Bill Text: NY S01192 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Establishes the underrepresented teachers of tomorrow teacher recruitment and retention program to attract and retain underrepresented certified teachers in schools which have an underrepresentation of underrepresented certified teachers; provides for grants and procedures for applying for such grants and eligibility requirements for fund distribution.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-02-05 - referred to education [S01192 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S01192-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1192

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 10, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. PERSAUD -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Education

        AN ACT to amend the education  law,  in  relation  to  establishing  the
          underrepresented   teachers   of   tomorrow  teacher  recruitment  and
          retention program

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

     1    Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 3612-a
     2  to read as follows:
     3    §  3612-a.  Underrepresented  teachers of tomorrow teacher recruitment
     4  and retention program. 1. Definitions.  a.  The  term  "underrepresented
     5  certified teacher" means a teacher who holds a permanent or professional
     6  state teaching certificate appropriate to the teaching position, includ-
     7  ing  the  subject  area  if  applicable,  in  which  he  or she is to be
     8  employed, who is fully qualified to teach in an  education  program  and
     9  participated  in a school district/post-secondary partnership "grow your
    10  own" initiative, My Brother's Keeper, Teacher Opportunity Corps program,
    11  higher education opportunity program, education opportunity program,  or
    12  other similar program.
    13    b.  The  term  "school  district"  shall  mean  a  common, union free,
    14  central, central high school, or city school district.
    15    c. The term "board of education" shall mean the governing board of any
    16  public school or public school district defined in paragraph b  of  this
    17  subdivision.
    18    d.  The  term  "underrepresented  school" shall mean a school building
    19  which has an underrepresentation of certified teachers who  participated
    20  in  a  school district/post-secondary partnership "grow your own" initi-
    21  ative, My Brother's Keeper, Teacher Opportunity  Corps  program,  higher
    22  education  opportunity  program, education opportunity program, or other
    23  similar programs, as determined by the commissioner.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04187-01-3

        S. 1192                             2

     1    e. The term "year of service" shall  mean  ten  months  of  continuous
     2  full-time service as a teacher during a school year, generally occurring
     3  between September first and June thirtieth.
     4    2.  Application  and  funding.  a.  Grants  shall  be  made  to school
     5  districts  for  underrepresented  certified  teacher   recruitment   and
     6  retention  activities  necessary  to  increase the number of underrepre-
     7  sented certified teachers in underrepresented schools.
     8    b. Such grants shall be awarded to school districts, within the limits
     9  of funds appropriated therefor, through a competitive process that takes
    10  into consideration the magnitude of  any  shortage  of  underrepresented
    11  certified  teachers  in  the school district, the fiscal capacity of the
    12  district, and the number of new certified teachers the  school  district
    13  intends  to  hire in the coming school year. Grants provided pursuant to
    14  this section shall be used only for  the  purposes  enumerated  in  this
    15  section.
    16    c. Not more than sixty percent of the funds allocated pursuant to this
    17  section shall be made available to any one school district.
    18    d.  Any school district receiving funds under this section shall main-
    19  tain any local effort in the current year equivalent to such  effort  in
    20  the  base  year  for  any  local  program  related to the recruitment or
    21  retention of teachers or any program that has purposes that are  similar
    22  to  any  purpose  of  this section or the district shall provide a local
    23  match to state funds received pursuant  to  this  section.  State  funds
    24  provided pursuant to this section shall not supplant local funds for any
    25  purpose similar to the purposes of this section.
    26    e.  Applications  by  a  school  district for funding pursuant to this
    27  section shall be filed with the commissioner, in a  form  determined  by
    28  the  commissioner,  by  June first of the base year and school districts
    29  shall be notified of their grant award by June  thirtieth  of  the  base
    30  year,  provided that in any year such application and award dates may be
    31  modified by the commissioner for the reasonable  administration  of  the
    32  program.  Such  application  shall include a plan by the school district
    33  for the expenditure of the funds in each category of allowable  expenses
    34  authorized  by  subdivision three of this section, and such expenditures
    35  shall be consistent with such plan and the provisions of this section.
    36    f. A person receiving an award pursuant to  any  subdivision  of  this
    37  section  shall not be eligible for an award pursuant to any other subdi-
    38  vision of this section in a school year.
    39    3. Underrepresented teachers of tomorrow teacher recruitment incentive
    40  program.   Underrepresented teachers  of  tomorrow  teacher  recruitment
    41  incentive awards may be available to teachers pursuant to the provisions
    42  of  this  subdivision  to attract underrepresented certified teachers to
    43  employment in underrepresented schools.
    44    a. Eligibility. To be eligible for an award pursuant to this  subdivi-
    45  sion, an applicant shall:
    46    (1) be an underrepresented certified teacher;
    47    (2)  agree to a service obligation of one year of service in an under-
    48  represented school as a condition of receiving an award pursuant to this
    49  subdivision; and
    50    (3) be employed for the first time  as  a  certified  teacher  in  the
    51  school district.
    52    b.  Application and selection. (1) The board of education shall deter-
    53  mine the form of the application and the application process for  teach-
    54  ers  deemed  eligible  for the award, and shall in its discretion select
    55  the number of eligible applicants who will receive an award pursuant  to
    56  this subdivision.

