NY State Senate Bill 2009-S6925

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance 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
Apr 20, 2010	reported and committed to finance
Feb 25, 2010	referred to education

Votes

- Apr 20, 2010 - Education Committee Vote
  S6925
  
  8
  
  Aye
  
  5
  
  Nay
  
  5
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  1
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Education Committee Vote: Apr 20, 2010
      
      aye (8)
      
      Addabbo Jr.
      
      Breslin
      
      Marcellino
      
      Montgomery
      
      Oppenheimer
      
      Padavan
      
      Serrano
      
      Stavisky
      
      nay (5)
      
      Espada
      
      Flanagan
      
      Johnson
      
      Little
      
      Squadron
      
      aye wr (5)
      
      Foley
      
      Huntley
      
      LaValle
      
      Saland
      
      Seward
      
      excused (1)
      
      Morahan

co-Sponsors

2009-S6925 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Finance
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§2851, 2854 &2857, Ed L

2009-S6925 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to the establishment, organization, and administration of charter schools.

2009-S6925 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S6925

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the education law, in relation to charter schools


 PURPOSE :
To provide greater accountability and transparency in the operations
of charter schools.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1:
Requires charter school applicants to specify a procedure for
conducting and publicizing board meetings at the charter school.

Section 2:
Requires the code of ethics articulated in the charter school
application to include standards regarding conflicts of interest

Section 3:
Requires charter school applicants to demonstrate the efforts that
will be taken to attract and retain high-need students.

Section 4:
Allows the State Comptroller to audit charter schools at his or her

discretion.

Section 5:
Applies the same conflict of interest provisions and code of ethics to
charter board members, officers and charter school employees as apply
to officers, board members and employees of public school districts.

Section 6:
Directs the Commissioner of Education to create a uniform student
application for all charter schools and that applications be made
available in languages predominant in the local community. Directs the
Commissioner to promulgate regulations to ensure that all admission
lotteries are conducted in a transparent and equitable manner.
Requires that such lotteries be held in a manner consistent with
public officers law.

Section 7:
Certifies that a charter school may focus its services on students in
need of assistance, including English language learners and students
with disabilities.

Section 8:
Requires charter schools to make the annual reports more widely
available to the public through posting on the schools website,
distribution to the local newspapers and availability at charter
school board meetings.  Also requires inclusion of any audits
conducted by the State Comptroller in their annual report.

Section 9:
Requires charter school annual reports to include information
regarding the charter school's efforts to recruit and retain high-need
students in the existing school year and their plans to attract,
recruit and retain such students in the coming school year.

Section 10:
Requires the Board of Regents annual report on charter schools include
the number of charter schools that were closed in the prior year and
the reason for closing.

Section 11:
Requires the Board of Regents to conduct an annual review of charter
school best practices and make such information available to public
school districts.

Section 12:
Severability clause.

Section 13:
Effective date.

 JUSTIFICATION :

This legislation strengthens the accountability and transparency of
public funded, but independently operated charter schools.

The public's confidence in charter schools will be allowing the state
comptroller to conduct audits of charter school finances and requiring
charter school trustees and employees to be held to the same conflict
of interest and ethical obligations as elected school board members.

Requiring a common application for all charter schools will simplify
the process for parents seeking to enroll their child in a charter
school and lessen the potential for any "cherry picking" of students.

Through prohibited by law from discriminating in admissions, evidence
has shown that special needs students such as students with
disabilities and English language learners are under-represented in
some charter schools.  A recent investigation conducted by the State
University of New York's Charter School Institute found evidence that
an administrator at one charter school had been denying admission or
wait-listing students with disabilities. The parents of students who
did not perform well on certain tests were counseled that the school
was "not a good fit" or would have their applications denied. This
legislation will permit greater public scrutiny of the enrollment
practices and procedures of charter schools to ensure all students
have equal access.

Under this legislation, charter schools will also be required to make
their annual reports more widely available to the public including the
posting of audits.

Because charter schools are supposed to serve as laboratories of
innovation, this bill would also require the Board of Regents to
identify best practices and make such information available to school
districts.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
New Bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
To be determined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This legislation takes effect immediately.

2009-S6925 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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

                                  6925

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            February 25, 2010
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  OPPENHEIMER -- 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.  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 MONTHLY BOARD OF TRUSTEE MEETINGS AT  EACH  CHARTER  SCHOOL,
and  the  processes to be followed by the school to promote parental and
staff involvement in school governance.
  S 2. 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 3. 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 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 WHICH SHALL BE CONSIDERED BY THE  CHARTER  ENTITY
PRIOR TO APPROVING SUCH CHARTER SCHOOL'S APPLICATION FOR RENEWAL.
  S  4.  Paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 of section 2854 of the education
law, as amended by chapter 267 of the laws of 2005, is amended  to  read
as follows:

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD15481-09-0

S. 6925                             2

  (c)  A  charter  school  shall be subject to the financial audits, the
audit procedures, and the audit requirements set forth  in  the  charter
and  shall  be  subject  to  audits  of the comptroller [as set forth in
section thirty-three of the general municipal law] OF THE STATE  OF  NEW
YORK  AT  HIS  OR HER DISCRETION. Such procedures and standards shall be
consistent with generally accepted accounting and audit standards. Inde-
pendent fiscal audits shall be required at least once annually.
  S 5. Subdivision 1 of section 2854 of the education law is amended  by
adding a new paragraph (f) to read as follows:
  (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 6.  Paragraph (b) 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:
  (b) Any child who is qualified under the laws of this state for admis-
sion to a public school is qualified for admission to a charter  school.
APPLICATIONS  FOR  ADMISSION TO A CHARTER SCHOOL SHALL BE SUBMITTED ON A
UNIFORM APPLICATION FORM CREATED BY THE DEPARTMENT  AND  SHALL  BE  MADE
AVAILABLE  BY  A CHARTER SCHOOL IN LANGUAGES PREDOMINATELY SPOKEN IN THE
COMMUNITY IN WHICH SUCH CHARTER SCHOOL  IS  LOCATED.  The  school  shall
enroll  each  eligible  student  who submits a timely application by the
first day of April each year, unless the number of applications  exceeds
the  capacity  of  the  grade level or building. In such cases, students
shall be accepted from among applicants by a random  selection  process,
provided,  however,  that  an enrollment preference shall be provided to
pupils returning to the charter school in the second or  any  subsequent
year  of  operation  and pupils residing in the school district in which
the charter school is located, and siblings of pupils  already  enrolled
in  the charter school.  THE COMMISSIONER SHALL ESTABLISH REGULATIONS TO
REQUIRE THAT THE RANDOM SELECTION PROCESS  CONDUCTED  PURSUANT  TO  THIS
PARAGRAPH  BE  PERFORMED  IN  A  TRANSPARENT AND EQUITABLE MANNER AND TO
REQUIRE THAT THE TIME AND PLACE  OF  THE  RANDOM  SELECTION  PROCESS  BE
PUBLICIZED  IN  A MANNER CONSISTENT WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF SECTION ONE
HUNDRED FOUR OF THE PUBLIC OFFICERS LAW AND BE OPEN TO THE  PUBLIC.  For
the  purposes  of  this paragraph and paragraph (a) of this subdivision,
the school district in which the charter school is located  shall  mean,
for  the  city  school  district  of the city of New York, the community
district in which the charter school is located.
  S 7. 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

S. 6925                             3

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 8. 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 SCHOOL'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.
  (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.
  S 9. Subdivision 2 of section 2857 of the education law, as amended by
section eight of this act, 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 school'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

S. 6925                             4

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.
  (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 10. 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 11. 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  12. 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
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  13. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
sections three, six and nine of this act shall take effect July 1, 2011.

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Senate Bill S6925

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance Committee

Apr 20, 2010 - Education Committee Vote

Education Committee Vote: Apr 20, 2010

co-Sponsors

2009-S6925 (ACTIVE) - Details

2009-S6925 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2009-S6925 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2009-S6925 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S6925

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Suzi Oppenheimer

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance Committee

co-Sponsors

Velmanette Montgomery

2009-S6925 (ACTIVE) - Details

2009-S6925 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2009-S6925 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2009-S6925 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments