Extends effectiveness of chapter 425 of 2002 and chapter 101 of 2003, amending the education law

Summary of provisions of the bill

Section 1 of the bill would amend § 4 of Chapter 425 of the Laws of 2002 to extend the effectiveness of the provisions of such act relating to supplemental educational services, unsafe school choice and compliance with the Gun Free Schools Act until June 30, 2010.

Section 2 of the bill would amend § 5 of Chapter 101 of the Laws of 2003 to extend the effectiveness of the provisions of such act relating to the education of homeless children and the transfer of student discipli- nary records until June 30, 2010.

Section 3 of the bill would be the effective date.

Statement in support of the bill

The Legislature in 2002 enacted interim legislation, Chapter 425 of the Laws of 2002, to enable the Department to provide the United States Department of Education (USED) with the assurances of compliance required to secure Title I funds and other federal funding under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). These federal funds, which total in excess of $1.76 billion annually, including more than $1.2 billion in funding under Title I, Part A, are critical to the ability of school districts and Title I charter schools with concentrations of students in poverty to meet state academic performance standards. Chapter 425 made amend- ments to state law that were needed immediately to provide the Commis- sioner of Education with the authority to implement key provisions of the NCLB, relating to: providing supplemental educational services to students in schools receiving Title I funds that have been identified as schools in need of improvement (SINI) for more than one year, providing school choice to students who are victims of a violent criminal offense

or attend a school identified as persistently dangerous, and implement- ing the provisions of the Gun Free Schools Act that generally require a minimum 1-year suspension and referral to the criminal justice system of students who bring a firearm to school.

Chapter 101 of the Laws of 2003 extended the provisions of Chapter 425 until June 30, 2005, and made additional amendments to state law relat- ing to implementation of the NCLB that would also sunset on June 30, 2005. Chapter 129 of the Laws of 2005 extended the effectiveness of the provisions of both Chapter 425 and Chapter 101 by one year, until June 30, 2006. Chapter 153 of the Laws of 2006 extended the effectiveness of the provisions of both chapters by one year, until June 30, 2007, Chap- ter 220 of the Laws of 2007 extended the effectiveness of the provisions of both chapters by one year, until June 30, 2008, and Chapter 126 of the Laws of 2008 extended the effectiveness of such chapters by one year, until June 30, 2009.

Chapter 101 conformed the definition of "homeless child" in paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section 3209 of the Education Law to the definition of "homeless children and youths" contained in section 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act of 2001 (42 U.S.C. §§ 11431, et. seq.), as amended in Title X of the NCLB. Chapter 101 also added a new subdivision 2-a to section 3209 of the Education Law relating to the requirement that each local educational agency designate a local educational agency liaison for homeless chil- dren and otherwise comply with the applicable provisions of 722(g)(3)-(7) of the McKinney-Vento Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11432[g][3]-[7]) relating to the immediate enrollment of homeless chil- dren, records of homeless children, dispute resolution procedures and comparable services and coordination of services for homeless children. Finally, Chapter 101 added a new subdivision 7 to § 3214 of the Educa- tion Law to comply with the requirement of section 4155 of the NCLB that states have a procedure in place to facilitate the transfer of discipli- nary records (suspensions and expulsions) to any public or private elementary or secondary school in which the student enrolls, or seeks, intends or is instructed to enroll on a full-time or part-time basis.

If the provisions of Chapter 425 of the Laws of 2002 and Chapter 101 of the Laws of 2003 were allowed to expire, the provisions of state law needed to fully comply with Title I and Title IV of the NCLB and the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act would no longer be in place. Since certain of these requirements, such as those in the Gun Free Schools Act, unsafe school choice and the transfer of disciplinary records, are imposed as a condition of receiving all funds under the NCLB, a lapse in these statutes would place all of New York's ESEA funds at risk of a federal disallowance.

ESEA funds, particularly Title I, are of critical importance to school districts with concentrations of children in poverty, such as the Big Five city school districts. The flow of these funds cannot be allowed to be disrupted. A lapse in the provisions of New York law needed to imple- ment the McKinney-Vento Act relating to the education of homeless chil-

dren would expose the state to liability in federal court. The State Education Department will be submitting separate legislation amending Education Law § 3209 relating to the education of homeless children, but it is imperative that the amendments made by Chapter 101 of the Laws of 2003 remain in effect, as proposed in this bill.

The provisions of Chapter 425 of the Laws of 2002 and Chapter 101 of the Laws of 2003 have now been extended several times, most recently by Chapter 126 of the Laws of 2008. At this juncture, an extension of the provisions of state law implementing the NCLB is appropriate, rather than legislation to make such provisions permanent, because Congress is currently deliberating the reauthorization of the NCLB and is not expected to complete the reauthorization until 2009. When the NCLB is reauthorized, conforming amendments may be needed in state law that can be proposed as permanent law.

Budgetary implications of the bill

The bill would not result in any additional costs to the state or to school districts. Enactment of this bill is necessary to preserve New York's funding under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, which totals approximately $1.76 billion annually.

Prior legislative history

None. This is a new proposal.

Effective date

The bill would take effect immediately, except that if this act becomes a law on or after June 30, 2009 it would take effect immediately and be deemed to have been in full force and effect on and after June 30, 2009.