What's happening
This bill requires school boards to publicly consider and disclose plans, costs, and community impact before changing school attendance zone boundaries.
Why it matters
Increases transparency and accountability. By requiring school boards to publicly consider and disclose the reasons, costs, and community impacts of changing attendance zones, the bill gives local residents more insight into—and influence over—decisions that could affect property values, school demographics, and student commutes.
Ensures community involvement. The mandatory public hearing and advance notice provisions give families, staff, and other stakeholders a formal opportunity to voice concerns or support before boundary decisions are finalized, making the process less abrupt or opaque.
Requires documentation and public record. The law obligates school boards to keep a public record of the decision-making process and outcomes, which could help prevent arbitrary or poorly justified changes and provides a resource for any future disputes or questions about attendance zone alterations.
Potential to impact equity and access. By mandating a review of community ramifications and requiring public disclosure, the bill may help surface and address issues of equity, such as how changes could affect school diversity or access to educational resources.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Require Public Notice for School Boundaries
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to education
- Referred to education
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2172
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 12, 2017
Introduced by Sens. SERINO, LARKIN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the powers and duties of the boards of education
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 1709 of the education law is amended by adding a new subdivision 3-a to read as follows:
3-a. To alter the existing boundaries of the attendance zones that a student currently attends, the school board shall consider the prospective need for such alterations, the ramifications upon the community, initial costs and savings resulting from such alterations. The school board shall post the alternative boundary lines in a plan and conduct a public hearing. Notice of such hearing shall be published by such board of education in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the community once a week for two weeks, and shall be conspicuously posted in the affected school district. The board of education shall render a decision at a regular or special meeting, the results of which shall be recorded and made available to the public.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04882-01-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the education law, in relation to the powers and duties of the boards of education
Purpose
This requires the board of education of a school district to consider the costs and ramifications on the community and to hold a public hearing before altering the current boundaries of the school attendance zones.
Summary of provisions
Section 1: Amends Section 1709 of the Education Law relating to the powers and duties of the board of education of a union free school district, to require the board to consider the prospective ramifications, costs and savings resulting from altering school attendance zones. School boards are required to provide public notice and to hold public hearings.
Justification
While it is recognized that school boards need to assess the needs of the student population and ensure that when there are population shifts, the district is able to respond with appropriate changes, school boards should do so with the input of the public.
Changing a school attendance zone may result in students changing schools from one year to the next. The changes could result in a student traveling longer distances to a newly designated school as a result of the boundary shifts. Further, family members could have children going to two different elementary schools creating a burden for families.
Such ramifications should be considered when a board of education considers changes in school attendance zones. Community concerns and costs, such as additional transportation expenses should also be considered.
This bill would require that boards not only take into account these considerations, but also provide for public input through a public hearing process. Changes in a school attendance zone should not be taken lightly and all factors impacting the community should be considered before any action is taken.
Legislative history
2016: S.5980 Referred to Education 2015: S.5980 Passed Senate
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.