S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
7405
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
May 4, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to payments by school
districts to charter schools relating to the expense per pupil of the
school district
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "New York
Charter Schools Financial Renewal Act".
S 2. Subdivision 1 of section 2856 of the education law, as amended by
chapter 378 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows:
1. (a) The enrollment of students attending charter schools shall be
included in the enrollment, attendance, membership and, if applicable,
count of students with disabilities of the school district in which the
pupil resides. The charter school shall report all such data to the
school districts of residence in a timely manner. Each school district
shall report such enrollment, attendance and count of students with
disabilities to the department. The school district of residence shall
pay directly to the charter school for each student enrolled in the
charter school who resides in the school district the charter school
basic tuition, which shall be an amount equal to one hundred percent of
the amount calculated pursuant to paragraph f of subdivision one of
section thirty-six hundred two of this chapter for the school district
for the year prior to the base year increased by the percentage change
in the state total approved operating expense calculated pursuant to
paragraph t of subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred two of this
chapter from two years prior to the base year to the base year; PROVIDED
THAT THE AMOUNT OF THE APPROVED OPERATING EXPENSE USED IN THE CREATION
OF ALL SUCH CALCULATIONS SHALL BE EQUAL TO THE ACTUAL APPROVED OPERATING
EXPENSE OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF RESIDENCE FOR EACH PUPIL DETERMINED IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THE GRADE LEVEL (OR OTHER EDUCATIONAL LEVEL CLASSIFICA-
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10969-02-1
A. 7405 2
TION USED BY THE DEPARTMENT AND APPROVED BY THE COMMISSIONER) OF THE
PUPIL INSOFAR AS THE DEPARTMENT CONSIDERS THE GRADE LEVEL (OR OTHER
EDUCATIONAL LEVEL CLASSIFICATION USED BY THE DEPARTMENT AND APPROVED BY
THE COMMISSIONER) OF THE PUPIL IN THE DETERMINATION OF APPROVED OPERAT-
ING EXPENSE.
(b) The school district shall also pay directly to the charter school
any federal or state aid attributable to a student with a disability
attending charter school in proportion to the level of services for such
student with a disability that the charter school provides directly or
indirectly. Notwithstanding anything in this section to the contrary,
amounts payable pursuant to this subdivision from state or local funds
may be reduced pursuant to an agreement between the school and the char-
ter entity set forth in the charter. Payments made pursuant to this
subdivision shall be made by the school district in six substantially
equal installments each year beginning on the first business day of July
and every two months thereafter. Amounts payable under this subdivision
shall be determined by the commissioner. Amounts payable to a charter
school in its first year of operation shall be based on the projections
of initial-year enrollment set forth in the charter until actual enroll-
ment data is reported to the school district by the charter school. Such
projections shall be reconciled with the actual enrollment as actual
enrollment data is so reported and at the end of the school's first year
of operation and each subsequent year based on a final report of actual
enrollment by the charter school, and any necessary adjustments result-
ing from such final report shall be made to payments during the school's
following year of operation.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subdivision to the
contrary, payment of the federal aid attributable to a student with a
disability attending a charter school shall be made in accordance with
the requirements of section 8065-a of title twenty of the United States
code and sections 76.785-76.799 and 300.209 of title thirty-four of the
code of federal regulations.
S 3. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 2854 of the education
law, as amended by chapter 101 of the laws of 2010, 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. A CHARTER SCHOOL MAY ESTABLISH AN ENROLLMENT
PREFERENCE FOR PUPILS RESIDING IN SCHOOL DISTRICTS CONTIGUOUS TO THE
SCHOOL DISTRICT IN WHICH THE CHARTER SCHOOL IS LOCATED, BUT SUCH PREFER-
ENCE SHALL NOT EXCEED THAT ESTABLISHED FOR STUDENTS RESIDING IN THE
DISTRICT IN WHICH THE CHARTER SCHOOL IS LOCATED. A CHARTER SCHOOL
LOCATED IN A SCHOOL DISTRICT WITH A POPULATION OF ONE MILLION OR MORE
ALSO MAY ESTABLISH AN ENROLLMENT PREFERENCE FOR PUPILS RESIDING IN THE
A. 7405 3
COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, AS REFERENCED IN SUBDIVISION TWO OF SECTION
TWENTY-FIVE HUNDRED NINETY-A OF THIS TITLE, OR FOR THE BOROUGH IN WHICH
THE CHARTER SCHOOL IS LOCATED, OR BOTH. 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 4. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding
the date on which it shall have become a law; provided that the amend-
ments to subdivision 1 of section 2856 of the education law made by
section two of this act shall not affect the expiration of such subdivi-
sion and shall be deemed to expire therewith.