Senate Bill S7895

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S7895

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend  chapter 147 of the laws of 2001, amending the
education law relating to conditional appointment of school district,
charter school or BOCES employees, in relation to extending the
effectiveness thereof


 PURPOSE OF THE BILL :

To extend the ability of school districts, charter schools, and Boards
of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) to make conditional
appointments of prospective employees under certain necessary
conditions, as well as to extend the effectiveness of certain
provisions of law relating to procedures for teacher removal of
students from their classrooms.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 of the bill would extend the date on which the provisions of
Chapter 147 of the Laws of 2001, as amended by Chapter 179 of the Laws
of 2009, would expire from July 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012.

§2 of the bill would be the effective date.
              

 STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE BILL :

Chapter 147 of the Laws of 2001 granted school districts, charter
schools, and BOCES the authority to make conditional appointments for
certain prospective school employees. This was needed because it was
taking a longer than expected time to secure full clearances for
employment from the Commissioner of Education under Education Law
§305(30). Chapter 147 of the Laws of 2001 provided that it would be
repealed after two years, on the assumption that these delays would be
minimized and eliminated. This provision of law was extended for a one
year period in 2009 as part of Chapter 179 of the Laws of 2009.

If Chapter 147 were to sunset, the technical amendments relating to
teacher removal proceedings that were made by section 11 of Chapter
147 would also sunset. These amendments are necessary to make the
timeframes for conducting informal conferences with teachers and
building principals following a teacher's removal of a student from
the classroom for disciplinary reasons workable for school districts.
The amendments made by section 11 of Chapter 147 clarify that if the
24- or 48-hour period does not expire on a school day, it is extended
to the corresponding time on the next school day. If these provisions
are not extended, a teacher would be required to provide parents with
an informal opportunity to be heard within 24 hours of a pupil's
removal, even if the 24 hours expires on a Saturday or school holiday.
Similarly, building principals would be required to offer parents the
opportunity for an informal conference within 48 hours of a student's
removal even if the student is removed late in the day on a Friday or
before a school vacation.

This bill would recommend that the sunset on conditional clearances be
extended for two additional years to allow a further assessment of the
need for continued use of conditional clearances.

 BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS OF THE BILL :

No additional costs would be associated with this legislation.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately, except that if this act shall
have become a law on or after July 1, 2010 this act shall take effect
immediately and shall be deemed to have been in full force and effect
on and after July 1, 2010.