Bill Text: NY A08321 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes the Rochester city school district empowerment act.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to education [A08321 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A08321-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8321

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      June 13, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. BRONSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Education

        AN ACT to establish the Rochester city school district empowerment  act;
          and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration there-
          of

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

     1    Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
     2  the "Rochester city school district empowerment act".
     3    §  2.  Legislative intent.  The legislature hereby finds the Rochester
     4  city school district has historically underperformed and is in  need  of
     5  intervention to improve the outcomes of all students in the district. In
     6  August  2018,  the  commissioner  of education appointed a distinguished
     7  educator who conducted a review of the Rochester  city  school  district
     8  and  proposed a series of recommendations related to the areas of gover-
     9  nance and leadership, teaching and learning,  professional  development,
    10  district  operations,  the  education  of students with disabilities and
    11  English language learners, and  parent  and  community  engagement.  The
    12  distinguished  educator has made it clear that the Rochester city school
    13  district needs support in improving the district's  systems,  structures
    14  and  operations  and  addressing  gaps  in student services and academic
    15  performance.
    16    § 3. Definitions. As used in this act:
    17    (a) "commissioner" shall mean the commissioner of education;
    18    (b) "board of education" or "board" shall mean the board of  education
    19  of the Rochester city school district;
    20    (c)  "superintendent"  shall  mean the superintendent of the Rochester
    21  city school district; and
    22    (d) "school district" shall mean the Rochester city school district.
    23    § 4. Beginning in the 2020-21 school year, with funds  available  from
    24  the  state,  the  superintendent, in consultation with the commissioner,

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13158-05-9
        A. 8321                             2

     1  shall convert all schools that have  been  designated  as  comprehensive
     2  support and improvement schools by the commissioner to community schools
     3  to provide expanded health, mental health and other services to students
     4  and  their families.   Before the conclusion of the 2019-20 school year,
     5  the superintendent shall develop a strategic plan setting forth how  the
     6  district  plans to transform such schools into community hubs to deliver
     7  co-located or school-linked academic, health, mental health,  nutrition,
     8  counseling,  legal  and/or other services to students and their families
     9  in a manner that will lead to improved educational and  other  outcomes.
    10  Nothing  in  this  act  shall  preclude any school in the Rochester city
    11  school district from converting to a community school.
    12    § 5. Board member training. (a) In addition to the  training  required
    13  under  section 2102-a of the education law, every member of the board of
    14  education shall annually complete a minimum of twelve hours of  training
    15  on  the roles and responsibilities of board members. Such training shall
    16  include education on ethics, public relations, cultural sensitivity  and
    17  responsiveness, dispute resolution, governance, and the appropriate role
    18  of board members, the board president, and the superintendent.
    19    (b)  The  curriculum  used  for such training shall be approved by the
    20  commissioner. Such curricula may be offered together as a single  course
    21  or separately. The training required by this section shall be offered by
    22  providers approved by the commissioner. In approving providers for these
    23  trainings,  the  commissioner  shall  consider  the potential provider's
    24  understanding of the educational environment, the roles of trustees  and
    25  boards  of education and boards of cooperative educational services, and
    26  the experience of the provider in delivering such training.
    27    (c) Each board member of the school district shall demonstrate compli-
    28  ance with these requirements by filing with the district clerk a certif-
    29  icate of completion of such training issued by the provider. Actual  and
    30  necessary  expenses  incurred  by  a  board member in complying with the
    31  foregoing requirements shall be a charge against the school district.
    32    § 6. Powers and duties. (a) The board of education and the superinten-
    33  dent shall jointly develop written guidelines  clearly  delineating  the
    34  powers  and  duties  of  such board of education and superintendent. The
    35  superintendent shall be the chief executive  officer  of  the  board  of
    36  education and the school district educational system. As the chief exec-
    37  utive  officer,  the  superintendent shall execute all powers and duties
    38  authorized in this act, section 2566 of the education law, and any other
    39  applicable state law or regulations, including managing all  pre-kinder-
    40  garten,  elementary, and secondary schools under the jurisdiction of the
    41  school district.  The board of education shall execute only  the  powers
    42  and  duties authorized in this act, article 52 of the education law, and
    43  any other applicable state law or regulation.
    44    (b) In the event of a disagreement between the board of education  and
    45  the  superintendent  or amongst members of such board, including but not
    46  limited to disagreements arising from a failure to adhere to the  powers
    47  and  duties  established under paragraph (a) of this section, such board
    48  of education or superintendent shall initiate mediation. Such  mediation
    49  shall  be  conducted by a mediator that is chosen from a mutually agreed
    50  upon list of qualifed mediators furnished by a community dispute  resol-
    51  ution  center  under article 21-A of the judiciary law.  Such list shall
    52  be established within 60 days of enactment of this act and renewed annu-
    53  ally at the start of each school year.  The superintendent and the board
    54  of education shall participate in good faith with any request for  medi-
    55  ation.
        A. 8321                             3

     1    §  7.  Strategic academic improvement plan. The board of education and
     2  superintendent shall develop a long term strategic academic  improvement
     3  plan  within  60  days  from  the enactment of this act. Such plan shall
     4  include a set of goals with appropriate benchmarks and measurable objec-
     5  tives  to  address  areas  where  improvements  are needed in the school
     6  district including but not limited to communication,  the  education  of
     7  English  language learners, the education of students with disabilities,
     8  professional development, and parent engagement.
     9    § 8. Rochester city school district children's advisory council. There
    10  is hereby established the  Rochester  city  school  district  children's
    11  advisory  council.  The council shall provide advice and guidance to the
    12  superintendent with the mission of improving the educational outcomes of
    13  all students in the school district. The council  shall  meet  at  least
    14  once  per  month  for the first year following the enactment of this act
    15  and thereafter at least  three  times  annually  and  consist  of  seven
    16  members  who  shall  be  appointed  by  the district-wide Rochester city
    17  school district school-based planning executive committee.  The  members
    18  of  the  council shall be residents of the county of Monroe and include,
    19  but not be limited to, community groups and experts  in  child  develop-
    20  ment,  mental  health,  trauma informed learning, English language lear-
    21  ners, students with disabilities, and  culturally  responsive  teaching.
    22  No  member of the council shall hold any elected public office or office
    23  in any political party.  Members of such council shall serve a  term  of
    24  five  years,  and  shall not be compensated for their service and may be
    25  reappointed. A vacancy occurring for any reason shall be filled  by  the
    26  district-wide  Rochester city school district planning executive commit-
    27  tee.
    28    § 9. Nothing in this act shall be construed to abrogate or affect  any
    29  provision of a collective bargaining agreement pursuant to article 14 of
    30  the civil service law.
    31    § 10. This act shall take effect immediately, and shall expire on July
    32  1,  2025  when upon such date the provisions of this act shall be deemed
    33  repealed.