Bill Text: NY S01972 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to the establishment, organization, and administration of charter schools.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO EDUCATION [S01972 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S01972-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1972 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 16, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sens. JACKSON, BIAGGI, MAYER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Educa- tion AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the enrollment of students at charter schools, the suspension of students at charter schools and the administration of charter schools The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraphs (h) and (j) of subdivision 2 of section 2851 of 2 the education law, as added by chapter 4 of the laws of 1998, are 3 amended to read as follows: 4 (h) The rules and procedures by which students may be disciplined, 5 including but not limited to expulsion or suspension from the school, 6 which shall be consistent with the requirements of [due process] section 7 thirty-two hundred fourteen of this chapter and with federal laws and 8 regulations governing the placement of students with disabilities, and 9 pursuant to subdivision four of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-four 10 of this article. The application shall also include a code of conduct 11 consistent with section twenty-eight hundred one of this title. 12 (j) (i) Information regarding the facilities to be used by the school, 13 including the location of the school, if known, and the means by which 14 pupils will be transported to and from the school. If the facilities to 15 be used by the proposed school are not known at the time the application 16 is submitted, the applicant shall notify the charter entity and, if 17 applicable, the board of regents within ten business days of acquiring 18 facilities for such school; provided, however, that the charter school 19 must obtain a certificate of occupancy for such facilities prior to the 20 date on which instruction is to commence at the school. 21 (ii) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (i) of this para- 22 graph, an applicant to establish a charter school to be located in New 23 York city shall include the specific community school district such EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02251-01-1S. 1972 2 1 proposed charter school will be located within and whether such appli- 2 cant will request co-location or private space for the facilities to be 3 used by the school. If the application is approved, such charter school 4 shall not be located within any community school district other than 5 such district provided on such application. 6 § 2. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 4 of section 2851 of the education 7 law, as added by chapter 4 of the laws of 1998, is amended and a new 8 paragraph (f) is added to read as follows: 9 (c) Copies of each of the annual reports of the charter school 10 required by [subdivision] subdivisions two and six of section twenty- 11 eight hundred fifty-seven of this article, including the charter school 12 report cards and the certified financial statements. 13 (f) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision two of section twen- 14 ty-eight hundred fifty-three of this article, an audit report by an 15 independent certified public accountant or independent public accountant 16 on the operations of the charter school, including compliance with the 17 applicable provisions of this chapter and the not-for-profit corporation 18 law, and with all other applicable laws, regulations and charter 19 provisions. 20 § 3. Section 2851 of the education law is amended by adding a new 21 subdivision 6 to read as follows: 22 6. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision four of this section, 23 no charter shall be renewed if the charter school has failed to: 24 (a) meet the student achievement goals for the school educational 25 program, as required in the application; 26 (b) improve student learning and achievement; 27 (c) materially further the purposes set forth in subdivision two of 28 section twenty-eight hundred fifty of this article; or 29 (d) maintain enrollment, suspension and attrition rates of either all 30 students or specifically students who are English language learners, are 31 eligible for the free or reduced price lunch program or are students 32 with disabilities, as reported pursuant to subdivision six of section 33 twenty-eight hundred fifty-seven of this article, which are within five 34 percent of such rates for the school district in which such charter 35 school is located. For the purposes of a charter school located within a 36 city with a population of one million or more the school district used 37 for comparison shall be the community school district in which such 38 charter school is located; or 39 (e) pass an audit, carried out pursuant to subdivision six of section 40 twenty-eight hundred fifty-seven of this article, which finds such char- 41 ter school has been encouraging students to leave or pushing students 42 out of the school for illegitimate reasons; or 43 (f) to follow the provisions of articles six and seven of the public 44 officers law. 45 § 4. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 2 of section 2854 of the education 46 law, as added by chapter 4 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as 47 follows: 48 (d) A student may withdraw from a charter school at any time pursuant 49 to a written form created by the department in which the parent or legal 50 guardian of the student certifies that the parent or legal guardian is 51 willingly and knowingly withdrawing the student from the charter school 52 without any undue pressure or influence by any owner or employee of the 53 charter school, and enroll in a public school. A charter school may 54 refuse admission to any student who has been expelled or suspended from 55 a public school until the period of suspension or expulsion from theS. 1972 3 1 public school has expired, consistent with the requirements of due proc- 2 ess. 3 § 5. Section 2854 of the education law is amended by adding three new 4 subdivisions 4, 5 and 6 to read as follows: 5 4. Suspension of a student. (a) A charter school shall suspend an 6 enrolled student pursuant to subdivisions two-a and three of section 7 thirty-two hundred fourteen of this chapter, and only in accordance with 8 the procedures set forth in this subdivision. 9 (b) The principal of the charter school where the student attends 10 shall have the power to suspend the student for a period not to exceed 11 five school days pursuant to the due process procedures set forth in 12 paragraph b of subdivision three of section thirty-two hundred fourteen 13 of this chapter. The student or the person in parental relation to such 14 student may appeal the final decision of the principal to the board of 15 trustees of the charter school. 16 (c)(i) No student enrolled in a charter school may be suspended for a 17 period in excess of five school days unless such student and the person 18 in parental relation to such student shall have had an opportunity for a 19 hearing, upon reasonable notice, at which such student shall have the 20 right of representation by counsel, with the right to question witnesses 21 against such student and to present witnesses and other evidence on his 22 or her behalf. 23 (ii) Where a student has been suspended in accordance with this para- 24 graph, the charter school shall, within five days of the suspension, 25 inform the superintendent of the school district or, in the city school 26 district of the city of New York, of a community school district, where 27 the charter school is located shall, upon being notified of the suspen- 28 sion, who shall forthwith designate a hearing officer to hear and deter- 29 mine the proceeding. The hearing officer shall be authorized to adminis- 30 ter oaths and to issue subpoenas in conjunction with the proceeding 31 before him or her. A record of the hearing shall be maintained, but no 32 stenographic transcript shall be required and a tape recording shall be 33 deemed a satisfactory record. The hearing officer shall make findings of 34 fact and a recommendation on the appropriate measure of discipline to 35 the chief executive officer of the charter school. The chief executive 36 officer may reject, confirm or modify the conclusions of the hearing 37 officer. A parent may appeal the decision of the chief executive officer 38 to the board of trustees of the charter school. 39 (d) A student with a disability as such term is defined in section 40 forty-four hundred one of this chapter or a student presumed to have a 41 disability for discipline purposes, may be suspended or removed from his 42 or her current educational placement for violation of school rules only 43 in accordance with the procedures established in paragraph g of subdivi- 44 sion three of section thirty-two hundred fourteen of this chapter, the 45 regulations of the commissioner implementing such paragraph, and 46 subsection (k) of section 1415 of title 20 of the United States code and 47 the federal regulations implementing such statute, as such federal law 48 and regulations are from time to time amended. 49 (e) Any teacher shall have the power and authority to remove a disrup- 50 tive student pursuant to the procedures set forth in subdivision three-a 51 of section thirty-two hundred fourteen of this chapter. 52 (f) Where a student has been suspended pursuant to this subdivision 53 and such student is of compulsory attendance age, immediate steps shall 54 be taken for his or her attendance upon instruction at home or else- 55 where. A charter school shall provide full-time alternative instruction 56 for the time period that the student is suspended. The student and theS. 1972 4 1 parents or guardians of such student shall be provided notice of the 2 time and location of the alternative instruction. 3 5. Posting of charter and policies. (a) A charter school shall post 4 its charter, including its disciplinary policies, conspicuously on its 5 website, and make such charter and policies available to the parents or 6 guardians of the students upon request free of charge within five days 7 of such request. 8 (b) A charter school shall develop and post conspicuously on its 9 website a clear and simple process for parents or guardians of students 10 to file complaints and appeals. Such process posted shall include at a 11 minimum, contact information, including but not limited to an e-mail 12 address, a description of how to file a complaint and/or appeal a 13 suspension, and a schedule of deadlines for responses by such charter 14 school to complaints and appeals. 15 6. Parent or guardian representation. Within three years from the 16 effective date of this subdivision, half of the membership of the board 17 of a charter school shall be composed of parents or guardians of 18 students enrolled at such charter school. Such parent or guardian board 19 positions shall be elected directly by the parents and guardians of 20 students enrolled at such charter school. The commissioner shall promul- 21 gate rules and regulations regarding the timing and conducting of such 22 elections. 