Increases the cap on the total number of charter schools in the state to four hundred and permits operation of additional sites

1 Co-sponsor

• Pedro Espada Jr.

Title of bill

An act to amend the education law, in relation to increasing the cap on the total number of charter schools in the state to four hundred; permitting charter schools to house grades at additional sites; and in relation to the authorized period of incorporation

Purpose

To amend current law to increase the current charter school cap; allow charter schools to contract directly with BOCES, allow a single charter school board to oversee multiple sites and amend the current duration of charter incorporation to be 5 instructional years.

Summary of provisions

Section 1: Increases the charter cap from two hundred to four hundred.

Section 2: Authorizes charter schools to house a single grade at more than one site, with each additional site counted toward the existing cap of charter schools.

Sections 3 & 4: Clarifies that the period of incorporation for a charter school shall comprise 5 instructional years.

Section 5: Allow BOCES to enter into contract and provide services to charter schools.

Justification

The provisions included in this legislative proposal would serve to increase New York's already competitive position for Race to the Top funding.

Under current law, there are less than 40 charters still available to be issued. Given the growth and success of charter schools in New York State, it is reasonable to believe that the current cap will be reached early in the coming year. Therefore, it is necessary to raise the cap to allow for future growth. Increasing the cap could also help New York State to achieve maximum competitiveness in pursuit of Race to the Top funding.

Authorizing a charter school to house a grade at more than one site, subject to the approval of a charter authorizer, will enable replication of successful charter schools and expand opportunities for parents to send their children to proven educational models, especially for high school grades. This is critical to encourage more charter high school opportunities for students, which generally have higher operating costs, particularly those students in similar programs ending at the middle school level. It is important to note that a charter school housing a single grade at more than one site, as provided by this bill, would count each additional site toward the exiting cap of 200 charters issued.

Under current law, charter schools are authorized to incorporate for five years after initial approval, and then must reapply. Since opening a school is a complex endeavor, many charter school boards take a year or more to hire staff, find a location and plan before opening for instruction. Allowing the education corporation to incorporate immediately after approval is necessary to allow for the normal business that is necessary to open a school, such as acquiring space and entering into contracts with teachers. By making this change, charter schools will be able to take the necessary steps to open the school, while at the same time ensuring that there is adequate pupil data available for review upon their application for renewal.

Finally, by allowing charter schools to purchase services directly from BOCES, charter schools will be better positioned to achieve cost saving through the economy of scale achieved through shared services. Further, allowing these contracts will put charter schools in a far stronger position to provide services to English language learners and students with disabilities.

Legislative history

This is a new bill.

Fiscal implications

To be determined.

Effective date

Section 1 would take effect July 1, 2010. The remaining sections would take effect 90 days after enactment.