Bill Text: NY A10156 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to approvals, modifications and rejections of smart school investment plans by the smart schools review board; requires the board to meet on a monthly basis; provide notification of rejections or modifications within seven days; and make payments within thirty days of approval.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-03-20 - referred to education [A10156 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A10156-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          10156
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                     March 20, 2018
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by M. of A. BARRETT -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Education
        AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to  approvals,  modifica-
          tions  and  rejections  of smart schools investment plans by the smart
          schools review board
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  Subparagraphs 2 and 3 of paragraph b of subdivision 16 of
     2  section 3641 of the education law, subparagraph 2 as added by section  2
     3  of  part  C  of  chapter  56  of  the laws of 2014 and subparagraph 3 as
     4  amended by section 3 of part YYY of chapter 59 of the laws of 2017,  are
     5  amended to read as follows:
     6    (2)  No  school  district  shall  be entitled to a smart schools grant
     7  until such district shall have submitted a smart schools investment plan
     8  to the smart schools review board and received such board's approval  of
     9  such  investment  plan.   The smart schools review board shall meet on a
    10  monthly basis for purposes of approving such plans and providing updates
    11  on pending applications. In  developing  such  investment  plan,  school
    12  districts  shall  consult  with  parents,  teachers, students, community
    13  members and other stakeholders.
    14    (3) The smart schools review board  shall  review  all  smart  schools
    15  investment  plans for compliance with all eligibility criteria and other
    16  requirements set forth in the guidelines. The smart schools review board
    17  may approve or reject such plans, or may return such plans to the school
    18  district for modifications; provided that notwithstanding any inconsist-
    19  ent provision of law, the smart schools review board  shall  approve  no
    20  such plan first submitted to the department on or after April fifteenth,
    21  two thousand seventeen, unless such plan calculates the amount of class-
    22  room  technology  to  be  loaned to students attending nonpublic schools
    23  pursuant to section seven hundred fifty-five of this chapter in a manner
    24  that includes the amount budgeted by the school  district  for  servers,
    25  wireless  access  points  and  other portable connectivity devices to be
    26  acquired as part of a school connectivity  project;  provided,  further,
    27  that  if  a  plan  is  rejected or modifications are sought, such school
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14935-02-8

        A. 10156                            2
     1  district shall be notified within seven days of the initial  submission.
     2  Upon  approval,  the  smart schools project or projects described in the
     3  investment plan shall be eligible for  smart  schools  grants.  A  smart
     4  schools project included in a school district's smart schools investment
     5  plan  shall  not require separate approval of the commissioner unless it
     6  is part of a school construction project required to  be  submitted  for
     7  approval  of  the commissioner pursuant to section four hundred eight of
     8  this chapter and/or subdivision six of section thirty-six hundred two of
     9  this article. Any department, agency or public authority  shall  provide
    10  the  smart  schools  review  board  with  any information it requires to
    11  fulfill its duties pursuant to this  subdivision.  The  department,  the
    12  division of the budget and the state university of New York shall devel-
    13  op a process for notifying districts of the status of a pending applica-
    14  tion and shall develop a process for responding to inquiries about pend-
    15  ing  applications  in  a  time certain, but under no circumstances shall
    16  such response exceed seven days.
    17    § 2. Subparagraph 2 of paragraph c of subdivision 16 of  section  3641
    18  of  the  education law, as added by section 2 of part C of chapter 56 of
    19  the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
    20    (2) The amounts determined pursuant to this subdivision to be paid  to
    21  school  districts  shall  be certified by the commissioner in accordance
    22  with this subdivision. If, upon the option of a school district, a smart
    23  schools investment plan directs that an amount be transferred or  subal-
    24  located  to  a  department,  agency,  or public authority to be spent on
    25  behalf of the school district, such  amounts  shall  be  transferred  or
    26  suballocated, consistent with such plan, upon the approval of the direc-
    27  tor  of  the budget. The amounts of money so certified or made available
    28  shall be paid by  the  comptroller  in  accordance  with  appropriations
    29  therefor,  provided,  however,  that  the  payment schedule set forth in
    30  subdivision one of this  section  shall  not  apply  to  such  payments,
    31  provided,  further  that such payments shall, to the extent practicable,
    32  be paid within thirty days of approval of such  projects  by  the  smart
    33  schools  review  board. Such payment shall fulfill any obligation of the
    34  state or the commissioner to apportion funds pursuant to  this  subdivi-
    35  sion,  and  whenever  a  school district has been apportioned more money
    36  pursuant to this subdivision than that to  which  it  is  entitled,  the
    37  commissioner  may  deduct  such amount from the next apportionment to be
    38  made to such school district.
    39    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
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