Relates to mayoral control of the city school district of Buffalo; repealer

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1 of the bill of the bill would establish the short title, "City of Buffalo School District Governance Reform Act."

Section 2 of the bill would amend the Education Law by adding-an Article 52-B under Title 2 of the Education Law.

*S 2591-a. would establish the application of the article to the City School District of the City of Buffalo.

*S 2591-b. would provide for definitions.

*S 2591-c. would establish the Board of Education and its composition

*S 2591-d. would define the Board of Education's powers and duties

*S 2591-e (1) would provide for the appointment, powers and duties of the Superintendent of Schools. The Superintendent would be employed by the Mayor.

*S 2591-e (2) would provide the Superintendent with the power to (a) be the chief executive officer of the city district, (b) control and operate all pre-kindergarten, elementary, secondary and special education schools programs and services, (c) promulgate minimum educational standards and curriculum to all schools and programs throughout the city district, (d) prepare the content of each course of study authorized by the Board, (e) prepare and file a budget estimate with the Mayor, (f) recommend suitable lists of text books, (g) promulgate policies, (h)establish a process for selection of school principals, (i) appoint and supervise certain employees, (j) transfer teachers from one school to another, (k) supervise the course of study, examination and promotion of students, and all matters relating to the playground, parks, libraries, (1) promote the involvement of all members of the community, (m) create standards relating to the internal fiscal integrity of administrative operations, (n) establish procedures for record keeping, (o) develop procedures and policies and approve contracts awarded by the City, (p) provide transportation, home-teaching or special classes for physically or mentally disabled and delinquent children, (q) hold

regular public meetings in each council district, (r) provide information relating to the City District, (s) issue annual reports on the participation of minority and women owned business enterprises in the City District, (t) propose a policy for Board approval that promotes the recruitment of a workforce, (u) enforce all provisions of law and policies relating to the management of the schools, (v) create, abolish, and consolidate such positions, divisions, boards or bureaus as may be necessary, (w) provide care, custody, control and safekeeping over school property, (x) establish and maintain libraries, equip playgrounds, recreation centers, social centers and reading rooms, (y) conduct and maintain extra classroom activities, (z) purchase personal injury insurance, (aa) provide transportation when there is a school sponsored filed trip or extracurricular activity, (bb) prepare a school district report card, (cc) amend the City district's five year capital facilities plan, (dd) use his or her discretion to provide group insurance or policies, life insurance, medical and health insurance to employees, and (ee) develop a process for the selection of members to the Community Schools Advisory Council.

*S 2591-e (4) would require, that the Superintendent conduct a finger print and criminal history check on all prospective employees.

*S 2591-f would establish a Community Schools Advisory Council ("Advisory Council"), its composition, power and duties.

*S 2591-g would provide for the appointment of teachers, administrators, supervisors and other employees.

*S 2591-h would provide for the appointment of School principals; selection process; powers and duties

*S 2591-i would establish the budgetary and fiscal processes.

*S 2591-j would explain custody and disbursement of funds.

Section 3 of the bill relates to the section 2552 of the education law, as amended by chapter 138 of the laws of 1974 to continue to the Boards existence

Section 4 of the bill relates to subdivisions 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 8 of section 2553 of the education law, subdivision 1 as separately amended by chapters 211 and 441 of the laws of 1980, subdivisions 2, 4 and 5 as added by chapter. 242 of the laws of 1974, subdivision 6 as amended by Chapter 762 of the laws of 1950 and as renumbered by chapter 330 of the laws of 1969

Section 5 of the bill repeals subdivision of section 2553 of the education law

Section 6 of the bill would amend the opening paragraph of section 2554 of the education law, as amended chapter 91 of the laws of 2002.

Section 7 of the bill would amend subdivision 2 of section 2554 of the education law, as amended by chapter 27 of the laws of 2012.

Section 8 of the bill would amend subdivision 2-a of section 2554 of the education law as amended by section 16 of subpart F of part C of chapter 97 of the laws of 2011

Section 9 of the bill would amend subdivision 1 of section 2563 of the education law, as amended by chapter 2028 of the laws of 1971

Section 10 of the bill would amend subdivision 6 of section 2566 of the education law, as amended by chapter 27 of the laws of 2012

Section 11 of the bill would amend subdivision 3 of section 2573 of the education law, as amended by chapter 27 of the laws of 2012

Section 12 of the bill would repeal subdivision 4 of section 2576 of the education law

Section 13 of the bill would establish the terms of office for the members of the Board of Education

Section 14 of the bill would prohibit the City of Buffalo from renegotiating or otherwise amending any collective bargaining agreements or other contracts that expire or end on a date after the board of education is established pursuant to section 2591-c of the education laws added by section two of this act, takes office

Section 15 of the bill would provide that the provisions of article 52 of the education law shall continue to apply to the city school district of the city of Buffalo.

Section 16 of the bill would provide for a severability clause Section 17 of the bill would provide for the effective date.

Justification

With nearly sixty schools and over thirty-thousand students under its direct jurisdiction, the city of Buffalo Public School District is the second largest public school district in the state of New York. Facing enormous obstacles of poverty, students with limited English language proficiency, high-rates of students with disabilities and other challenges, the District has been plagued by underperformance for a number of decades.

The cities of Boston, New York, Washington, DC, and Chicago, among others, have seen measurable gains in student performance by shifting their city school board from an elected body to a body appointed by the Mayor of each respective city. According to a report by the Center for American Progress, these gains were especially significant among minority and low-income student populations, with some seeing double-digit gains on state and national reading assessments.

The Buffalo Public Schools Board of Education, the policy-making arm of the District, has been elected by a popular vote of city residents since 1974. In recent years, turnout for these elections has hovered near ten percent, calling into question whether these elections offer a truly democratic process. The shift from an elected board of education to a board appointed by the Mayor offers a single point of accountability, and preserves the democratic process by offering the

ability for voters to express satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the system through the Mayoral election, which often triples or quadruples the turnout of school board elections.

In the city of Buffalo, the system proposed in this legislation would allow the Mayor to appoint all nine members of the Board of Education to two-year terms, provided the appointees have strong, relevant experience in education, health or business. The bill also provides for a Community Schools Advisory Board, made up of parents and teachers from the six city school subdistricts. The Community Schools Advisory Board will ensure that parents and teachers have a more integrated role in the day-to-day functions of the Board of Education. The bill also requires that the Superintendent prepare a quarterly report to the Mayor, Board of Education and the State legislature to track the progress of this new system of governance. The bill expires within two years of its adoption and would in no way modify contracts negotiated by the current Board.

Prior legislative history

New Bill

Fiscal implications

To be determined

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately