TO  SUBDIVISION  TWO OF THIS SECTION. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS
SECTION, THE TERM "BOARD OF EDUCATION" SHALL MEAN THE TRUSTEE,  TRUSTEES
OR  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION  OF  ANY  SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND IN A CITY SCHOOL
DISTRICT IN A CITY HAVING A POPULATION OF ONE MILLION OR  MORE  INHABIT-
ANTS  THE  TERM  "SUPERINTENDENT  OF  SCHOOLS"  SHALL MEAN THE COMMUNITY
SUPERINTENDENT OF A COMMUNITY DISTRICT.
  2. THE DEPARTMENT SHALL  ESTABLISH  A  LIST  OF  APPROVED  EDUCATIONAL
MANAGEMENT  ORGANIZATIONS  SELECTED  THROUGH  A RIGOROUS REVIEW PROCESS.
ELIGIBLE EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS SHALL  INCLUDE  NON-PROFIT
ENTITIES  WITH  PROVEN  SUCCESS  IN RAISING THE ACHIEVEMENT OF HIGH-NEED
STUDENTS AND DEMONSTRATION OF  CAPACITY.    THE  COMMISSIONER  SHALL  BE
AUTHORIZED  TO  PROMULGATE  ANY  REGULATIONS  NECESSARY TO IMPLEMENT THE
PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION INCLUDING  REGULATIONS  FOR  CONSISTENCY  AND
COMPLIANCE  WITH  ANY  APPLICABLE FEDERAL OR STATE GUIDELINES, INCLUDING
THOSE CONTAINED WITHIN THE FEDERAL AMERICAN  RECOVERY  AND  REINVESTMENT
ACT OF 2009.
  S  14. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdi-
vision, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by  any  court  of
competent  jurisdiction  to  be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall  be  confined  in
its  operation  to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section

S. 6470                             5

or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
the legislature that this act would  have  been  enacted  even  if  such
invalid provisions had not been included herein.
  S 15. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S6470

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Education Committee

2009-S6470 (ACTIVE) - Details

2009-S6470 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2009-S6470 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2009-S6470 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S6470

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Craig M. Johnson

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Education Committee

2009-S6470 (ACTIVE) - Details

2009-S6470 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2009-S6470 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2009-S6470 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments