BILL NUMBER: S1395

SPONSOR: LIU
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to providing the Board of
Regents with final approval authority over all proposed and renewed
charter schools

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends subdivision 5-b of section 2852 of the education law

Section 2 provides the effective date

 
JUSTIFICATION:

According to the NYS Education Law, only the Board of Regents, the SUNY
Trustees, and local school boards may act as charter authorizing enti-
ties and approve charter school applications. However, only the Board of
Regents can authorize and issue the charters. The Board of Regents is
required by the Education Law to provide oversight of all charter
              

schools to "ensure that the charter school is in compliance with all
applicable laws, regulations, and charter provisions."

In order to carry out these oversight responsibilities, the Education
Law gives the Board of Regents the authority to send charter school
applications, renewals, and revision recommendations back to the charter
entity for reconsideration. For local school board entities, such as the
NYC DOE Chancellor and the Buffalo Board of Education, if provisions of
the Education Law are not taken into consideration, the Board of Regents
can keep sending back charter school recommendations until the charter
entity ensures compliance with the law.

However, this rule has not been applicable to charter school recommenda-
tions from the SUNY trustees. As currently written, the Education Law
allows the Board of Regents to send unlawful SUNY charter school recom-
mendations back only once. If SUNY disregards some or even all of the
Board of Regents recommendations and resubmits the charter recommenda-
tion, the charter would automatically be issued by process of law after
a 30-day waiting period. This process of circumventing the Board of
Regents' recommendations on unlawful charter school recommendations has
happened twice within the past two years.

This loophole has effectively allowed SUNY to violate the Education Law
in many ways. SUNY has engaged in early charter renewals, failing to
consider the large concentration of charter schools in certain
districts, and has repeatedly failed to make all the required oversight
findings prior to approving charter renewal applications in accordance
with the law. It has moved forward with charter actions without properly
waiting for a public hearing and considering public comments as required
by the law. SUNY has also regularly given full-term renewals to schools
that have high numbers of uncertified teachers, failed to report student
and teacher data to NYSED, and failed to comply with fingerprint clear-
ance requirements for teachers and staff. It has also issued full-term
renewals to schools that have violated the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) and discriminated against and/or failed to enroll
students with disabilities, English language learners, and economically
disadvantaged students. There are numerous news articles, parental
complaints, and reports about IDEA violations by SUNY-authorized
schools.

This bill would put SUNY on a more equal footing with the state's other
charter school entities, ensuring accountability to the public by
compelling SUNY to make acceptable changes based on any legal concerns
outlined by the Regents in order to receive approval, and would prevent
authorizers form sending charters back to the Board of Regents without
making the necessary amendments to ensure compliance with the law. This
would ensure that SUNY is accountable to the public and the communities
these schools may impact.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

06/03/22 COMMITTED TO RULES

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE: