S6925 - NY Senate Open Legislation - Relates to the establishment, organization, and administration of charter schools

Sponsor: OPPENHEIMER
Co-sponsor(s): MONTGOMERY
Committee: EDUCATION
Law Section: Education Law

S6925 Summary

Relates to the establishment, organization, and administration of charter schools. Relates to the establishment, organization, and administration of charter schools.

S6925 Actions

S6925 - REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE - Apr 20, 2010
S6925 - REFERRED TO EDUCATION - Feb 25, 2010

S6925 Committee Meetings

Education: Apr 20, 2010: Chair: Suzi Oppenheimer / Location: Room 124 CAP

S6925 Memo

BILL NUMBER: S6925

TITLE OF BILL : An act to amend the education law, in relation to charter schools

PURPOSE : To provide greater accountability and transparency in the operations of charter schools.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1: Requires charter school applicants to specify a procedure for conducting and publicizing board meetings at the charter school.

Section 2: Requires the code of ethics articulated in the charter school application to include standards regarding conflicts of interest

Section 3: Requires charter school applicants to demonstrate the efforts that will be taken to attract and retain high-need students.

Section 4: Allows the State Comptroller to audit charter schools at his or her discretion.

Section 5: Applies the same conflict of interest provisions and code of ethics to charter board members, officers and charter school employees as apply to officers, board members and employees of public school districts.

Section 6: Directs the Commissioner of Education to create a uniform student application for all charter schools and that applications be made available in languages predominant in the local community. Directs the Commissioner to promulgate regulations to ensure that all admission lotteries are conducted in a transparent and equitable manner. Requires that such lotteries be held in a manner consistent with public officers law.

Section 7: Certifies that a charter school may focus its services on students in need of assistance, including English language learners and students with disabilities.

Section 8: Requires charter schools to make the annual reports more widely available to the public through posting on the schools website, distribution to the local newspapers and availability at charter school board meetings. Also requires inclusion of any audits conducted by the State Comptroller in their annual report.

Section 9: Requires charter school annual reports to include information regarding the charter school's efforts to recruit and retain high-need students in the existing school year and their plans to attract, recruit and retain such students in the coming school year.

Section 10: Requires the Board of Regents annual report on charter schools include the number of charter schools that were closed in the prior year and the reason for closing.

Section 11: Requires the Board of Regents to conduct an annual review of charter school best practices and make such information available to public school districts.

Section 12: Severability clause.

Section 13: Effective date.

JUSTIFICATION : This legislation strengthens the accountability and transparency of public funded, but independently operated charter schools. The public's confidence in charter schools will be allowing the state comptroller to conduct audits of charter school finances and requiring charter school trustees and employees to be held to the same conflict of interest and ethical obligations as elected school board members. Requiring a common application for all charter schools will simplify the process for parents seeking to enroll their child in a charter school and lessen the potential for any "cherry picking" of students. Through prohibited by law from discriminating in admissions, evidence has shown that special needs students such as students with disabilities and English language learners are under-represented in some charter schools. A recent investigation conducted by the State University of New York's Charter School Institute found evidence that an administrator at one charter school had been denying admission or wait-listing students with disabilities. The parents of students who did not perform well on certain tests were counseled that the school was "not a good fit" or would have their applications denied. This legislation will permit greater public scrutiny of the enrollment practices and procedures of charter schools to ensure all students have equal access. Under this legislation, charter schools will also be required to make their annual reports more widely available to the public including the posting of audits. Because charter schools are supposed to serve as laboratories of innovation, this bill would also require the Board of Regents to identify best practices and make such information available to school districts.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY : New Bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS : To be determined.

EFFECTIVE DATE : This legislation takes effect immediately.

S6925 Text

S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
6925
I N SENATE February 25, 2010
Introduced by Sen. OPPENHEIMER -- 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 charter schools THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of section 2851 of the education law, as added by chapter 4 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as follows:
(c) The proposed governance structure of the school, including a list of members of the initial board of trustees, a description of the quali fications, terms and method of appointment or election of trustees, the organizational structure of the school, A PROCEDURE FOR CONDUCTING AND PUBLICIZING MONTHLY BOARD OF TRUSTEE MEETINGS AT EACH CHARTER SCHOOL, and the processes to be followed by the school to promote parental and staff involvement in school governance.

S 2. Paragraph (v) of subdivision 2 of section 2851 of the education law, as added by chapter 4 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as follows:
(v) A code of ethics for the charter school, setting forth for the guidance of its trustees, officers and employees the standards of conduct expected of them INCLUDING STANDARDS WITH RESPECT TO DISCLOSURE OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST REGARDING ANY MATTER BROUGHT BEFORE THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES.

