Bill Text: NY A04838 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to the location and management of charter schools and the enrollment of students at charter schools.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-04 - referred to education [A04838 Detail]
Download: New_York-2011-A04838-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 4838 2011-2012 Regular Sessions I N A S S E M B L Y February 8, 2011 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. WRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the location and management of charter schools and the enrollment of students at char- ter 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 eleven years ago in an effort to create new learning opportu- 3 nities for all students, to encourage different and innovative teaching 4 methods and to provide parents and students with expanded choice within 5 the public schools. Eleven 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 S 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 or 21 corporate entity authorized to do business in New York state. Provided 22 however, for-profit business or corporate entities shall not be eligible 23 to submit an application to establish a charter school pursuant to 24 subdivision nine-a of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-two of this EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07019-01-1 A. 4838 2 1 article, or operate or manage a charter school for a charter issued 2 pursuant to subdivision nine-a of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-two 3 of this article. For charter schools established in conjunction with a 4 for-profit business or corporate entity, the charter shall specify the 5 extent of the entity's participation in the management and operation of 6 the school. THE APPLICATION SHALL INCLUDE THE AMOUNT OF ANY MANAGEMENT 7 FEE TO BE PAID TO ANY NOT-FOR-PROFIT CORPORATION WORKING IN CONJUNCTION 8 WITH THE APPLICANTS. SALARIES OF THE EMPLOYEES OF SUCH NOT-FOR-PROFIT 9 CORPORATION MAY NOT EXCEED THE SALARIES FOR COMPARABLE POSITIONS IN THE 10 SCHOOL DISTRICT OF LOCATION. 11 S 3. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 2 of section 2851 of the education 12 law, as added by chapter 4 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as 13 follows: 14 (d) Admission policies and procedures for the school, which shall be 15 consistent with the requirements of subdivision two of section twenty- 16 eight hundred fifty-four of this article. FOR CHARTER RENEWALS, SUCH 17 POLICIES AND PROCEDURES SHALL INCLUDE PLANS FOR ENSURING THE STUDENT 18 ENROLLMENT OF THE CHARTER SCHOOL INCLUDES A COMPARABLE PERCENTAGE OF 19 STUDENTS ON FREE LUNCH, STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE 20 LEARNERS AS THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IN WHICH THE CHARTER SCHOOL IS LOCATED. 21 S 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 of section 2851 of the education 22 law, as added by chapter 4 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as 23 follows: 24 (a) A report of the progress of the charter school in achieving the 25 educational objectives set forth in the charter. SUCH REPORT SHALL 26 INCLUDE DISAGGREGATED STUDENT PERFORMANCE DATA FOR ALL STUDENT 27 SUBGROUPS. 28 S 5. Subdivision 7 of section 2852 of the education law is amended by 29 adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows: 30 (C) WHEN A REVISION OF A CHARTER INVOLVES AN INCREASE IN ENROLLMENT 31 WHICH BRINGS TOTAL ENROLLMENT IN CHARTER SCHOOLS IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT 32 OF LOCATION ABOVE FIVE PERCENT, THE REVISION SHALL BE DENIED UNLESS THE 33 SCHOOL DISTRICT OF LOCATION APPROVES THE REVISION OR THE RESIDENTS OF 34 THE SCHOOL DISTRICT APPROVE THE REVISION THROUGH A REFERENDUM OF THE 35 ELIGIBLE VOTERS TO BE HELD IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE ANNUAL BUDGET VOTE. 36 FOR PURPOSES OF THIS PARAGRAPH IN A CITY HAVING A POPULATION OF ONE 37 MILLION OR MORE, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF LOCATION SHALL BE THE COMMUNITY 38 SCHOOL DISTRICT WHERE THE CHARTER SCHOOL IS LOCATED. 39 S 6. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 2853 of the education 40 law, as amended by chapter 101 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read 41 as follows: 42 (a) A charter school may be located in part of an existing public 43 school building, in space provided on a private work site, in a public 44 building or in any other suitable location. Provided, however, before a 45 charter school may be located in part of an existing public school 46 building, the charter entity shall provide notice to the parents or 47 guardians of the students then enrolled in the existing school building 48 and shall hold a public hearing for purposes of discussing the location 49 of the charter school AND PROVIDED FURTHER THAT, A CHARTER SCHOOL SHALL 50 NOT BE LOCATED IN ANY PART OF AN EXISTING SCHOOL BUILDING WHEN SUCH 51 SHARING WOULD IMPACT THE PUBLIC SCHOOL'S ABILITY TO MEET THE CLASS SIZE 52 TARGETS ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO SECTION TWO HUNDRED ELEVEN-D OF THIS 53 CHAPTER. A charter school may own, lease or rent its space. 54 S 7. Subdivision 3 of section 2853 of the education law is amended by 55 adding two new paragraphs (e) and (f) to read as follows: A. 4838 3 1 (E) NOTWITHSTANDING ANY LAW TO THE CONTRARY, ANY CAPITAL FACILITY, OR 2 OTHER IMPROVEMENTS MADE IN PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS, WITH PUBLIC OR 3 PRIVATE FUNDS, TO ACCOMMODATE A CHARTER SCHOOL, SHALL REQUIRE MATCHING 4 OR COMPARABLE IMPROVEMENTS BE MADE FOR OTHER DISTRICT SCHOOLS LOCATED IN 5 THE SAME BUILDING. 6 (F) NOTWITHSTANDING ANY LAW TO THE CONTRARY, ANY CONSTRUCTION OR CAPI- 7 TAL IMPROVEMENT MADE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS ARTICLE SHALL BE MADE IN 8 ACCORDANCE WITH AND SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLES EIGHT AND NINE 9 OF THE LABOR LAW. 10 S 8. Subdivision 2 of section 2854 of the education law, as added by 11 chapter 4 of the laws of 1998, paragraphs (a) and (b) as amended by 12 chapter 101 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows: 13 2. Admissions; enrollment; students. (a) A charter school shall be 14 nonsectarian in its programs, admission policies, employment practices, 15 and all other operations and shall not charge tuition or fees; provided 16 that a charter school may require the payment of fees on the same basis 17 and to the same extent as other public schools. A charter school shall 18 not discriminate against any student, employee or any other person on 19 the basis of ethnicity, national origin, gender, or disability or any 20 other ground that would be unlawful if done by a school. Admission of 21 students shall not be limited on the basis of intellectual ability, 22 measures of achievement or aptitude, athletic ability, disability, race, 23 creed, gender, national origin, religion, or ancestry; provided, howev- 24 er, that nothing in this article shall be construed to prevent the 25 establishment of a single-sex charter school or a charter school 26 designed to provide expanded learning opportunities for students at-risk 27 of academic failure or students with disabilities and English language 28 learners; and provided, further, that the charter school shall [demon- 29 strate good faith efforts to] attract and retain a comparable or greater 30 enrollment of students with disabilities, English language learners, and 31 students who are eligible applicants for the free and reduced price 32 lunch program when compared to the enrollment figures for such students 33 in the school district in which the charter school is located. IF A 34 CHARTER SCHOOL IS NOT SUCCESSFUL IN ATTRACTING A COMPARABLE OR GREATER 35 ENROLLMENT OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES AND LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT 36 STUDENTS AS COMPARED TO THE ENROLLMENT FIGURES FOR SUCH STUDENTS IN THE 37 SCHOOL DISTRICT IN WHICH THE CHARTER SCHOOL IS LOCATED, SUCH CHARTER 38 SCHOOL SHALL PROVIDE THE CHARTERING ENTITY WITH A PLAN FOR IMPROVING THE 39 ENROLLMENT OF SUCH STUDENTS IN THE FOLLOWING YEAR. FAILURE TO COMPLY 40 WITH THIS REQUIREMENT FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE YEARS SHALL BE SUBJECT TO 41 REVOCATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION TWENTY-EIGHT 42 HUNDRED FIFTY-FIVE OF THIS ARTICLE. A charter shall not be issued to any 43 school that would be wholly or in part under the control or direction of 44 any religious denomination, or in which any denominational tenet or 45 doctrine would be taught. 46 (b) Any child who is qualified under the laws of this state for admis- 47 sion to a public school is qualified for admission to a charter school. 