23 § 6. Paragraphs (c), (d) and (e) of subdivision 1 of section 2854 of 24 the education law, paragraph (c) as amended by section 10-b of part A of 25 chapter 56 of the laws of 2014, and paragraphs (d) and (e) as added by 26 chapter 4 of the laws of 1998, are amended to read as follows: 27 (c) A charter school shall be subject to the financial audits, the 28 audit procedures, and the audit requirements set forth in the charter, 29 and shall be subject to audits of the comptroller of the city school 30 district of the city of New York for charter schools located in New York 31 city, and to the audits of the comptroller of the state of New York for 32 charter schools located in the rest of the state, at his or her 33 discretion, with respect to the school's financial operations. Any such 34 audits shall include an audit to determine whether the financing 35 received by the charter school pursuant to section twenty-eight hundred 36 fifty-six of this article is consistent with the number of qualified 37 students who are eligible to enroll, and are actually enrolled in such 38 charter school, including whether such enrolled students meet the resi- 39 dency requirements for enrollment. In the event of an overpayment, the 40 office of the state comptroller shall be authorized to recover the 41 excess in payment by deducting from any state funds which become due to 42 such charter school or refer the matter to the state attorney general to 43 initiate a civil action against the charter school to recover the over- 44 payment. Such procedures and standards shall be consistent with general- 45 ly accepted accounting and audit standards. Independent fiscal audits 46 shall be required at least once annually. 47 (d) A charter school shall design its educational programs to meet or 48 exceed the student performance standards adopted by the board of regents 49 and the student performance standards contained in the charter. Students 50 attending charter school shall be required to take regents examinations 51 to the same extent such examinations are required of other public school 52 students. A charter school shall utilize the same methods as used by 53 the school district such charter school is located in to ensure blind 54 scoring of the mandated state exams, including in New York city, cooper- 55 ative grading sites, and shall also be subject to any other methods the 56 state or district may use to ensure integrity of results, including, butS. 1972 5 1 not limited to, independent monitors and erasure analysis. A charter 2 school offering instruction in the high school grades may grant regents 3 diplomas and local diplomas to the same extent as other public schools, 4 and such other certificates and honors as are specifically authorized by 5 their charter, and in testimony thereof give suitable certificates, 6 honors and diplomas under its seal; and every certificate and diploma so 7 granted shall entitle the conferee to all privileges and immunities 8 which by usage or statute are allowed for similar diplomas of corre- 9 sponding grade granted by any other public school. A charter school 10 shall be subject to performance audits, the audit procedures, and the 11 audit requirements set forth in the charter, and shall be subject to 12 audits of the comptroller of the city school district of the city of New 13 York for charter schools located in New York city, and to the audits of 14 the comptroller of the state of New York for charter schools located in 15 the rest of the state, at his or her discretion, with respect to the 16 school's performance. 17 (e) (i) A charter school shall be subject to the provisions of arti- 18 cles six and seven of the public officers law. 19 (ii) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the board meetings 20 of a charter school, its networks and charter management organization 21 shall be subject to the provisions of article seven of the public offi- 22 cers law, and shall publicly post in a prominent place on its website 23 the time and location of meetings at least seventy-two hours in advance. 24 A charter school shall also retain a mailing list of persons who request 25 notification of its meetings and send such information to the persons on 26 such list at least seventy-two hours in advance of any meeting. 27 (iii) A charter school and its board shall keep a public archive of 28 all such announcements required under subparagraph (ii) of this para- 29 graph. Board meeting minutes shall be posted online and be available in 30 print upon request. 31 (iv) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, any contract 32 between a charter school and a charter management organization shall be 33 subject to the provisions of article six of the public officers law. 34 (v) No charter school shall include a non-disclosure agreement as part 35 of a contract with any employee except in regards to specific curricular 36 proprietary information. 