Protects schools from losing school aid when directed to close to prevent the spread of an epidemic

§3604(7) also would be amended to provide that the Commissioner of Education may excuse up to an additional five days because of such an epidemic where state or local public health officials have recommended or directed closure of a school for a period of more than five school days.

Section 2 of the bill would provide that for the 2008-2009 school year, the Commissioner of Education may excuse a total deficiency of up to 10 days in meeting the 180 day requirement, inclusive of the number of days excused pursuant to Education Law §3604(7) for other reasons, for a school district that closed one or more schools after consultation with local health officials in response to the H1N1 (swine flu) virus epidemic, provided that the school district could not make up such days of instruction by using for the secondary grades all scheduled vacation days which occur prior to the first scheduled Regents examination day in June 2009, and for the elementary grades all scheduled vacation days which occur prior to the last scheduled Regents examination day in June 2009.

Section 3 is the effective date.

Statement in support of the bill

As a result of the 2009 H1N1 (swine flu) outbreak, certain school districts in the State of New York, after consulting with public health officials, closed schools for multiple school days during the 2008-2009 school year. Under the provisions of Education Law §3604(7), an epidemic or public health emergency is not an excuse that the Commissioner of Education can accept in disregarding the failure of a school district to meet the 180 school day requirement for State aid purposes. This bill would authorize the Commissioner, in deciding whether to excuse a deficiency in days of session of up to five days, to treat an epidemic or public health emergency as a valid excuse and, in light of our experience with the H1N1 epidemic, would allow the Commissioner to excuse up to an additional five days upon recommendation of State or local public health officials. When it is necessary to close a school to prevent spread of an epidemic, closure of a school for up to two weeks may be called for. This bill would allow school districts to have a deficiency up to a total of 10 days of session excused as a result of an epidemic. School districts should not be penalized through loss of State aid for carrying out necessary health and safety measures to contain such an epidemic and should be excused from such deficiencies in school session days for State aid purposes. Most importantly, school officials should not hesitate to close in response to recommendations of public health officials because of concern over possible loss of aid.

In 2008-2009, the H1N1 (swine flu) epidemic occurred late in the academic year, after many school districts had used most or all of their "snow days" or contingency days - days of session scheduled in case of closures for valid reasons that cannot be made up. Like the existing provisions of Education Law §3604(7), this bill would require districts ·to use up scheduled vacation days or otherwise adjust their schedules to come as close to meeting the 180 day requirement as possible. Unless this bill is enacted, affected school districts will lose State aid because of their inability to make up for days this late in the school year.

For the 2008-2009 school year, school districts consulted with public health officials, but did not necessarily obtain an affirmative recommendation from public health officials to close schools. This bill would allow the Commissioner to excuse deficiencies of days of session in 2008-2009 based on proof that the districts consulted with public health officials before closing. In 2009-2010 and thereafter, this bill would require a showing that the school closing was recommended or directed by State or local public health officials as a result of an epidemic or other public health emergency. The decision on whether a school should be closed to prevent the spread of infectious disease should not be made by school officials unilaterally, but should be . made when public health officials recommend it. Closing a school where one or more reported cases of a disease occur may be appropriate for public health reasons, while closing all schools of a school district in response may not be. This bill would provide relief to school districts from a State aid penalty where the districts rely upon the recommendation of public health officials and close schools in response to an epidemic, while assuring that days of session are not lost unnecessarily and only where they cannot be made up later in the school year.

Budgetary implications of the bill

This bill will not result in any additional costs to the State or to school districts. If this bill is not enacted, school districts that closed schools in response to the H1N1 epidemic would lose 11180th of their total Foundation Aid for each day in which schools did not meet the requirement of 180 days of session.

Prior legislative history

This is a new bill.

Effective date

This act would take effect immediately, provided that the amendments to Education Law §3604(7) made by section one of this act shall take effect July 1, 2009 and shall apply to days of session in the 2009-2010 school year and thereafter.