48 Applications for admission to a charter school shall be submitted on a 49 uniform application form created by the department and shall be made 50 available by a charter school in languages predominately spoken in the 51 community in which such charter school is located. The school shall 52 enroll each eligible student who submits a timely application by the 53 first day of April each year, unless the number of applications exceeds 54 the capacity of the grade level or building. In such cases, students 55 shall be accepted from among applicants by a random selection process, 56 provided, however, that an enrollment preference shall be provided to A. 4838 4 1 pupils returning to the charter school in the second or any subsequent 2 year of operation and pupils residing in the school district in which 3 the charter school is located, and siblings of pupils already enrolled 4 in the charter school AND STUDENTS ON FREE AND REDUCED PRICE LUNCH, AND 5 STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, AND STUDENTS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIEN- 6 CY. The commissioner shall establish regulations to require that the 7 random selection process conducted pursuant to this paragraph be 8 performed in a transparent and equitable manner and to require that the 9 time and place of the random selection process be publicized in a manner 10 consistent with the requirements of section one hundred four of the 11 public officers law and be open to the public. For the purposes of this 12 paragraph and paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the school district in 13 which the charter school is located shall mean, for the city school 14 district of the city of New York, the [community district] ATTENDANCE 15 ZONE in which the charter school is located. THE CHARTER ENTITY IS 16 RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THE SELECTION PROCESS IS CONDUCTED IN ACCORD- 17 ANCE WITH THIS PARAGRAPH. IF THE CHARTER ENTITY DETERMINES THE PROCESS 18 IS NOT IN COMPLIANCE WITH THIS PARAGRAPH, THE CHARTER ENTITY SHALL 19 CONDUCT THE PROCESS. 20 (c) A charter school shall serve one or more of the grades one through 21 twelve, and shall limit admission to pupils within the grade levels 22 served. Nothing herein shall prohibit a charter school from establishing 23 a kindergarten program. 24 (d) A student may withdraw from a charter school at any time and 25 enroll in a public school. A CHARTER SCHOOL MUST PROVIDE A REPORT TO 26 THE CHARTERING ENTITY EACH YEAR INDICATING THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS LEAV- 27 ING THE CHARTER SCHOOL, THE MONTHS IN WHICH THE STUDENTS LEAVE THE 28 SCHOOL, THE REASON THE STUDENTS LEAVE THE SCHOOL AND THE SCHOOL THE 29 STUDENT IS CURRENTLY ATTENDING. A charter school may refuse admission to 30 any student who has been expelled or suspended from a public school 31 until the period of suspension or expulsion from the public school has 32 expired, consistent with the requirements of due process. 33 S 9. Subdivision 1 of section 2855 of the education law, as amended by 34 chapter 101 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows: 35 1. The charter entity, or the board of regents, may terminate a char- 36 ter 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] MET 41 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] FAILURE FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE YEARS, to comply 52 with the requirement to meet or exceed enrollment and retention targets 53 of students with disabilities, English language learners, and students 54 who are eligible applicants for the free and reduced price lunch program 55 pursuant to targets established by the board of regents or the board of 56 trustees of the state university of New York, as applicable. Provided, A. 4838 5 1 however, if no grounds for terminating a charter are established pursu- 2 ant to this section other than pursuant to this paragraph, and the char- 3 ter school demonstrates that it has made extensive efforts to recruit 4 and retain such students, including outreach to parents and families in 5 the surrounding communities, widely publicizing the lottery for such 6 school, and efforts to academically support such students in such char- 7 ter school, then the charter entity or board of regents may retain such 8 charter. 9 S 10. This act shall take effect immediately.