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

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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

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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.