        S. 1192                             3

     1    (2)  If the number of eligible applicants exceeds the number of awards
     2  determined by the board pursuant to this  subdivision,  then  the  board
     3  shall  use  an objective competitive process based on educational quali-
     4  fications to determine which eligible applicants shall receive awards.
     5    c.  Payment  of  awards.  (1) Annual awards from state and local funds
     6  provided for this purpose shall be paid by the board of education to the
     7  award recipient. Award recipients shall be entitled  to  receive  awards
     8  pursuant  to the provisions of this subdivision and such awards shall be
     9  in addition to and not part of any award recipient's base salary.
    10    (2) The initial annual award shall be ten thousand dollars,  and  such
    11  initial  award  may  be  renewable each year, for up to three additional
    12  years, provided that the recipient agrees to one year of  service  as  a
    13  full-time  certified teacher in an underrepresented school for each year
    14  of a renewed award and has provided satisfactory service  in  any  prior
    15  year  in which an initial or renewed award was granted to the recipient.
    16  No awards shall be made for less than one school year of service and the
    17  sum of any initial and renewed awards shall not  exceed  forty  thousand
    18  dollars.
    19    Awards  made  pursuant  to this subdivision shall be used to reimburse
    20  any educational costs, including those for which student loans may  have
    21  been  taken, incurred by the recipient prior to receipt of the award for
    22  certification as a teacher in the public schools of the state.
    23    (3) The board of education shall develop and  secure  from  the  award
    24  recipient  a  written  agreement  outlining the service obligation. Such
    25  agreement shall include provisions for the recipient to repay the amount
    26  of the award to the school district if the recipient fails  to  complete
    27  his  or  her  service obligation in any year where an initial or renewed
    28  award is granted, and such repaid amounts shall  be  deducted  from  any
    29  grant  amounts  due  to  the  district  from  the state pursuant to this
    30  section. Upon a written appeal by  an  award  recipient,  the  board  of
    31  education,  in  its  discretion,  may  provide  a  waiver  of  repayment
    32  provisions for an award recipient who  fails  to  complete  his  or  her
    33  service  requirement  for  documented  reasons of health or other severe
    34  hardship, as determined by the commissioner.
    35    d. Notification. The board of education shall notify  both  successful
    36  and  unsuccessful  applicants  by September first of any school year for
    37  which an initial or renewed award is provided to  teachers  pursuant  to
    38  this subdivision.
    39    4.  Reporting.  By  November  first  following  the completion of each
    40  school year, the commissioner shall  report  to  the  governor  and  the
    41  legislature  regarding the underrepresented teachers of tomorrow teacher
    42  recruitment and retention program. Such report shall list the amount  of
    43  each school district's total grant pursuant to this section, the uses of
    44  the  grant,  and  the  number of awards granted by type pursuant to this
    45  section, as well as an analysis of the effectiveness of the  program  in
    46  recruiting  and  retaining underrepresented certified teachers in under-
    47  represented schools of the state.
    48    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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