37 § 7. The opening paragraph and paragraphs (a) and (e) of subdivision 1 38 of section 2855 of the education law, the opening paragraph and para- 39 graph (a) as amended and paragraph (e) as added by chapter 101 of the 40 laws of 2010, are amended and three new paragraphs (f), (g) and (h) are 41 added to read as follows: 42 The charter entity, or the board of regents, [may] shall terminate a 43 charter upon any of the following grounds: 44 (a) When a charter school's outcome on student assessment measures 45 adopted by the board of regents equals or falls below the level that 46 would allow the commissioner to revoke the registration of another 47 public school, and student achievement on such measures has not shown 48 improvement over the preceding three school years; 49 (e) [Repeated failure] Failure to comply with the requirement to meet 50 or exceed enrollment and retention targets of students with disabili- 51 ties, English language learners, and students who are eligible appli- 52 cants for the free and reduced price lunch program pursuant to targets 53 established by the board of regents or the board of trustees of the 54 state university of New York[, as applicable] pursuant to subparagraph 55 (i) of paragraph (b) of subdivision nine-a of section twenty-eight 56 hundred fifty-two of this article. Provided, however, if no grounds forS. 1972 6 1 terminating a charter are established pursuant to this section other 2 than pursuant to this paragraph, and the charter school demonstrates 3 that it has made extensive efforts to recruit and retain such students, 4 including outreach to parents and families in the surrounding communi- 5 ties, widely publicizing the lottery for such school, and efforts to 6 academically support such students in such charter school, then the 7 charter entity or board of regents may retain such charter[.]; or 8 (f) Failure to maintain enrollment, suspension and attrition rates of 9 either all students or specifically students who are English language 10 learners, are eligible for the free or reduced price lunch program or 11 are students with disabilities, as reported pursuant to subdivision six 12 of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-seven of this article, which are 13 within five percent of such rates for the school district in which such 14 charter school is located. For the purposes of a charter school located 15 within a city with a population of one million or more the school 16 district used for comparison shall be the community school district in 17 which such charter school is located; or 18 (g) When an audit, carried out pursuant to subdivision six of section 19 twenty-eight hundred fifty-seven of this article, finds such charter 20 school has been encouraging students to leave or pushing students out of 21 the school for illegitimate reasons; or 22 (h) Repeated failure to follow the provisions of articles six and 23 seven of the public officers law. 24 § 8. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2, and subdivisions 4 and 5 of 25 section 2857 of the education law, paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 as 26 amended and subdivision 5 as added by chapter 101 of the laws of 2010, 27 subdivision 4 as added by chapter 4 of the laws of 1998, are amended and 28 two new subdivisions 6 and 7 are added to read as follows: 29 (a) a charter school report card, which shall include measures of the 30 comparative academic and fiscal performance of the school, as prescribed 31 by the commissioner in regulations adopted for such purpose. Such meas- 32 ures shall include, but not be limited to, the total number of openings 33 for new students at the beginning of the school year, by grade; the 34 total number of applicants for each such opening; the total number of 35 students accepted for the school year; the number of students accepted 36 for enrollment who are English language learners, are eligible for the 37 free or reduced price lunch program or are students with disabilities; 38 the number of students who were dismissed, expelled, dropped out or 39 withdrew during the school year, including the reasons for the dismissal 40 or withdrawal, and including the number of such students who were 41 suspended, dismissed, expelled, dropped out or withdrew or are English 42 language learners, are eligible for the free or reduced price lunch 43 program or are students with disabilities; graduation rates[, dropout44rates,]; performance of students on standardized tests[,]; college entry 45 rates[,]; the total number of teachers and administrators employed at 46 the school at the beginning of the school year and the number of teach- 47 ers and administrators who were terminated, dismissed or resigned during 48 the reporting period, and the reasons therefor; the annual salary paid 49 to each teacher and administrator of the school; and total spending per 50 pupil and administrative spending per pupil. Such measures shall be 51 presented in a format that is easily comparable to similar public 52 schools. In addition, the charter school and the commissioner shall 53 ensure that such information is easily accessible to the community 54 including making it publicly available by transmitting it to local news- 55 papers of general circulation, posting it on the department's website 56 and making it available for distribution at board of trustee meetings.S. 1972 7 1 4. The board of regents shall review the educational effectiveness of 2 the charter school approach authorized by this article and the effect of 3 charter schools on the public and nonpublic school systems. Not later 4 than December thirty-first, two thousand [three] twenty-two, and every 5 two years thereafter, the [board of regents] commissioner shall report 6 to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of 7 the assembly and the board of regents with recommendations to modify, 8 expand, or terminate that approach. Such report shall include, for each 9 charter school, a copy of the school's mission statement[,]; attendance 10 statistics; dismissal, expulsion and dropout rates[,]; student perform- 11 ance on standardized assessment tests[,]; projections of financial 12 stability[,]; the number of students with disabilities, English language 13 learners and students who are eligible for the free and reduced price 14 lunch program; the total amount spent for administrative expenses; and, 15 wherever practicable, comparisons to other public schools located in the 16 same school district or, in the city school district of New York, the 17 same community school district. 