S 3. Subdivision 4 of section 2851 of the education law is amended by adding a new paragraph (e) to read as follows:
(E) A DEMONSTRATION OF THE EFFORTS TAKEN BY THE CHARTER SCHOOL TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN HIGH-NEED STUDENTS, INCLUDING STUDENTS AT RISK OF EDUCATIONAL FAILURE OR STUDENTS WHO ARE OTHERWISE IN NEED OF SPECIAL ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT WHICH SHALL BE CONSIDERED BY THE CHARTER ENTITY PRIOR TO APPROVING SUCH CHARTER SCHOOL'S APPLICATION FOR RENEWAL.

S 4. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 of section 2854 of the education law, as amended by chapter 267 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD15481-09-0
S. 6925 2 (c) A charter school shall be subject to the financial audits, the audit procedures, and the audit requirements set forth in the charter and shall be subject to audits of the comptroller [as set forth in section thirty-three of the general municipal law] OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK AT HIS OR HER DISCRETION. Such procedures and standards shall be consistent with generally accepted accounting and audit standards. Inde pendent fiscal audits shall be required at least once annually.

S 5. Subdivision 1 of section 2854 of the education law is amended by adding a new paragraph (f) to read as follows:
(F) A CHARTER SCHOOL SHALL BE SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF SECTIONS EIGHT HUNDRED, EIGHT HUNDRED ONE, EIGHT HUNDRED TWO, EIGHT HUNDRED THREE, EIGHT HUNDRED FOUR, EIGHT HUNDRED FOUR-A, EIGHT HUNDRED FIVE, EIGHT HUNDRED FIVE-A, EIGHT HUNDRED FIVE-B AND EIGHT HUNDRED SIX OF THE GENERAL MUNICIPAL LAW TO THE SAME EXTENT SUCH SECTIONS APPLY TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS.

S 6. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 2854 of the education law, as amended by section 5 of part D-2 of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows:
(b) Any child who is qualified under the laws of this state for admis sion to a public school is qualified for admission to a charter school. APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO A CHARTER SCHOOL SHALL BE SUBMITTED ON A UNIFORM APPLICATION FORM CREATED BY THE DEPARTMENT AND SHALL BE MADE AVAILABLE BY A CHARTER SCHOOL IN LANGUAGES PREDOMINATELY SPOKEN IN THE COMMUNITY IN WHICH SUCH CHARTER SCHOOL IS LOCATED. The school shall enroll each eligible student who submits a timely application by the first day of April each year, unless the number of applications exceeds the capacity of the grade level or building. In such cases, students shall be accepted from among applicants by a random selection process, provided, however, that an enrollment preference shall be provided to pupils returning to the charter school in the second or any subsequent year of operation and pupils residing in the school district in which the charter school is located, and siblings of pupils already enrolled in the charter school. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL ESTABLISH REGULATIONS TO REQUIRE THAT THE RANDOM SELECTION PROCESS CONDUCTED PURSUANT TO THIS PARAGRAPH BE PERFORMED IN A TRANSPARENT AND EQUITABLE MANNER AND TO REQUIRE THAT THE TIME AND PLACE OF THE RANDOM SELECTION PROCESS BE PUBLICIZED IN A MANNER CONSISTENT WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF SECTION ONE HUNDRED FOUR OF THE PUBLIC OFFICERS LAW AND BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. For the purposes of this paragraph and paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the school district in which the charter school is located shall mean, for the city school district of the city of New York, the community district in which the charter school is located.

S 7. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 2854 of the education law, as amended by section 5 of part D-2 of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows:
(a) A charter school shall be nonsectarian in its programs, admission policies, employment practices, and all other operations and shall not charge tuition or fees; provided that a charter school may require the payment of fees on the same basis and to the same extent as other public schools. A charter school shall not discriminate against any student, employee or any other person on the basis of ethnicity, national origin, gender, or disability or any other ground that would be unlawful if done by a school. Admission of students shall not be limited on the basis of intellectual ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, athletic ability, disability, race, creed, gender, national origin, religion, or ancestry; provided, however, that nothing in this article shall be S. 6925 3 construed to prevent the establishment of a single-sex charter school or a charter school designed to provide expanded learning opportunities for students at-risk of academic failure OR STUDENTS WHO ARE OTHERWISE IN NEED OF SPECIAL ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT SUCH AS STUDENTS WITH DISABILI TIES AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS; and provided, further, that the charter school shall demonstrate good faith efforts to attract and retain a comparable or greater enrollment of students with disabilities and limited English proficient students when compared to the enrollment figures for such students in the school district in which the charter school is located. A charter shall not be issued to any school that would be wholly or in part under the control or direction of any reli gious denomination, or in which any denominational tenet or doctrine would be taught.

