S1583-2011 Actions

• Jun 20, 2012: referred to education
• Jun 20, 2012: DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
• Jun 20, 2012: PASSED SENATE
• Jun 20, 2012: ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.1373
• Jun 20, 2012: COMMITTEE DISCHARGED AND COMMITTED TO RULES
• Jan 13, 2012: PRINT NUMBER 1583A
• Jan 13, 2012: AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO EDUCATION
• Jan 4, 2012: REFERRED TO EDUCATION
• Mar 1, 2011: REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE
• Jan 10, 2011: REFERRED TO EDUCATION

S1583-2011 Meetings

S1583-2011 Votes

S1583-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S1583

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the education law, in relation to the prohibition
of
out-of-state school contracts

PURPOSE:
This legislation seeks to clarify the power and duty of the board of
cooperative educational services to enter into contracts with
out-of-state school districts to provide services to said districts,
while specifying that no approved service that shall be provided to
an out-of-state district shall be approved as an aidable shared
service.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one amends paragraphs (d) and (h) of subdivision four of
section 1950 of the education law by adding a new sentence to the end
of subparagraph two of paragraph (d), which states that the
commissioner of education shall not approve any services provided to
an out-of-state school district as an aidable shared service, and by
adding a new subparagraph eight to paragraph (h), which gives the
board of cooperative educational services the ability to enter into
contracts with out-of-state school districts in order to provide
services to said districts.

Section two provides the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:
The Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), a public
organization established over forty years ago by the New York State
Legislature, is unique to New York. It was created for the primary
purpose of providing school districts with a program of shared
services that would be prohibitively expensive if those services were
funded by each individual school district.
Thousands of students in special education and career and technical
education have benefited from BOCES programs. Teachers and school
administrators have benefited from BOCES support services including
computer technology, curriculum and instruction, health and safety,
transportation, human resources, payroll and record keeping, test
analyses and athletics.

Bordering states have found that BOCES programs are well suited to the
needs of their students and staff, are cost effective, and are
geographically more convenient to their districts than their in-state
programs. Since the law is silent as to whether BOCES can provide its
shared service
programs to out-of-state school districts, for many years BOCES had
been providing them services. Due to a recent interpretation of the
law by the State Education Department (SED), BOCES programs were told
to stop the practice.

This bill clarifies that BOCES may provide shared services programs to
these districts with the approval of the District Superintendent and
the Commissioner of Education. By allowing BOCES to provide shared


services to out-of-state school districts, significant benefits will
result.
BOCES operates on an economy of scale basis, i.e., the greater the
number of users, the less expensive it is for each. BOCES also
operates on the common business demand/supply model whereby services
are provided only if the demand is sufficient to provide a program at
a reasonable cost. If demand drops, then BOCES must eliminate the
program even if the program is tailored to the unique needs of a
student or school district, or if BOCES is the only provider within a
reasonable distance from the school district.

Authorizing BOCES to serve out-of-state school districts will benefit
all interested stakeholders.
Classes will remain full at a lower cost to the school districts,
students will have more options to choose from in all program areas,
curriculum and instruction programs and technical support programs
may be expanded, fewer programs will be dropped for lack of
enrollment and, most importantly, New York school districts will be
able to decrease their own costs for shared services.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
S.4966/A.7720 of 2009-2010 - Passed Senate.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

S1583-2011 Text

 S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 
 
                                         1583
 2011-2012 Regular Sessions
 I N  SENATE
 January 10, 2011
 
 Introduced  by  Sens. OPPENHEIMER, DIAZ, KLEIN -- 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 prohibition of
 out-of-state school contracts
 THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

Section  1.  Subparagraph 2 of paragraph d of subdivision 4 of section
 1950 of the education law, as added by chapter 474 of the laws of  1996,
 is  amended  and a new subparagraph 8 is added to paragraph h to read as
 follows:

 (2) Certain services prohibited. Commencing with the nineteen  hundred
 ninety-seven--ninety-eight  school  year,  the commissioner shall not be
 authorized to approve as an aidable  shared  service  pursuant  to  this
 subdivision  any cooperative maintenance services or municipal services,
 including but not limited to, lawn mowing services and  heating,  venti
 lation or air conditioning repair or maintenance or trash collection, or
 any  other  municipal  services  as  defined by the commissioner. On and
 after the effective date of this paragraph, the commissioner  shall  not
 approve,  as  an aidable shared service, any new cooperative maintenance
 or municipal services for the nineteen hundred  ninety-six--ninety-seven
 school year, provided that the commissioner may approve the continuation
 of  such services for one year if provided in the nineteen hundred nine
 ty-five--ninety-six school year.  ON AND AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE
 CHAPTER OF THE LAWS OF TWO THOUSAND ELEVEN WHICH AMENDED  THIS  SUBPARA
 GRAPH, THE COMMISSIONER SHALL NOT APPROVE, AS AN AIDABLE SHARED SERVICE,
 ANY  SERVICE PROVIDED TO AN OUT-OF-STATE SCHOOL DISTRICT PROVIDED PURSU
 ANT TO SUBPARAGRAPH EIGHT OF PARAGRAPH H OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
 (8) TO ENTER INTO CONTRACTS WITH OUT-OF-STATE SCHOOL  DISTRICTS,  WITH
 THE  APPROVAL  OF THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS AND THE COMMIS
 SIONER IN THEIR SOLE DISCRETION, TO PROVIDE SERVICES MADE  AVAILABLE  TO
 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD00909-01-1
 
       S. 1583                             2
 ANY  SCHOOL  DISTRICT WITHIN THE SUPERVISORY DISTRICT UPON SUCH TERMS AS
 DETERMINED BY THE COMMISSIONER IN RULES AND REGULATIONS  AND  AS  AGREED
 UPON  PURSUANT TO CONTRACTS EXECUTED BY SUCH BOARD OF COOPERATIVE EDUCA
 TIONAL  SERVICES AND THE TRUSTEES OR BOARDS OF EDUCATION OF SUCH OUT-OF
 STATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
 

S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

*By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and Privacy Policy and verify you are over 13.

Discuss!