NY State Senate Bill 2017-S825

Senate Bill S825

2017-2018 Legislative Session

Relates to granting charter schools and charter school applicants right of first refusal and access to school facilities, property or land

download bill text pdf

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
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2018	referred to education
Jan 05, 2017	referred to education

2017-S825 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §2853, Ed L
Versions Introduced in 2015-2016 Legislative Session:: S5561

2017-S825 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to granting charter schools and charter school applicants right of first refusal prior to any sale, lease, transfer or other disposition of school facilities, property or land; grants charter schools or charter school applicants access to unused school facilities, property or land.

2017-S825 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S825

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the education law, in relation to charter school
access to unused school facilities, property or land

 PURPOSE :

To provide the right of first refusal to charter schools in relation
to unused school facilities, properties or land.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1-Creates a right of first refusal for charter schools for
unused school property, requires a public and transparent process,
authorizes a municipality, school district, board of education or city
to negotiate agreements for maintenance and other costs with a charter
school, requires a charter school to being using the building or
buildings in question within one year with certain exceptions and
describes the process for termination of use.

Section 2-Sets forth the effective date

 JUSTIFICATION :

Currently about 25,000 students attend charter schools in upstate New
York and that demand continues to grow. One of the biggest challenges
facing charter schools is a lack of available and affordable space,
especially space that is accessible and appropriate in order to best
facilitate student learning and growth. In Rochester for example, 22%
of school buildings are empty, and could easily be repurposed for use
by charter schools. Charter schools exist to provide parents a choice
in their children's education. When public school space is vacant and
available it provides a unique opportunity for those buildings to
continue to be used for their intended purpose under the auspices of a
Charter School. Charter schools are not at present eligible for
building aid, and therefore it seems appropriate at minimum to ensure
that they have access to unused school space. Charter Schools exist to
provide parents with choice as it relates to their children's
education and future. That choice should not be limited especially
when available space exists and is instead lying vacant.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

S.5561A of 2015-2016; referred to Education

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately

2017-S825 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    825
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 5, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  FUNKE  -- 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 school  access
   to unused school facilities, property or land
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section  2853  of  the  education  law  is
 amended by adding a new paragraph (f) to read as follows:
   (F)  IN  DISTRICTS  WITH  AN  EXISTING  CHARTER SCHOOL AS OF SEPTEMBER
 FIRST, TWO THOUSAND SEVENTEEN, EXCEPT THOSE LYING IN OR COTERMINOUS WITH
 CITIES HAVING A POPULATION OF ONE MILLION OR  MORE,  AND  IN  ALL  OTHER
 SMALL  CITY  SCHOOL DISTRICTS OPERATING PURSUANT TO ARTICLE FIFTY-ONE OF
 THIS CHAPTER, CHARTER SCHOOLS AND CHARTER  SCHOOL  APPLICANTS  SHALL  BE
 GRANTED  THE  RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL PRIOR TO ANY SALE, LEASE, TRANSFER,
 OR OTHER DISPOSITION OF SCHOOL FACILITIES,  PROPERTY  OR  LAND.    ADDI-
 TIONALLY  CHARTER SCHOOLS AND CHARTER SCHOOL APPLICANTS SHALL BE GRANTED
 ACCESS TO UNUSED SCHOOL FACILITIES, PROPERTY OR LAND.
   NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF LAW TO THE  CONTRARY,  THE  RIGHT  OF
 FIRST REFUSAL SHALL BE GRANTED PRIOR TO COMMENCING ANY ACTION IN ACCORD-
 ANCE  WITH SECTIONS FOUR HUNDRED TWO, FOUR HUNDRED THREE-A, FOUR HUNDRED
 THREE-B, AND FOUR HUNDRED FIVE  OF  THIS  CHAPTER.  A  PARTY  CONCEIVING
 ITSELF  AGGRIEVED  BY  A DISPUTE OVER THE APPLICATION OF THIS PARAGRAPH,
 INCLUDING PROCEDURES PERTAINING TO AND ULTIMATE DECISIONS OVER  GRANTING
 ACCESS,  SHALL  BE  SETTLED  BY  APPEAL TO THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
 PURSUANT TO SECTION THREE HUNDRED TEN OF THIS CHAPTER.
   (1) A CITY, MUNICIPALITY OR BOARD OF EDUCATION OF  A  SCHOOL  DISTRICT
 SHALL  IMPLEMENT  AND  ADMINISTER  THE PROVISIONS OF THIS PARAGRAPH IN A
 PUBLIC AND TRANSPARENT MANNER.
   (2) THE USE OF SCHOOL FACILITIES, PROPERTY OR LAND SHALL BE OFFERED TO
 CHARTER SCHOOLS OR CHARTER SCHOOL APPLICANTS AT NO COST OR FOR A NOMINAL
 FEE OF ONE DOLLAR PER YEAR. A CITY, MUNICIPALITY OR BOARD  OF  EDUCATION
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD04269-01-7

 S. 825                              2
 
 OF  A  SCHOOL DISTRICT AND A CHARTER SCHOOL SHALL NEGOTIATE AN AGREEMENT
 FOR ACCESS TO AND USE OF SCHOOL FACILITIES, PROPERTY OR LAND. THE AGREE-
 MENT SHALL IDENTIFY THE PARTY RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS
 AND ASSOCIATED COSTS.
   (3)  A CHARTER SCHOOL THAT HAS BEEN GRANTED ACCESS TO A SCHOOL FACILI-
 TY, PROPERTY OR LAND IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL BE  ALLOWED
 UNINTERRUPTED  ACCESS  FOR  AS  LONG AS THE SCHOOL HAS AN ACTIVE CHARTER
 AGREEMENT.
   (4) IF A CHARTER SCHOOL OR CHARTER SCHOOL APPLICANT HAS  BEEN  GRANTED
 ACCESS TO A SCHOOL FACILITY, PROPERTY OR LAND AND HAS NOT BEGUN USING IT
 FOR THE PURPOSE OF EDUCATING STUDENTS WITHIN ONE YEAR, THE SCHOOL FACIL-
 ITY,  PROPERTY  OR  LAND SHALL BE DEEMED UNUSED AND THE AGREEMENT MAY BE
 TERMINATED. IF THE SCHOOL FACILITY, PROPERTY OR LAND  REQUIRES  SUBSTAN-
 TIAL  RENOVATION  OR  OTHER  REASONABLE  DELAYS  IMPEDE  ITS USE FOR THE
 PURPOSE OF EDUCATING STUDENTS, THEN, BY MUTUAL AGREEMENT, AN  ADDITIONAL
 YEAR  SHALL  BE GRANTED BEFORE SUCH SCHOOL FACILITY, PROPERTY OR LAND IS
 DEEMED UNUSED.
   IF A CHARTER SCHOOL NO LONGER NEEDS  OR  WANTS  THE  SCHOOL  FACILITY,
 PROPERTY  OR LAND, OR THE CHARTER APPLICANT GROUP IS NOT GRANTED A CHAR-
 TER, THE AGREEMENT MAY BE TERMINATED. A CHARTER  SCHOOL  MAY  NOT  SELL,
 LEASE,  TRANSFER OR OTHERWISE DISPOSE OF A SCHOOL FACILITY THAT HAS BEEN
 ACCESSED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS PARAGRAPH WITHOUT THE  WRITTEN  CONSENT
 OF  THE CITY, MUNICIPALITY OR BOARD OF EDUCATION FROM WHICH THE PROPERTY
 WAS TRANSFERRED.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.