What's happening
This bill limits retired persons serving as school superintendents to one year, with possible waivers for districts facing hardship.
Why it matters
Limits temporary reliance on retired superintendents. By capping retired superintendents’ service to one year, the bill pushes school districts to actively recruit and hire new, non-retired leaders rather than relying on retirees as ongoing or long-term solutions.
Aims to promote leadership renewal and succession planning. The requirement to fill superintendent roles with non-retired individuals after a year encourages districts to develop pipelines for educational leadership and invest in future administrators, potentially diversifying and modernizing district leadership.
Recognizes unique local challenges with a waiver process. Districts facing significant difficulty finding qualified candidates can seek a waiver, allowing for flexibility in rare or emergency circumstances, but this process must be justified and approved by the commissioner of education, ensuring oversight and accountability.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Limit Retired School Superintendents
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to civil service and pensions
- Referred to civil service and pensions
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1148
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 6, 2017
Introduced by Sen. MARCELLINO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to the employment of retired persons as superintendents of schools
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 211 of the retirement and social security law is amended by adding a new subdivision 4-a to read as follows:
4-a. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, a retired person employed under this section by a school district to serve as the superintendent of schools for such school district shall not serve as such superintendent for more than one year. On or before the conclusion of such one year period such school district shall fill the position of superintendent of schools with a non-retired person on a permanent basis.
(b) The commissioner of education may grant a waiver from the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subdivision to any school district that demonstrates to such commissioner that after due diligence a suitable candidate to fill the position of superintendent of schools has not been found and that compliance with paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall constitute substantial hardship to such school district. The commissioner of education shall determine the manner and form in which a school district shall apply for a waiver pursuant to this paragraph.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05956-01-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to the employment of retired persons as superintendents of schools
Purpose
This legislation provides that retired persons shall not be employed as the superintendent of schools of a school district for more than a year.
Summary of provisions
Section 211 of the retirement and social security law as amended by adding a new subdivision 4-a to provide that retired persons shall not be employed as the superintendent of schools of a school district for more than a year.
On or before the conclusion of the one year period, the district must permanently fill the position of superintendent with a non-retired person. The Commissioner of Education may grant a waiver from this requirement if the district can prove a substantial hardship. The Commissioner will determine the manner and form of the waiver process.
Justification
It has become common practice to fill vacant School District Superintendent positions on a temporary basis with retired education professionals. Under current law, retirees are allowed to collect both their pension and a full salary from the school district. Too often, these temporary situations continue for multiple years without a permanent hire.
While at times districts struggle to immediately find a qualified replacement, it should not take more than one calendar year to find a suitable, permanent candidate to lead the school district. This legislation will require that retired persons shall not be employed as the superintendent of a school district for more than one year.
By limiting these temporary retiree hires to a one year term, a younger group of educational professionals will be given an opportunity to bring a fresh approach to school districts statewide.
Legislative history
S.456 of 2015/16
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.