Bill Text: NY A00781 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to charter schools; clarifies the transparency and accountability of charter schools and provides fiscal relief to the school districts where charter schools are located.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - referred to education [A00781 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-A00781-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 781 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 9, 2017 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to charter schools The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative intent. New York's charter school law was 2 enacted 14 years ago in an effort to create new learning opportunities 3 for all students, to encourage different and innovative teaching methods 4 and to provide parents and students with expanded choice within the 5 public schools. Fourteen years provides the state with enough informa- 6 tion to make judgments about changes that are needed in the law to 7 ensure the public knows how their tax dollars are being spent and to 8 ensure public schools serving the majority of students have the 9 resources needed to provide a quality education to all students. This 10 legislation is intended to clarify the transparency and accountability 11 of charter schools and provide fiscal relief to the school districts 12 where charter schools are located. 13 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 2851 of the education law, as amended by 14 chapter 101 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows: 15 1. An application to establish a charter school may be submitted by 16 teachers, parents, school administrators, community residents or any 17 combination thereof. Such application may be filed in conjunction with 18 a college, university, museum, educational institution, not-for-profit 19 corporation exempt from taxation under paragraph 3 of subsection (c) of 20 section 501 of the internal revenue code [or for-profit business or21corporate entity authorized to do business in New York state. Provided22however, for-profit business or corporate entities shall not be eligible23to submit an application to establish a charter school pursuant to24subdivision nine-a of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-two of this25article, or operate or manage a charter school for a charter issued26pursuant to subdivision nine-a of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-twoEXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD04867-01-7A. 781 2 1of this article. For charter schools established in conjunction with a2for-profit business or corporate entity, the charter shall specify the3extent of the entity's participation in the management and operation of4the school], and provided that under no circumstances shall an applica- 5 tion to establish a charter school or approval to operate a charter 6 school be granted to a for-profit business or corporate entity author- 7 ized to do business in this state nor in any manner whatsoever shall 8 they have an involvement in the management and operation of a charter 9 school. The application shall include the amount of any management fee 10 to be paid to any not-for-profit corporation working in conjunction with 11 the applicants. Salaries of the employees of such not-for-profit corpo- 12 ration may not exceed the salaries for comparable positions in the 13 school district of location. 14 § 3. Paragraphs (d), (h), (p) and (v) of subdivision 2 of section 2851 15 of the education law, paragraphs (d) and (h) as added by chapter 4 of 16 the laws of 1998 and paragraphs (p) and (v) as amended by chapter 101 of 17 the laws of 2010, are amended to read as follows: 18 (d) Admission policies and procedures for the school, which shall be 19 consistent with the requirements of subdivision two of section twenty- 20 eight hundred fifty-four of this article. For charter renewals, such 21 policies and procedures shall include plans for ensuring the student 22 enrollment of the charter school includes a comparable percentage of 23 students on free lunch, students with disabilities and English language 24 learners as the school district in which the charter school is located. 25 (h) The rules and procedures by which students may be disciplined, 26 including but not limited to expulsion or suspension from the school, 27 which shall be consistent with the requirements of due process and with 28 federal laws and regulations governing the placement of students with 29 disabilities. Such rules and procedures shall include the provision of 30 educational services to any student on long term suspension or expul- 31 sion. 32 (p) The term of the proposed charter, which shall not exceed five 33 years during which instruction is provided to pupils; provided however, 34 in the case of charters issued pursuant to subdivision nine-a of section 35 twenty-eight hundred fifty-two of this article the term of such proposed 36 charter shall not exceed five years in which instruction is provided to 37 pupils plus the period commencing with the effective date of the charter 38 and ending with the opening of the school for instruction. 