Bill Text: NY S06296 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended
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: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-02-02 - PRINT NUMBER 6296A [S06296 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S06296-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6296--A 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE April 21, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sens. JACKSON, ADDABBO, BIAGGI, BRISPORT, COMRIE, GIANAR- IS, GOUNARDES, HOYLMAN, LANZA, MYRIE, PARKER, RAMOS, SALAZAR, SERRANO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on New York City Education -- recommitted to the Commit- tee on New York City Education in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee 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. Paragraph e of subdivision 1 of section 211-d of the 2 education law, as amended by section 1 of part A of chapter 56 of the 3 laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows: 4 e. Notwithstanding paragraphs a and b of this subdivision, a school 5 district that submitted a contract for excellence for the two thousand 6 eight--two thousand nine school year shall submit a contract for excel- 7 lence for the two thousand nine--two thousand ten school year in 8 conformity with the requirements of subparagraph (vi) of paragraph a of 9 subdivision two of this section unless all schools in the district are 10 identified as in good standing and provided further that, a school 11 district that submitted a contract for excellence for the two thousand 12 nine--two thousand ten school year, unless all schools in the district 13 are identified as in good standing, shall submit a contract for excel- 14 lence for the two thousand eleven--two thousand twelve school year which 15 shall, notwithstanding the requirements of subparagraph (vi) of para- 16 graph a of subdivision two of this section, provide for the expenditure 17 of an amount which shall be not less than the product of the amount 18 approved by the commissioner in the contract for excellence for the two 19 thousand nine--two thousand ten school year, multiplied by the EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD10991-08-2S. 6296--A 2 1 district's gap elimination adjustment percentage and provided further 2 that, a school district that submitted a contract for excellence for the 3 two thousand eleven--two thousand twelve school year, unless all schools 4 in the district are identified as in good standing, shall submit a 5 contract for excellence for the two thousand twelve--two thousand thir- 6 teen school year which shall, notwithstanding the requirements of 7 subparagraph (vi) of paragraph a of subdivision two of this section, 8 provide for the expenditure of an amount which shall be not less than 9 the amount approved by the commissioner in the contract for excellence 10 for the two thousand eleven--two thousand twelve school year and 11 provided further that, a school district that submitted a contract for 12 excellence for the two thousand twelve--two thousand thirteen school 13 year, unless all schools in the district are identified as in good 14 standing, shall submit a contract for excellence for the two thousand 15 thirteen--two thousand fourteen school year which shall, notwithstanding 16 the requirements of subparagraph (vi) of paragraph a of subdivision two 17 of this section, provide for the expenditure of an amount which shall be 18 not less than the amount approved by the commissioner in the contract 19 for excellence for the two thousand twelve--two thousand thirteen school 20 year and provided further that, a school district that submitted a 21 contract for excellence for the two thousand thirteen--two thousand 22 fourteen school year, unless all schools in the district are identified 23 as in good standing, shall submit a contract for excellence for the two 24 thousand fourteen--two thousand fifteen school year which shall, 25 notwithstanding the requirements of subparagraph (vi) of paragraph a of 26 subdivision two of this section, provide for the expenditure of an 27 amount which shall be not less than the amount approved by the commis- 28 sioner in the contract for excellence for the two thousand thirteen--two 29 thousand fourteen school year; and provided further that, a school 30 district that submitted a contract for excellence for the two thousand 31 fourteen--two thousand fifteen school year, unless all schools in the 32 district are identified as in good standing, shall submit a contract for 33 excellence for the two thousand fifteen--two thousand sixteen school 34 year which shall, notwithstanding the requirements of subparagraph (vi) 35 of paragraph a of subdivision two of this section, provide for the 36 expenditure of an amount which shall be not less than the amount 37 approved by the commissioner in the contract for excellence for the two 38 thousand fourteen--two thousand fifteen school year; and provided 39 further that a school district that submitted a contract for excellence 40 for the two thousand fifteen--two thousand sixteen school year, unless 41 all schools in the district are identified as in good standing, shall 42 submit a contract for excellence for the two thousand sixteen--two thou- 43 sand seventeen school year which shall, notwithstanding the requirements 44 of subparagraph (vi) of paragraph a of subdivision two of this section, 45 provide for the expenditure of an amount which shall be not less than 46 the amount approved by the commissioner in the contract for excellence 47 for the two thousand fifteen--two thousand sixteen school year; and 48 provided further that, a school district that submitted a contract for 49 excellence for the two thousand sixteen--two thousand seventeen school 50 year, unless all schools in the district are identified as in good 51 standing, shall submit a contract for excellence for the two thousand 52 seventeen--two thousand eighteen school year which shall, notwithstand- 53 ing the requirements of subparagraph (vi) of paragraph a of subdivision 54 two of this section, provide for the expenditure of an amount which 55 shall be not less than the amount approved by the commissioner in the 56 contract for excellence for the two thousand sixteen--two thousandS. 6296--A 3 1 seventeen school year; and provided further that a school district that 2 submitted a contract for excellence for the two thousand seventeen--two 3 thousand eighteen school year, unless all schools in the district are 4 identified as in good standing, shall submit a contract for excellence 5 for the two thousand eighteen--two thousand nineteen school year which 6 shall, notwithstanding the requirements of subparagraph (vi) of para- 7 graph a of subdivision two of this section, provide for the expenditure 8 of an amount which shall be not less than the amount approved by the 9 commissioner in the contract for excellence for the two thousand seven- 10 teen--two thousand eighteen school year; and provided further that, a 11 school district that submitted a contract for excellence for the two 12 thousand eighteen--two thousand nineteen school year, unless all schools 13 in the district are identified as in good standing, shall submit a 14 contract for excellence for the two thousand nineteen--two thousand 15 twenty school year which shall, notwithstanding the requirements of 16 subparagraph (vi) of paragraph a of subdivision two of this section, 17 provide for the expenditure of an amount which shall be not less than 18 the amount approved by the commissioner in the contract for excellence 19 for the two thousand eighteen--two thousand nineteen school year; and 20 provided further that, a school district that submitted a contract for 21 excellence for the two thousand nineteen--two thousand twenty school 22 year, unless all schools in the district are identified as in good 23 standing, shall submit a contract for excellence for the two thousand 24 twenty--two thousand twenty-one school year which shall, notwithstanding 25 the requirements of subparagraph (vi) of paragraph a of subdivision two 26 of this section, provide for the expenditure of an amount which shall be 27 not less than the amount approved by the commissioner in the contract 28 for excellence for the two thousand nineteen--two thousand twenty school 29 year; and provided further that, a school district that submitted a 30 contract for excellence for the two thousand twenty--two thousand twen- 31 ty-one school year, unless all schools in the district are identified as 32 in good standing, shall submit a contract for excellence for the two 33 thousand twenty-one--two thousand twenty-two school year which shall, 34 notwithstanding the requirements of subparagraph (vi) of paragraph a of 35 subdivision two of this section, provide for the expenditure of an 36 amount which shall be not less than the amount approved by the commis- 37 sioner in the contract for excellence for the two thousand twenty--two 38 thousand twenty-one school year; and provided further that, a school 39 district that submitted a contract for excellence for the two thousand 40 twenty-one--two thousand twenty-two school year, unless all schools in 41 the district are identified as in good standing, shall submit a contract 42 for excellence for the two thousand twenty-two--two thousand twenty- 43 three school year which shall, for a city having a population of one 44 million or more, notwithstanding the requirements of subparagraph (vi) 45 of paragraph a of subdivision two of this section, provide for the 46 expenditure as set forth in subparagraph (v) of paragraph a of subdivi- 47 sion two of this section. For purposes of this paragraph, the "gap elim- 48 ination adjustment percentage" shall be calculated as the sum of one 49 minus the quotient of the sum of the school district's net gap elimi- 50 nation adjustment for two thousand ten--two thousand eleven computed 51 pursuant to chapter fifty-three of the laws of two thousand ten, making 52 appropriations for the support of government, plus the school district's 53 gap elimination adjustment for two thousand eleven--two thousand twelve 54 as computed pursuant to chapter fifty-three of the laws of two thousand 55 eleven, making appropriations for the support of the local assistance 56 budget, including support for general support for public schools,S. 6296--A 4 1 divided by the total aid for adjustment computed pursuant to chapter 2 fifty-three of the laws of two thousand eleven, making appropriations 3 for the local assistance budget, including support for general support 4 for public schools. Provided, further, that such amount shall be 5 expended to support and maintain allowable programs and activities 6 approved in the two thousand nine--two thousand ten school year or to 7 support new or expanded allowable programs and activities in the current 8 year. 9 § 2. Subparagraph (v) of paragraph a and subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) 10 of paragraph b of subdivision 2 of section 211-d of the education law, 11 subparagraph (v) of paragraph a and subparagraph (ii) of paragraph b as 12 amended by section 2 of part A of chapter 57 of the laws of 2008 and 13 subparagraph (iii) as added by section 3-a of part A of chapter 57 of 14 the laws of 2009, are amended to read as follows: 15 (v) In a city school district in a city having a population of one 16 million or more inhabitants, each contract for excellence shall describe 17 how the amounts apportioned to the school district in the current year 18 as total foundation aid and academic achievement grants, in excess of 19 one hundred three percent of the district's foundation aid base[, as20adjusted for additional amounts payable as charter school basic tuition21over such amount payable in the base year], shall be used to support new 22 programs and new activities or expand the use of programs and activities 23 demonstrated to improve student achievement; provided however, up to 24 thirty million dollars or twenty-five percent of additional funding 25 received in the current year, whichever is less, may be used to maintain 26 investments in the programs and activities listed in paragraph a of 27 subdivision three of this section. 28 (ii) In a city school district in a city having a population of one 29 million or more inhabitants such contract shall also include a plan to 30 reduce citywide average class sizes and by district and school, as 31 defined by the commissioner, [within five years] beginning September two 32 thousand twenty-two and to be achieved by September two thousand twen- 33 ty-seven for the following grade ranges: (A) pre-kindergarten-third 34 grade; (B) fourth-eighth grade; and (C) high school, and shall thereaft- 35 er maintain the average class sizes achieved by such date. For core 36 academic classes, class sizes shall be capped after five years at no 37 more than twenty students per class in grades kindergarten through 38 third, twenty-three students per class in grades fourth through eighth, 39 and twenty-five students in high school. Such plan shall include annual 40 class size reduction for low performing and overcrowded schools and also 41 include the methods to be used to achieve such class sizes, such as the 42 creation or construction of more classrooms and school buildings, the 43 placement of more than one teacher in a classroom or methods to other- 44 wise reduce the student to teacher ratio[; provided, however, that45notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, the sole46and exclusive remedy for a violation of the requirements of this para-47graph shall be pursuant to a petition to the commissioner under subdivi-48sion seven of section three hundred ten of this title, and the decision49of the commissioner on such petition shall be final and unreviewable] 50 but only as a temporary measure until more classrooms are made available 51 in conformance with the plan. 52 (iii) A city school district in a city having a population of one 53 million or more inhabitants shall prepare [a report] annual reports, on 54 the dates set forth below, to the commissioner on the status of the 55 implementation of its plan to reduce average class sizes pursuant to 56 subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph. Such report shall [identify] beS. 6296--A 5 1 publicly released and posted on the city school district's websites, 2 identifying all schools that received funds targeted at class size 3 reduction efforts pursuant to the requirements of this section and 4 [provide] providing the following information regarding such schools: 5 (A) the amount of contract for excellence funds received by each 6 school and the school year in which it received such funds; 7 (B) a detailed description of how contract for excellence funds 8 contributed to achieving class size reduction in each school that 9 received such funding including specific information on the number of 10 classrooms in each school that existed prior to receiving contract for 11 excellence funds and the number of new [classrooms] classes that were 12 created in each school for each year such funding was received, the 13 number of classroom teachers that existed in each school prior to 14 receiving contract for excellence funds and the number of new classroom 15 teachers in each school for each year such funding was received, the 16 student to teacher ratio in each school prior to receiving contract for 17 excellence funds and the student to teacher ratio in each school for 18 each year such funding was received; 19 (C) the actual student enrollment for the two thousand [six] twenty- 20 three--two thousand [seven] twenty-four school year, the actual student 21 enrollment for the two thousand [seven] twenty-four--two thousand 22 [eight] twenty-five school year, the actual student enrollment for the 23 two thousand [eight]twenty-five--two thousand [nine] twenty-six school 24 year, and the projected student enrollment for the two thousand [nine] 25 twenty-six--two thousand [ten] twenty-seven school year for each school 26 by grade level; 27 (D) the actual average class sizes for the two thousand [six] twenty- 28 three--two thousand [seven] twenty-four school year, the actual average 29 class sizes for the two thousand [seven] twenty-four--two thousand 30 [eight] twenty-five school year, the actual average class sizes for the 31 two thousand [eight] twenty-five--two thousand [nine] twenty-six school 32 year, and the projected average class sizes for the two thousand [nine] 33 twenty-six--two thousand [ten] twenty-seven school year for each school 34 by grade level and for each year thereafter until the class size goals 35 are achieved; [and] 36 (E) the annual capital plan for school construction and leasing to 37 show how many classrooms will be added in each year and in which schools 38 and subdistricts to achieve the class size reduction goals; 39 (F) how the school capacity and utilization formula is aligned to the 40 class size goals in the city school district's class size reduction 41 plan; and 42 (G) the schools that have made insufficient progress toward achieving 43 the class size reduction [goals outlined] set forth in the approved 44 [five year] class size reduction plan pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of 45 this paragraph and a detailed description of the actions that will be 46 taken to reduce class sizes in such schools. 47 [Such report shall be submitted to the commissioner on or before48November seventeenth, two thousand nine and shall be made available to49the public by such date] The first report shall be submitted to the 50 commissioner on or before November fifteenth of each year and made 51 available to the public by such date on the district's website. If the 52 department determines that the November fifteenth report does not demon- 53 strate sufficient decreases in class size, the department shall issue a 54 letter making that determination public on its website and the city 55 school district shall immediately submit a plan for corrective action. 56 The district's revised plan shall also be made available to the publicS. 6296--A 6 1 on the district's website upon submission to the department. The final 2 corrective action plan shall be made available to the public upon 3 approval by the department. The final report shall also be certified by 4 the state or city comptroller that the city school district's capital 5 and education funding plans will provide sufficient space and staffing 6 for the reduction in class size set forth in this paragraph and if not, 7 what measures and/or funding should be added to the plan to achieve such 8 goals. 9 § 3. Paragraph d of subdivision 4 and subdivision 5 of section 211-d 10 of the education law, as added by section 12 of part A of chapter 57 of 11 the laws of 2007, are amended to read as follows: 12 d. [For the two thousand seven--two thousand eight school year, school13districts shall solicit public comment on their contracts for excel-14lence] The public process set forth in paragraphs a through c of this 15 subdivision shall commence no later than thirty days after a state budg- 16 et is enacted each year and be completed no later than thirty days after 17 its commencement. Notice of the public process shall be provided 18 fifteen days prior to the commencement of the first public hearing and 19 shall be posted on the district's website as well as transmitted via 20 email to school administrators, parent and teacher organizations, and 21 elected officials. The proposed plan shall be submitted for state 22 approval within two weeks following the completion of the public proc- 23 ess. The proposed plan shall be posted on the district's website within 24 twenty-four hours of its submission along with a summary of the public 25 comments and the district's explanation and reasons for which public 26 comments were incorporated into the proposed plan and which public 27 comments were not incorporated into the proposed plan. 28 5. a. Each contract for excellence shall be subject to approval by the 29 commissioner [and his or her]. No contract for excellence shall be 30 approved and no contract for excellence funds awarded until the public 31 process set forth in subdivision four of this section has been 32 completed. Upon approval, the plan shall be made public and posted on 33 the department's website within forty-eight hours, along with any 34 revisions to such plan or corrective action plan required by the state. 35 No contract for excellence funds shall be released to the school 36 district until said contract is approved by the commissioner. Each 37 contract for excellence is also subject to the commissioner's certif- 38 ication that the expenditure of additional aid or grant amounts is in 39 accordance with subdivision two of this section. 40 b. In a city school district of one million or more inhabitants, upon 41 approval of the contract for excellence, one-third of the contract for 42 excellence funds shall be released to the school district. The remain- 43 der of the funds shall be released to the school district upon 44 submission of the November fifteenth report described in subdivision two 45 of this section, only if such report demonstrates sufficient reduction 46 in class sizes. If such report does not demonstrate sufficient reduction 47 in class sizes, the remainder of the funds shall be released upon 48 submission by the school district of the corrective action plan 49 described in subdivision two of this section. In the year following a 50 year which required a corrective action plan pursuant to subdivision two 51 of this section, no contract for excellence funds shall be provided by 52 the state until and unless such corrective action plan has been fully 53 implemented. 54 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to 55 contracts for excellence for the 2022-2023 school year.