18 5. The [board of regents] commissioner shall on an annual basis review 19 and make available to school districts best educational practices 20 employed by charter schools. If the commissioner fails to identify any 21 best practices employed by charter schools, the commissioner shall 22 report such absence or lack of best practices in the report required 23 pursuant to subdivision four of this section. 24 6. (a) Each charter school shall submit to the department an annual 25 report on or before the first day of August each year for the preceding 26 school year. Such report shall be in such form as shall be prescribed by 27 the commissioner and shall at a minimum include: 28 (i) enrollment, suspension and attrition rates of all students, 29 including the reasons for the suspension, dismissal or withdrawal. 30 (ii) enrollment, suspension and attrition rates of students who are 31 English language learners, are eligible for the free or reduced price 32 lunch program or are students with disabilities, including the reasons 33 for the suspension, dismissal or withdrawal. 34 (b) Reporting of suspension rates as required pursuant to paragraph 35 (a) of this subdivision shall specify the number of out-of-school 36 suspensions and in-school suspensions, and shall include both the total 37 number of suspensions and the number of individual students who receive 38 suspensions. 39 (c) Not later than December thirty-first, annually, the commissioner 40 shall submit a report to the governor, the temporary president of the 41 senate, the speaker of the assembly and the board of regents containing 42 the information received pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision 43 and such report shall include a comparison of the rates reported by a 44 charter school to such rates of the school district in which such char- 45 ter school is located. 46 (d) Not later than December thirty-first, two thousand twenty-two, and 47 every two years thereafter, the comptroller shall audit the information 48 reported by each charter school pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdi- 49 vision, provided, however, that for a charter school located in New York 50 city, such audit shall be carried out by the New York city comptroller. 51 A component of such audit shall include selecting a sample of students 52 who were dismissed or withdrew from such charter school and assess the 53 accuracy of the reported reasons for such dismissal or withdrawal. 54 7. The department shall appoint an ombudsperson whose responsibilities 55 shall be to support and advise parents and guardians of charter school 56 students who have specific issues and complaints, and to investigate andS. 1972 8 1 resolve such complaints. Such ombudsperson shall regularly report to 2 the board of regents the number of complaints received, the types of 3 complaints, and if and how such complaints were resolved. 4 § 9. Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subdivision 2 of section 2852 of the 5 education law, paragraph (c) as amended and paragraph (d) as added by 6 section 2 of part D-2 of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007, are amended and 7 a new paragraph (e) is added to read as follows: 8 (c) granting the application is likely to improve student learning and 9 achievement and materially further the purposes set out in subdivision 10 two of section twenty-eight hundred fifty of this article; [and] 11 (d) in a school district where the total enrollment of resident 12 students attending charter schools in the base year is greater than five 13 percent of the total public school enrollment of the school district in 14 the base year (i) granting the application would have a significant 15 educational benefit to the students expected to attend the proposed 16 charter school or (ii) the school district in which the charter school 17 will be located consents to such application[.]; and 18 (e) the charter school described in the application has received the 19 approval of the local board of education where such proposed charter 20 school shall be located prior to submitting such application, provided, 21 however, that in the case of a proposed charter school to be located in 22 New York city, such approval shall be from the community education coun- 23 cil of the district in which such proposed school shall be located. 24 § 10. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdi- 25 vision, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of 26 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, 27 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in 28 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section 29 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg- 30 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of 31 the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such 32 invalid provisions had not been included herein. 33 § 11. This act shall take effect immediately.