39 (v) A code of ethics for the charter school, setting forth for the 40 guidance of its trustees, officers and employees the standards of 41 conduct expected of them including standards with respect to disclosure 42 of conflicts of interest regarding any matter brought before the board 43 of trustees. Such code of ethics shall be in compliance with section 44 eight hundred six of the general municipal law. 45 § 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 of section 2851 of the education 46 law, as added by chapter 4 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as 47 follows: 48 (a) A report of the progress of the charter school in achieving the 49 educational objectives set forth in the charter. Such report shall 50 include disaggregated student performance data for all student 51 subgroups. 52 § 5. Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subdivision 2 of section 2852 of the 53 education law, paragraph (c) as amended and paragraph (d) as added by 54 section 2 of part D-2 of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007, are amended and 55 two new paragraphs (e) and (f) are added to read as follows:A. 781 3 1 (c) granting the application is likely to improve student learning and 2 achievement and materially further the purposes set out in subdivision 3 two of section twenty-eight hundred fifty of this article; [and] 4 (d) in a school district where the total enrollment of resident 5 students attending charter schools in the base year is greater than five 6 percent of the total public school enrollment of the school district in 7 the base year [(i)] granting the application would have a significant 8 educational benefit to the students expected to attend the proposed 9 charter school [or (ii) the school district in which the charter school10will be located consents to such application]. For purposes of this 11 paragraph, in a city having a population of one million or more, the 12 school district shall be the community school district; 13 (e) the application for the charter school is approved by the board of 14 education of the school district where the charter school is to be 15 located; and 16 (f) the charter entity shall not approve an application that would 17 have the effect of increasing the racial isolation of a school district. 18 § 6. Subdivision 5-b of section 2852 of the education law, as added by 19 chapter 4 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as follows: 20 5-b. If the board of regents returns a proposed charter to the charter 21 entity pursuant to the provisions of subdivision five-a of this section, 22 such charter entity shall reconsider the proposed charter, taking into 23 consideration the comments and recommendation of the board of regents. 24 Thereafter, the charter entity shall resubmit the proposed charter to 25 the board of regents with modifications, provided that the applicant 26 consents in writing to such modifications, resubmit the proposed charter 27 to the board of regents without modifications with an explanation why 28 the modifications are not being made, or abandon the proposed charter. 29 The board of regents shall review each such resubmitted proposed charter 30 in accordance with the provisions of subdivision five-a of this 31 section[; provided, however, that it shall be the duty of the board of32regents to approve and issue a proposed charter resubmitted by the char-33ter entity described in paragraph (b) of subdivision three of section34twenty-eight hundred fifty-one of this article within thirty days of the35resubmission of such proposed charter or such proposed charter shall be36deemed approved and issued at the expiration of such period]. 37 § 7. Subdivision 7 of section 2852 of the education law is amended by 38 adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows: 39 (c) When a revision of a charter involves an increase in enrollment 40 which brings total enrollment in charter schools in the school district 41 of location above five percent the revision shall be denied unless the 42 school district of location approves the revision or the residents of 43 the school district approve the revision through a referendum of the 44 eligible voters to be held in conjunction with the annual budget vote. 45 For purposes of this paragraph in a city having a population of one 46 million or more the school district of location shall be the community 47 school district where the charter school is located. 48 § 8. Subdivision 10 of section 2852 of the education law, as added by 49 section 3 of part D-2 of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007, is amended to 50 read as follows: 51 10. Except in the case of a charter school formed by a school district 52 as a charter entity pursuant to paragraph (a) of subdivision three of 53 section twenty-eight hundred fifty-one of this article, a charter school 54 formed by approval of the regents or by operation of law on or after 55 [March] January fifteenth in any school year shall not commence instruc- 56 tion until July of the second school year next following.A. 781 4 1 § 9. Subdivision 2 of section 2853 of the education law, as added by 2 chapter 4 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as follows: 3 2. The board of regents and charter entity shall oversee each school 4 approved by such entity, and may visit, examine into and inspect any 5 charter school, including the records of such school, under its over- 6 sight. Oversight by a charter entity and the board of regents shall be 7 sufficient to ensure that the charter school is in compliance with all 8 applicable laws, regulations and charter provisions. The department 9 shall include charter schools in any review or audit of state assessment 10 administration or scoring. 11 § 10. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 2853 of the education 12 law, as amended by chapter 101 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read 13 as follows: 14 (a) A charter school may be located in part of an existing public 15 school building, in space provided on a private work site, in a public 16 building or in any other suitable location, provided, however, a charter 17 school shall not be located in any part of an existing school building 18 when such sharing would impact the public school's ability to meet the 19 class size targets established pursuant to section two hundred eleven-d 20 of this chapter. Provided, however, before a charter school may be 21 located in part of an existing public school building, the charter enti- 22 ty shall provide notice to the parents or guardians of the students then 23 enrolled in the existing school building and shall hold a public hearing 24 for purposes of discussing the location of the charter school. A charter 25 school may own, lease or rent its space. 26 § 11. Subdivision 3 of section 2853 of the education law is amended by 27 adding two new paragraphs (f) and (g) to read as follows: 28 (f) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any capital facility, or 29 other improvements made in public school buildings or equipment with a 30 period of probable usefulness of five or more years, with public or 31 private funds, to accommodate charter schools, shall require matching or 32 comparable improvements be made for other district schools located in 33 the same building. 34 (g) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any construction or capi- 35 tal improvement made in accordance with this article shall be made in 36 accordance with and subject to the provisions of articles eight and nine 37 of the labor law. 38 § 12. Paragraphs (c) and (e) of subdivision 1 of section 2854 of the 39 education law, paragraph (c) as amended by section 10-b of part A of 40 chapter 56 of the laws of 2014 and paragraph (e) as added by chapter 4 41 of the laws of 1998, are amended to read as follows: 42 (c) A charter school shall be subject to the financial audits, the 43 audit procedures, and the audit requirements set forth in the charter, 44 and [shall] may be subject to audits of the comptroller of the city 45 school district of the city of New York for charter schools located in 46 New York city, [and] to the audits of the comptroller of the state of 47 New York for charter schools located in the rest of the state, [at his48or her discretion] or the charter entity, with respect to the school's 49 financial operations. Such procedures and standards shall be consistent 50 with generally accepted accounting and audit standards. Independent 51 fiscal audits shall be required at least once annually. 52 (e) A charter school shall be subject to the provisions of articles 53 six and seven of the public officers law in the same manner as public 54 school districts. 55 § 13. Subdivision 1 of section 2854 of the education law is amended by 56 adding a new paragraph (g) to read as follows:A. 781 5 1 (g) A charter school shall be subject to the provisions of section 2 eight hundred six of the general municipal law. 3 § 14. Subdivision 2 of section 2854 of the education law, as added by 4 chapter 4 of the laws of 1998, paragraph (a) as amended by chapter 101 5 of the laws of 2010, and paragraph (b) as amended by section 3 of 6 subpart A of part B of chapter 20 of the laws of 2015, is amended to 7 read as follows: 8 2. Admissions; enrollment; students. (a) A charter school shall be 9 nonsectarian in its programs, admission policies, employment practices, 10 and all other operations and shall not charge tuition or fees; provided 11 that a charter school may require the payment of fees on the same basis 12 and to the same extent as other public schools. A charter school shall 13 not discriminate against any student, employee or any other person on 14 the basis of ethnicity, national origin, gender, or disability or any 15 other ground that would be unlawful if done by a school. Admission of 16 students shall not be limited on the basis of intellectual ability, 17 measures of achievement or aptitude, athletic ability, disability, race, 18 creed, gender, national origin, religion, or ancestry; provided, howev- 19 er, that nothing in this article shall be construed to prevent the 20 establishment of a single-sex charter school or a charter school 21 designed to provide expanded learning opportunities for students at-risk 22 of academic failure or students with disabilities and English language 23 learners; and provided, further, that the charter school shall [demon-24strate good faith efforts to] attract and retain a comparable or greater 25 enrollment of students with disabilities, English language learners, and 26 students who are eligible applicants for the free and reduced price 27 lunch program when compared to the