Bill Text: NY S00911 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Requires that all special education students attending schools scheduled to be closed or to undergo a significant change be assigned to new schools prior to the implementation of the closing or change.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-07 - referred to education [S00911 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S00911-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         911--A
            Cal. No. 1265

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                     January 9, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by Sens. LIU, CHU -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on New York City Education --
          recommitted  to the Committee on New York City Education in accordance
          with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- reported favorably from said  committee,
          ordered  to  first  and  second  report,  ordered  to a third reading,
          amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place  in  the  order  of
          third reading

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the education law, in relation to requiring that all
          special education students attending schools scheduled to be closed or
          to undergo a significant change be assigned to new  schools  prior  to
          the implementation of the closing or change

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Paragraphs (b) and (e) of subdivision 2-a of section 2590-h
     2  of the education law, as added by chapter 345 of the laws of  2009,  are
     3  amended to read as follows:
     4    (b)  Such  educational  impact  statement  shall include the following
     5  information regarding the proposed school closing or significant  change
     6  in school utilization:
     7    (i) the current and projected pupil enrollment of the affected school,
     8  the prospective need for such school building, the ramifications of such
     9  school  closing  or  significant  change  in school utilization upon the
    10  community, initial costs and savings resulting from such school  closing
    11  or significant change in school utilization, the potential disposability
    12  of any closed school;
    13    (ii)  the impacts of the proposed school closing or significant change
    14  in school utilization to any affected students;
    15    (iii) an outline of any proposed or potential use of the school build-
    16  ing for other educational programs or administrative services;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02947-02-4
        S. 911--A                           2

     1    (iv) the effect of such school closing or significant change in school
     2  utilization on personnel  needs,  the  costs  of  instruction,  adminis-
     3  tration, transportation, and other support services;
     4    (v)  the  type,  age,  and physical condition of such school building,
     5  maintenance, and energy costs, recent or planned  improvements  to  such
     6  school building, and such building's special features;
     7    (vi)  the  ability of other schools in the affected community district
     8  to accommodate pupils following the school closure or significant change
     9  in school utilization, including  a  list  of  such  schools  with  each
    10  school's  most  recently  available  enrollment,  utilization  rate, and
    11  percentage of special education pupils and the total number  of  special
    12  education  students  impacted  by  the  school  closure or the change in
    13  school utilization; and
    14    (vii) information regarding such school's academic performance includ-
    15  ing whether such school has been identified as a school under  registra-
    16  tion  review  or  has  been  identified  as  a school requiring academic
    17  progress, a school in need of improvement, or  a  school  in  corrective
    18  action or restructuring status.
    19    (e) (i) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (f) of this subdivi-
    20  sion,  all  proposed  school  closings  or significant changes in school
    21  utilization shall be approved by the  city  board  pursuant  to  section
    22  twenty-five  hundred  ninety-g of this article and shall not take effect
    23  until all the provisions of this subdivision have been satisfied and the
    24  school year in which such city board approval was granted, has ended.
    25    (ii) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (f)  of  this  subdivi-
    26  sion,  no proposed school closing or significant change in school utili-
    27  zation shall take effect until  all  special  education  pupils  in  the
    28  affected school have been assigned to new schools within the city of New
    29  York  and  the  chancellor  has verified that each new school within the
    30  city of New York accepting special education students from the  affected
    31  school can accommodate such pupils.
    32    §  2. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend-
    33  ments to subdivision 2-a of section 2590-h of the education law made  by
    34  section  one of this act shall not affect the repeal of such subdivision
    35  and shall be deemed repealed therewith.