Relates to the provision of special education services at charter schools

BILL NUMBER:S7122

Title of bill

An act to amend the education law, in relation to charter schools providing special education services

Purpose

This bill would enable charter schools to serve more students with special needs, including English language learners and students with disabilities, by authorizing Boards of Cooperative Educational Services to contract with charter schools and authorizing charter schools to establish consortia to serve students at different locations.

Summary of provisions

Section 1 of the bill amends section 1950(4)(h)(2) of the education law to authorize Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) to contract directly with charter schools to provide services.

Section 2 of the bill amends section 2853(1)(b-1) of the education law by adding a new subparagraph (C) to authorize a charter school to provide programs and services to its students at a different location while being deemed to be operating at a single site.

Section 3 of the bill amends section 2853(4)(a) of the education law by clarifying that a charter school may provide special education programs and services by contracting with another charter school or a board of cooperative educational services either on site at the charter school or at another location.

Section 5 of the bill provides for an immediate effective date.

Justification

Charter schools have been encouraged to serve greater numbers of students who are English language learners and students with disabilities but have not been adequately equipped to provide such services. This bill would better enable charter schools to serve more such students by authorizing BOCES to contract with charter schools to better enable charter schools and by allowing charter schools to provide programs and services at other locations.

Allowing a charter school to provide services at an alternative site, for example, a BOCES or other charter school, would allow for several charter schools to pool their resources and serve students with similar needs at the same location. This consortia approach, for example, would allow one charter school to provide a particular service and contract with other charter schools with students in need of that service , without having to re-enroll through a lottery.

Existing education law mandates that charter schools make "good faith efforts to attract and retain" students with disabilities and students who are English language learners. Existing law also requires charter schools to meet enrollment targets for these categories of students which are comparable to the school district or, in New York City, the community school district in which the charter school is located.

Currently, charter schools remain at a disadvantage in meeting enrollment targets for students with disabilities and who are English language learners due to the fact that they do not operate their own committee on special education, their students are not mandated to enroll in the school and, if they choose to enroll, must do so through a random selection process.

Enactment of this bill will enable charter schools to attract and retain more students with disabilities or who are English language learners by contracting with BOCES to provide specialized services in a similar manner as it provides to district schools and by providing services to students from other charter schools through a contractual arrangement to establish a consortia. This latter arrangement also avoids the need and complication for students with similar disabilities to re-enroll in another chatter school providing the needed service and ensures a chatter school remains within the statutory requirement to operate at a single site.

Legislative history

This is a new bill.

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.