enrollment figures for such students 28 in the school district in which the charter school is located. If a 29 charter school is not successful in attracting a comparable or greater 30 enrollment of students with disabilities and limited English proficient 31 students as compared to the enrollment figures for such students in the 32 school district in which the charter school is located such charter 33 school shall provide the chartering entity with a plan for improving the 34 enrollment of such students in the following year. Failure to comply 35 with this requirement for two consecutive years shall be subject to 36 revocation in accordance with subdivision one of section twenty-eight 37 hundred fifty-five of this article. A charter shall not be issued to any 38 school that would be wholly or in part under the control or direction of 39 any religious denomination, or in which any denominational tenet or 40 doctrine would be taught. 41 (b) Any child who is qualified under the laws of this state for admis- 42 sion to a public school is qualified for admission to a charter school. 43 Applications for admission to a charter school shall be submitted on a 44 uniform application form created by the department and shall be made 45 available by a charter school in languages predominately spoken in the 46 community in which such charter school is located. The school shall 47 enroll each eligible student who submits a timely application by the 48 first day of April each year, unless the number of applications exceeds 49 the capacity of the grade level or building. In such cases, students 50 shall be accepted from among applicants by a random selection process, 51 provided, however, that an enrollment preference shall be provided to 52 pupils when the charter school is located within one mile of the pupils' 53 residence, pupils returning to the charter school in the second or any 54 subsequent year of operation and pupils residing in the school district 55 in which the charter school is located, and siblings of pupils already 56 enrolled in the charter school and students on free lunch, and studentsA. 781 6 1 with disabilities, and students with limited English proficiency. Pref- 2 erence may also be provided to children of employees of the charter 3 school or charter management organization, provided that such children 4 of employees may constitute no more than fifteen percent of the charter 5 school's total enrollment. The commissioner shall establish regulations 6 to require that the random selection process conducted pursuant to this 7 paragraph be performed in a transparent and equitable manner and to 8 require that the time and place of the random selection process be 9 publicized in a manner consistent with the requirements of section one 10 hundred four of the public officers law and be open to the public. For 11 the purposes of this paragraph and paragraph (a) of this subdivision, 12 the school district in which the charter school is located shall mean, 13 for the city school district of the city of New York, the community 14 district in which the charter school is located. The charter entity is 15 responsible for ensuring the selection process is conducted in accord- 16 ance with this paragraph. If the charter entity determines the process 17 is not in compliance with this paragraph, the charter entity shall 18 conduct the process. 19 (c) A charter school shall serve one or more of the grades one through 20 twelve, and shall limit admission to pupils within the grade levels 21 served. Nothing herein shall prohibit a charter school from establishing 22 a kindergarten program. 23 (d) A student may withdraw from a charter school at any time and 24 enroll in a public school. A charter school must provide a report to the 25 chartering entity each year indicating the number of students leaving 26 the charter school, the months in which the students leave the school, 27 the reason the students leave the school and the school the student is 28 currently attending. A charter school may refuse admission to any 29 student who has been expelled or suspended from a public school until 30 the period of suspension or expulsion from the public school has 31 expired, consistent with the requirements of due process. 32 § 15. Paragraphs (b-1), (c) and (c-1) of subdivision 3 of section 2854 33 of the education law, paragraph (b-1) as amended by section 6 of part 34 D-2 of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007, and paragraphs (c) and (c-1) as 35 added by chapter 4 of the laws of 1998, are amended to read as follows: 36 (b-1) The employees of a charter school [that is not a conversion from37an existing public school] shall [not] be deemed members of [any] the 38 existing collective bargaining unit representing employees of the school 39 district in which the charter school is located, and the charter school 40 and its employees shall [not] be subject to any existing collective 41 bargaining agreement between the school district and its employees. 