Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE |
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Jul 29, 2020 | referred to rules |
senate Bill S8847
Sponsored By
Julia Salazar
(D, WF) 18th Senate District
Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee
- Introduced
- In Committee
- On Floor Calendar
- Passed Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Delivered to Governor
- Signed/Vetoed by Governor
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Actions
Co-Sponsors
Brad Hoylman
(D, WF) 27th Senate District
Robert Jackson
(D, WF) 31st Senate District
Velmanette Montgomery
(D) 0 Senate District
Luis R. Sepúlveda
(D) 32nd Senate District
S8847 (ACTIVE) - Details
- See Assembly Version of this Bill:
- A10731
- Current Committee:
- Senate Rules
- Law Section:
- Education Law
- Laws Affected:
- Amd §2590-h, Ed L
- Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:
-
S3087
S8847 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo
BILL NUMBER: S8847 SPONSOR: SALAZAR TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the education law, in relation to admission to the specialized high schools in the city of New York PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: This bill repeals the 1971 Hecht-Calandra Act, which required - as a matter of state law - that the specialized high schools in New York City utilize the Specialized High School Admissions Test ("SHSAT") as the sole criterion for admission. SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section 1 Sets out legislative findings to support the necessity of repealing the Hecht-Calandra Act, primarily that, as a result of the reliance on the SHSAT, the student population at NYC's specialized high schools do not reflect the diversity of the City's population, and, in
S8847 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 8847 I N S E N A T E July 29, 2020 ___________ Introduced by Sens. SALAZAR, JACKSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to admission to the specialized high schools in the city of New York THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Legislative findings. Since the enactment of the Hecht-Ca- landra Act in 1971, the New York city school district has not been able to make decisions about admissions to its specialized high schools. Instead, as a result of the Hecht-Calandra Act, the city school district has been required to base admission decisions to its specialized high schools on only one criterion for admission - a student's performance on a single standardized exam. As a result of the use of this criterion, known as the specialized high school admissions test (SHSAT), the student population of the specialized high schools does not reflect the diversity of the City's population. Whereas the overall percentage of Black and Latino students in the city's public schools is approximately sixty-seven percent, Black and Latino students only represent nine percent of the population of the specialized schools. This disparity hurts Black and Latino students and it also harms the students who attend the specialized high schools, who do not reap the intellectual, emotional and social benefits from learning in a more diverse environ- ment. Furthermore, the city school district is alone in its reliance on a single metric to make admission decisions. Universities across the country consider multiple factors when selecting their incoming student body; selective institutions do not rely on the results of a single exam. It is time for the city school district to follow suit and for admissions to no longer be based on the procedures prescribed in the Hecht-Calandra Act. This legislation will allow the city school district to develop its own admissions criteria for specialized high schools, as it develops admissions criteria for other schools within the district, and ensure that high-performing and talented students across all five boroughs have the opportunity to attend its specialized high schools. EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted.
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