Bill Text: NY A07447 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Requires city school districts in cities having a population of one million or more to develop class size reduction plans beginning in September 2022 to reduce the average classroom size citywide, by district, and by school in such districts by the 2027-2028 school year.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-02-07 - print number 7447a [A07447 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A07447-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7447

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      May 10, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. SIMON -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Education

        AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring  class  size
          reduction plans in city school districts in cities having a population
          of one million or more

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

     1    Section 1. Subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) of paragraph b of  subdivision
     2  2 of section 211-d of the education law, subparagraph (ii) as amended by
     3  section  2  of part A of chapter 57 of the laws of 2008 and subparagraph
     4  (iii) as added by section 3-a of part A of chapter 57  of  the  laws  of
     5  2009, are amended to read as follows:
     6    (ii)  In  a  city school district in a city having a population of one
     7  million or more inhabitants such contract shall also include a  plan  to
     8  reduce  citywide  average  class  sizes  and  by district and school, as
     9  defined by the commissioner, [within five years] beginning September two
    10  thousand twenty-one and to be achieved by September  two-thousand  twen-
    11  ty-six for the following grade ranges: (A) pre-kindergarten-third grade;
    12  (B) fourth-eighth grade; and (C) high school, and shall thereafter main-
    13  tain  the  average  class  sizes achieved by such date.  Such plan shall
    14  include annual class size reduction for low performing  and  overcrowded
    15  schools  and  also  include the methods to be used to achieve such class
    16  sizes, such as the creation  or  construction  of  more  classrooms  and
    17  school  buildings, the placement of more than one teacher in a classroom
    18  or methods to otherwise reduce the student to teacher ratio[;  provided,
    19  however, that notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contra-
    20  ry, the sole and exclusive remedy for a violation of the requirements of
    21  this paragraph shall be pursuant to a petition to the commissioner under
    22  subdivision  seven  of  section three hundred ten of this title, and the
    23  decision of the commissioner on such petition shall be final  and  unre-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10991-01-1
        A. 7447                             2

     1  viewable] but only as a temporary measure until more classrooms are made
     2  available in conformance with the plan.
     3    (iii)  A  city  school  district  in a city having a population of one
     4  million or more inhabitants shall prepare [a report] annual reports,  on
     5  the  dates  set  forth  below,  to the commissioner on the status of the
     6  implementation of its plan to reduce average  class  sizes  pursuant  to
     7  subparagraph  (ii)  of  this  paragraph.  Such  report shall be publicly
     8  released and posted on the city  school  district's  websites,  and  the
     9  department  shall  identify  all schools that received funds targeted at
    10  class size reduction  efforts  pursuant  to  the  requirements  of  this
    11  section and provide the following information regarding such schools:
    12    (A)  the  amount  of  contract  for  excellence funds received by each
    13  school and the school year in which it received such funds;
    14    (B) a detailed  description  of  how  contract  for  excellence  funds
    15  contributed  to  achieving  class  size  reduction  in  each school that
    16  received such funding including specific information on  the  number  of
    17  classrooms  in  each school that existed prior to receiving contract for
    18  excellence funds and the number of new [classrooms]  classes  that  were
    19  created  in  each  school  for  each year such funding was received, the
    20  number of classroom teachers  that  existed  in  each  school  prior  to
    21  receiving  contract for excellence funds and the number of new classroom
    22  teachers in each school for each year such  funding  was  received,  the
    23  student  to teacher ratio in each school prior to receiving contract for
    24  excellence funds and the student to teacher ratio  in  each  school  for
    25  each year such funding was received;
    26    (C)   the  actual  student  enrollment  for  the  two  thousand  [six]
    27  twenty--two thousand [seven] twenty-one school year, the actual  student
    28  enrollment for the two thousand [seven] twenty-one--two thousand [eight]
    29  twenty-two  school year, the actual student enrollment for the two thou-
    30  sand [eight]twenty-two--two thousand [nine]  twenty-three  school  year,
    31  the  actual  student  enrollment  for the two thousand twenty-three--two
    32  thousand twenty-four school year, the actual student enrollment for  the
    33  two  thousand twenty-four--two thousand twenty-five school year, and the
    34  projected   student   enrollment   for   the   two    thousand    [nine]
    35  twenty-five--two  thousand  [ten] twenty-six school year for each school
    36  by grade level;
    37    (D) the  actual  average  class  sizes  for  the  two  thousand  [six]
    38  twenty--two  thousand [seven] twenty-one school year, the actual average
    39  class sizes  for  the  two  thousand  [seven]  twenty-one--two  thousand
    40  [eight]  twenty-two  school year, the actual average class sizes for the
    41  two thousand [eight] twenty-two--two thousand [nine] twenty-three school
    42  year, and the projected average class sizes for the two thousand  [nine]
    43  twenty-three--two thousand [ten] twenty-four school year for each school
    44  by  grade  level and for each year thereafter until the class size goals
    45  are achieved; [and]
    46    (E) the annual capital plan for school  construction  and  leasing  to
    47  show how many classrooms will be added in each year and in which schools
    48  and subdistricts to achieve the class size reduction goals;
    49    (F)  how the school capacity and utilization formula is aligned to the
    50  class size goals in the city  school  district's  class  size  reduction
    51  plan; and
    52    (G)  the schools that have made insufficient progress toward achieving
    53  the class size reduction [goals outlined] contained in the approved five
    54  year class size reduction plan pursuant to  subparagraph  (ii)  of  this
    55  paragraph  and  a detailed description of the actions that will be taken
    56  to reduce class sizes in such schools.
        A. 7447                             3

     1    [Such report shall be submitted  to  the  commissioner  on  or  before
     2  November  seventeenth,  two thousand nine and shall be made available to
     3  the public by such date] The first report  shall  be  submitted  to  the
     4  commissioner  on  or  before  November  fifteenth  of each year and made
     5  available  to the public by such date. If the department determines that
     6  the November fifteenth report does not demonstrate sufficient  decreases
     7  in  class size, the city school district shall immediately submit a plan
     8  for corrective action and such plan shall also be made available to  the
     9  public  upon  submission  to the department. The final corrective action
    10  plan shall be made available to the public upon approval by the  depart-
    11  ment.  The  final  report  shall  also be certified by the state or city
    12  comptroller that the city school district's capital and education  fund-
    13  ing  plans  will provide sufficient space and staffing for the reduction
    14  in class size set forth in this paragraph  and  if  not,  what  measures
    15  and/or funding should be added to the plan to achieve such goals.
    16    §  2.  This  act shall take effect immediately; provided, however that
    17  the amendments to section 211-d of the education law made by section one
    18  of this act shall first apply to contracts for excellence for the  2021-
    19  2022 school year.