S 8. Subdivision 2 of section 2857 of the education law, as amended by section 7 of part D-2 of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows:
2. Each charter school shall submit to the charter entity and to the board of regents an annual report. Such report shall be issued no later than the first day of August of each year for the preceding school year AND SHALL BE MADE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE BY SUCH DATE AND SHALL BE POSTED ON THE CHARTER SCHOOL'S WEBSITE. The annual report shall be in such form as shall be prescribed by the commissioner and shall include at least the following components:
(a) a charter school report card, which shall include measures of the comparative academic and fiscal performance of the school, as prescribed by the commissioner in regulations adopted for such purpose. Such meas ures shall include, but not be limited to, graduation rates, dropout rates, performance of students on standardized tests, college entry rates, total spending per pupil and administrative spending per pupil. Such measures shall be presented in a format that is easily comparable to similar public schools. In addition, the charter school shall ensure that such information is easily accessible to the community INCLUDING MAKING IT PUBLICLY AVAILABLE BY TRANSMITTING IT TO LOCAL NEWSPAPERS OF GENERAL CIRCULATION AND MAKING IT AVAILABLE FOR DISTRIBUTION AT BOARD OF TRUSTEE MEETINGS. (b) discussion of the progress made towards achievement of the goals set forth in the charter. (c) a certified financial statement setting forth, by appropriate categories, the revenues and expenditures for the preceding school year, including a copy of the most recent independent fiscal audit of the school AND ANY AUDIT CONDUCTED BY THE COMPTROLLER OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

S 9. Subdivision 2 of section 2857 of the education law, as amended by section eight of this act, is amended to read as follows:
2. Each charter school shall submit to the charter entity and to the board of regents an annual report. Such report shall be issued no later than the first day of August of each year for the preceding school year and shall be made publicly available by such date and shall be posted on the charter school's website. The annual report shall be in such form as shall be prescribed by the commissioner and shall include at least the following components:
(a) a charter school report card, which shall include measures of the comparative academic and fiscal performance of the school, as prescribed by the commissioner in regulations adopted for such purpose. Such meas ures shall include, but not be limited to, graduation rates, dropout rates, performance of students on standardized tests, college entry S. 6925 4 rates, total spending per pupil and administrative spending per pupil. Such measures shall be presented in a format that is easily comparable to similar public schools. In addition, the charter school shall ensure that such information is easily accessible to the community including making it publicly available by transmitting it to local newspapers of general circulation and making it available for distribution at board of trustee meetings. (b) discussion of the progress made towards achievement of the goals set forth in the charter. (c) a certified financial statement setting forth, by appropriate categories, the revenues and expenditures for the preceding school year, including a copy of the most recent independent fiscal audit of the school and any audit conducted by the comptroller of the state of New York. (D) EFFORTS TAKEN BY THE CHARTER SCHOOL IN THE EXISTING SCHOOL YEAR, AND A PLAN FOR EFFORTS TO BE TAKEN IN THE SUCCEEDING SCHOOL YEAR, TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN HIGH-NEED STUDENTS, INCLUDING STUDENTS AT RISK OF EDUCATIONAL FAILURE OR STUDENTS WHO ARE OTHERWISE IN NEED OF SPECIAL ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT.

S 10. Subdivision 3 of section 2857 of the education law is amended by adding a new paragraph (a-1) to read as follows:
(A-1) A LIST INCLUDING THE NUMBER OF CHARTER SCHOOLS CLOSED DURING THE PRECEDING YEAR, AND A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE REASONS THEREFOR INCLUD ING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, NON-RENEWAL OF THE CHARTER OR REVOCATION OF THE CHARTER;

S 11.

Section 2857 of the education law is amended by adding a new subdivision 5 to read as follows:
5. THE BOARD OF REGENTS SHALL ON AN ANNUAL BASIS REVIEW AND MAKE AVAILABLE TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS BEST EDUCATIONAL PRACTICES EMPLOYED BY CHARTER SCHOOLS.

S 12. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdi vision, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such invalid provisions had not been included herein.

S 13. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that sections three, six and nine of this act shall take effect July 1, 2011.

S6925: Relates to the establishment, organization, and administration of charter schools