42 [Provided, however, that (i) if the student enrollment of the charter43school on the first day on which the charter school commences student44instruction exceeds two hundred fifty or if the average daily student45enrollment of such school exceeds two hundred fifty students at any46point during the first two years after the charter school commences47student instruction, all employees of the school who are eligible for48representation under article fourteen of the civil service law shall be49deemed to be represented in a separate negotiating unit at the charter50school by the same employee organization, if any, that represents like51employees in the school district in which such charter school is52located; (ii) the provisions of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph may53be waived in up to ten charters issued on the recommendation of the54charter entity set forth in paragraph (b) of subdivision three of55section twenty-eight hundred fifty-one of this article; (iii) the56provisions of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall not be applicableA. 781 7 1to the renewal or extension of a charter; and (iv) nothing in this2sentence shall be construed to subject a charter school subject to the3provisions of this paragraph or its employees to any collective bargain-4ing agreement between any public school district and its employees or to5make the employees of such charter school part of any negotiating unit6at such school district. The charter school may, in its sole discretion,7choose whether or not to offer the terms of any existing collective8bargaining to school employees.] Provided, however, that a majority of 9 the members of a negotiating unit within a charter school may modify, in 10 writing, a collective bargaining agreement for the purposes of employ- 11 ment in the charter school with the approval of the board of trustees of 12 the charter school. 13 (c) The employees of the charter school [may] shall be deemed employ- 14 ees of the local school district for the purpose of providing retirement 15 benefits, including membership in the teachers' retirement system and 16 other retirement systems open to employees of public schools. The finan- 17 cial contributions for such benefits shall be the responsibility of the 18 charter school and the school's employees. The commissioner, in consul- 19 tation with the comptroller, shall develop regulations to implement the 20 provisions of this paragraph in a manner that allows charter schools to 21 provide retirement benefits to its employees in the same manner as other 22 public school employees. 23 (c-1) Reasonable access. (i) If employees of the charter school are 24 not represented, any charter school chartered pursuant to this article 25 must afford reasonable access to any employee organization during the 26 reasonable proximate period before any representation question is raised 27 in the same manner as any public employer; or 28 (ii) If the employee organization is a challenging organization, 29 reasonable access must be provided to any organization seeking to repre- 30 sent employees beginning with a date reasonably proximate to a challenge 31 period. Reasonableness is defined, at a minimum, as access equal to that 32 provided to the incumbent organization. 33 § 16. Subdivision 1 of section 2855 of the education law, as amended 34 by chapter 101 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows: 35 1. The charter entity, or the board of regents, [may] shall terminate 36 a charter upon any of the following grounds: 37 (a) When a charter school's outcome on student assessment measures 38 adopted by the board of regents falls below the level that would allow 39 the commissioner to revoke the registration of another public school, 40 and student achievement on such measures [has not shown improvement] has 41 not met annual yearly progress over the preceding three school years; 42 (b) Serious violations of law; 43 (c) Material and substantial violation of the charter, including 44 fiscal mismanagement and failure to meet student performance targets; 45 (d) When the public employment relations board makes a determination 46 that the charter school demonstrates a practice and pattern of egregious 47 and intentional violations of subdivision one of section two hundred 48 nine-a of the civil service law involving interference with or discrimi- 49 nation against employee rights under article fourteen of the civil 50 service law; [or] 51 (e) Repeated failure to comply with the requirement to meet or exceed 52 enrollment and retention targets of students with disabilities, English 53 language learners, and students who are eligible applicants for the free 54 and reduced price lunch program pursuant to targets established by the 55 board of regents or the board of trustees of the state university of New 56 York, as applicable. Provided, however, if no grounds for terminating aA. 781 8 1 charter are established pursuant to this section other than pursuant to 2 this paragraph, and the charter school demonstrates that it has made 3 extensive efforts to recruit and retain such students, including 4 outreach to parents and families in the surrounding communities, widely 5 publicizing the lottery for such school, and efforts to academically 6 support such students in such charter school, then the charter entity or 7 board of regents may retain such charter[.]; or 8 (f) Failure to enroll a comparable percentage of students qualifying 9 for free lunch, students with disabilities and English language learners 10 for two consecutive years. 11 § 17. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 2856 of the education 12 law, as amended by chapter 378 of the laws of 2007, is amended and a new 13 paragraph (a-1) is added to read as follows: 14 (a-1) For the two thousand seventeen--two thousand eighteen school 15 year and each school year thereafter the state shall reimburse school 16 districts for the local share of the charter school tuition payment of 17 any students attending a charter school in the June payment required by 18 section three thousand six hundred nine-a of this chapter. Such local 19 share shall be calculated by deducting from the charter school tuition 20 payment the per pupil foundation aid amount attributable to such pupil. 21 (b) The school district shall also pay directly to the charter school 22 any federal or state aid attributable to a student with a disability 23 attending charter school in proportion to the level of services for such 24 student with a disability that the charter school provides directly or 25 indirectly. Notwithstanding anything in this section to the contrary, 26 amounts payable pursuant to this subdivision from state or local funds 27 may be reduced pursuant to an agreement between the school and the char- 28 ter entity set forth in the charter. Payments made pursuant to this 29 subdivision shall be made by the school district in six substantially 30 equal installments each year beginning on the first business day of July 31 and every two months thereafter. Amounts payable under this subdivision 32 shall be determined by the commissioner. Amounts payable to a charter 33 school in its first year of operation shall be based on the projections 34 of initial-year enrollment set forth in the charter until actual enroll- 35 ment data is reported to the school district by the charter school. Such 36 actual enrollment shall be reported to the school district prior to each 37 payment following the initial July payment which shall be based on 38 projected enrollment. Such projections shall be reconciled with the 39 actual enrollment as actual enrollment data is so reported and at the 40 end of the school's first year of operation and each subsequent year 41 based on a final report of actual enrollment by the charter school, and 42 any necessary adjustments resulting from such final report shall be made 43 to payments during the school's following year of operation. 44 § 18. Subdivisions 2 and 3 of section 2857 of the education law, 45 subdivision 2 as amended and paragraph (a-1) of subdivision 3 as added 46 by chapter 101 of the laws of 2010 and subdivision 3 as amended by 47 section 7 of part D-2 of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007, are amended to 48 read as follows: 49 2. Each charter school shall submit to the charter entity and to the 50 board of regents an annual report. Such report shall be issued no later 51 than the first day of August of each year for the preceding school year 52 and provided to the school district where the charter school is located 53 for display on the school district website, and shall be made publicly 54 available by such date and shall be posted on the charter school's 55 website. The annual report shall be in such form as shall be prescribed 56 by the commissioner and shall include at least the following components:A. 781 9 1 (a) a charter school report card, which shall include measures of the 2 comparative academic and fiscal performance of the school, as prescribed 3 by the commissioner in regulations adopted for such purpose. Such meas- 4 ures shall include, but not be limited to, graduation rates, dropout 5 rates, performance of students on standardized tests disaggregated for 6 sub-groups, college entry rates, total spending per pupil and adminis- 7 trative spending per pupil. Such measures shall be presented in a 8 format that is easily comparable to similar public schools. In addition, 9 the charter school shall ensure that such information is easily accessi- 10 ble to the community including making it publicly available by transmit- 11 ting it to local newspapers of general circulation and making it avail- 12 able for distribution at board of trustee meetings. 13 (b) discussion of the progress made towards achievement of the goals 14 set forth in the charter. 15 (c) a certified financial statement setting forth, by appropriate 16 categories, the revenues from all sources and expenditures including the 17 salary of the school leader and any other salaries in excess of the 18 reporting requirements for public school districts contained in section 19 sixteen hundred eight of this title and contracts with consultants and 20 vendors for the preceding school year, including a copy of the most 21 recent independent fiscal audit of the school and any audit conducted by 22 the comptroller of the state of New York. 23 (d) efforts taken by the charter school in the existing school year, 24 and a plan for efforts to be taken in the succeeding school year, to 25 meet or exceed enrollment and retention targets set by the board of 26 regents or the board of trustees of the state university of New York, as 27 applicable, of students with disabilities, English language learners, 28 and students who are eligible applicants for the free and reduced price 29 lunch program established pursuant to paragraph (e) of subdivision four 30 of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-one of this article. 31 3. The board of regents shall report annually by December first to the 32 governor, the temporary president of the senate, and the speaker of the 33 assembly and the public the following information: 34 (a) The number, distribution, and a brief description of new charter 35 schools established during the preceding year; 36 (a-1) A list including the number of charter schools closed during the 37 preceding year, and a brief description of the reasons therefor includ- 38 ing, but not limited to, non-renewal of the charter or revocation of the 39 charter; 40 (b) The department's assessment of the current and projected program- 41 matic and fiscal impact of charter schools on the delivery of services 42 by school districts; 43 (c) The academic progress of students attending charter schools, as 44 measured against comparable public and nonpublic schools with similar 45 student population characteristics [wherever practicable]; 46 (d) A list of all actions taken by a charter entity on charter appli- 47 cation and the rationale for the renewal or revocation of any charters; 48 and 49 (e) Any other information regarding charter schools that the board of 50 regents deems necessary including information on best practices of char- 51 ter schools that improve student performance. 52 The format for this annual report shall be developed in consultation 53 with representatives of school districts and charter school officials. 54 § 19. Subparagraph (v) of paragraph a of subdivision 7 of section 1608 55 of the education law, as amended by section 4 of part A of chapter 97 ofA. 781 10 1 the laws of 2011, is amended and a new subparagraph (vi) is added to 2 read as follows: 3 (v) the projected amount of the unappropriated unreserved fund balance 4 that will be retained if the proposed budget is adopted, the projected 5 amount of the reserved fund balance, the projected amount of the appro- 6 priated fund balance, the percentage of the proposed budget that the 7 unappropriated unreserved fund balance represents, the actual unappro- 8 priated unreserved fund balance retained in the school district budget 9 for the preceding school year, and the percentage of the school district 10 budget for the preceding school year that the actual unappropriated 11 unreserved fund balance represents[.]; and 12 (vi) the projected amount of payments to be made to charter schools in 13 the next school year. 14 § 20. Subparagraph (v) of paragraph a of subdivision 7 of section 1716 15 of the education law, as amended by section 5 of part A of chapter 97 of 16 the laws of 2011, is amended and a new subparagraph (vi) is added to 17 read as follows: 18 (v) the projected amount of the unappropriated unreserved fund balance 19 that will be retained if the proposed budget is adopted, the projected 20 amount of the reserved fund balance, the projected amount of the appro- 21 priated fund balance, the percentage of the proposed budget that the 22 unappropriated unreserved fund balance represents, the actual unappro- 23 priated unreserved fund balance retained in the school district budget 24 for the preceding school year, and the percentage of the school district 25 budget for the preceding school year that the actual unappropriated 26 unreserved fund balance represents[.]; and 27 (vi) the projected amount of payments to be made to charter schools in 28 the next school year. 29 § 21. Paragraph t of subdivision 1 of section 3602 of the education 30 law is amended by adding a new closing paragraph to read as follows: 31 Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, in 32 computing approved operating expense pursuant to this paragraph for city 33 school districts of those cities having a population in excess of one 34 hundred twenty-five thousand but less than one million; an amount equal 35 to (i) the amount computed for the school district for the two thousand 36 six--two thousand seven school year pursuant to former subdivision thir- 37 ty-seven of this section as this section existed on June thirtieth, two 38 thousand seven, (ii) the state funds which such district received in the 39 two thousand six--two thousand seven school year for magnet school 40 grants to public schools, and (iii) the state funds which such district 41 received in the two thousand six--two thousand seven school year for 42 teacher support, shall be accounted for in the same way as state funds 43 received for such purpose in the two thousand six--two thousand seven 44 school year. 45 § 22. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 46 the amendments to subdivision 1 of section 2856 of the education law 47 made by section seventeen of this act shall not affect the expiration of 48 such subdivision and shall expire therewith; provided further that the 49 amendments to paragraph a of subdivision 7 of section 1608 of the educa- 50 tion law made by section nineteen of this act shall not affect the expi- 51 ration of such paragraph and shall expire therewith; and provided 52 further that the amendments to paragraph a of subdivision 7 of section 53 1716 of the education law made by section twenty of this act shall not 54 affect the expiration of such paragraph and shall expire therewith.
