What's happening
This bill amends charter school laws to adjust charter limits, teacher certification rules, and extends certain New York City education provisions for one year.
Why it matters
Adjusts the distribution of new charter school approvals in large cities. By capping the share of new charters that can go to cities with populations over one million (such as New York City) to 40% of the remaining available charters each year, this bill aims to ensure that charter growth is more evenly spread across the state, possibly limiting rapid expansion in NYC while encouraging growth elsewhere.
Allows revoked or closed charters to be reissued without counting toward the cap. Charters that have been surrendered, revoked, terminated, or not renewed can be returned to the available pool and reissued, and they are not counted against the statewide limit. This could enable more charter schools to open over time, especially in areas where previous schools have closed, potentially increasing overall charter school numbers.
Relaxes teacher certification rules for certain charter schools. The bill extends the period (to three years) that teachers in "high performing public charter schools with a rigorous training program" have to become certified, and increases the allowable number of uncertified teachers by changing the limit from the lower of 30% or 5 teachers to the higher of those two, plus additional carve-outs for specialized teachers. This could make it easier for charter schools to hire teachers, potentially attracting candidates from non-traditional backgrounds but also raising concerns about teacher quality and oversight.
Extends key NYC education governance provisions for an additional year. By extending the expiration date for certain laws governing New York City's school system and construction authority for another year, the bill maintains the current structure and authority of NYC's education system, affecting how schools are managed, funded, and overseen in the short term, and potentially influencing ongoing debates about mayoral control or other reforms.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Change Charter School Rules
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to education
- Returned to senate
- Died in assembly
- Referred to education
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 37–25
- Ordered to third reading cal.1506
- Referred to rules
Full text
4 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6567
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
June 4, 2017
Introduced by Sen. FLANAGAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the surrender, revocation or termination of a charter and requirements for teaching staff of charter schools; to amend chapter 345 of the laws of 2009 amending the education law and other laws relating to the… Show allHide
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the surrender, revocation or termination of a charter and requirements for teaching staff of charter schools; to amend chapter 345 of the laws of 2009 amending the education law and other laws relating to the reorganization of the New York city board of education, chancellor, community councils and community superintendents, in relation to extending the expiration and repeal date of certain provisions thereof; and to amend chapter 91 of the laws of 2002, amending the education law and other laws relating to reorganization of the New York city school construction authority, board of education and community boards, in relation to extending the expiration and repeal date of certain provisions thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 9 of section 2852 of the education law, as amended by section 2 of subpart A of part B of chapter 20 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
9. The total number of charters issued pursuant to this article statewide shall not exceed four hundred sixty. (a) All charters issued on or after July first, two thousand fifteen and counted toward the numerical limits established by this subdivision shall be issued by the board of regents upon application directly to the board of regents or on the recommendation of the board of trustees of the state university of New York pursuant to a competitive process in accordance with subdivision nine-a of this section[. Fifty of such charters issued on or after July first, two thousand fifteen, and no more, shall be granted to a charter for a school to be located in a city having a population of one million or more]; provided that a city of one million or more shall receive no more than forty percent of the remaining charters available in each year. The failure of any body to issue the regulations authorized pursu-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13013-05-7
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ant to this article shall not affect the authority of a charter entity to propose a charter to the board of regents or the board of regents' authority to grant such charter. A conversion of an existing public school to a charter school, or the renewal or extension of a charter approved by any charter entity, shall not be counted toward the numerical limits established by this subdivision.
(a-1) A charter school whose charter has been surrendered, revoked or terminated, including a charter that has not been renewed by action of its charter entity, shall not be counted toward the numerical limits established by this subdivision and instead shall be returned to the pool it was originally issued from and may be reissued by the board of regents either upon application directly to the board of regents or on the recommendation of the board of trustees of the state university of New York pursuant to a competitive process in accordance with subdivision nine-a of this section.
(b) A charter that has been surrendered, revoked or terminated [on or before July first, two thousand fifteen], including a charter that has not been renewed by action of its charter entity, may be reissued pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision by the board of regents either upon application directly to the board of regents or on the recommendation of the board of trustees of the state university of New York pursuant to a competitive process in accordance with subdivision nine-a of this section. Provided that such reissuance shall not be counted toward the statewide numerical limit established by this subdivision[, and provided further that no more than twenty-two charters may be reissued pursuant to this paragraph].
(c) For purposes of determining the total number of charters issued within the numerical limits established by this subdivision, the approval date of the charter entity shall be the determining factor.
(d) Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the contrary, any charter authorized to be issued by chapter fifty-seven of the laws of two thousand seven effective July first, two thousand seven, and that remains unissued as of July first, two thousand fifteen, may be issued pursuant to the provisions of law applicable to a charter authorized to be issued by such chapter in effect as of June fifteenth, two thousand fifteen[; provided however that nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to increase the numerical limit applicable to a city having a population of one million or more as provided in paragraph (a) of this subdivision, as amended by a chapter of the laws of two thousand fifteen which added this paragraph].
§ 2. Paragraph (a-1) of subdivision 3 of section 2854 of the education law, as amended by section 1 of subpart A of part B of chapter 20 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
(a-1) The board of trustees of a charter school shall employ and contract with necessary teachers, administrators and other school personnel. Such teachers shall be certified in accordance with the requirements applicable to other public schools; provided, however, that teachers employed by a high performing public charter school with a rigorous teacher training program will have three school years from their employment start date before they must satisfy certification requirements; provided further that a charter school may employ as teachers (i) uncertified teachers with at least three years of elementary, middle or secondary classroom teaching experience; (ii) tenured or tenure track college faculty; (iii) individuals with two years of satisfactory experience through the Teach for America program; and (iv) individuals who possess exceptional business, professional, artistic,
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athletic, or military experience, provided, however, that such teachers described in clauses (i), (ii), (iii), and (iv) of this paragraph shall not in total comprise more than the sum of: (A) thirty per centum of the teaching staff of a charter school, or five teachers, whichever is [less] greater; plus (B) five teachers of mathematics, science, computer science, technology, or career and technical education; plus (C) five additional teachers. A teacher certified or otherwise approved by the commissioner shall not be included in the numerical limits established by the preceding sentence.
§ 3. Subdivision 5 of section 2851 of the education law, as added by section 2 of part P of chapter 73 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows:
5. Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule or regulation to the contrary for a period of [one year] two years from the effective date of this subdivision, a charter school approved by a charter entity listed in subdivision three of this section may apply at any time during this period to another charter entity, defined in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of subdivision three of this section to request such other charter entity to oversee and supervise such charter school. All standards and requirements established in the original charter agreement shall remain in effect until the scheduled expiration of such charter agreement and provided however that all obligations of the previous charter entity to oversee and supervise a charter school shall terminate upon the transfer of authorization of such charter school to a new charter entity, as defined in subdivision five of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-two of this article, and the previous charter entity shall provide in a timely fashion information relevant to the charter as requested by such other charter entity. A charter school that seeks to change its charter entity must have met all other requirements of this article and cannot be in violation of any legal requirement, in probationary status, or slated for closure.
§ 4. Subdivision 12 of section 17 of chapter 345 of the laws of 2009 amending the education law and other laws relating to the reorganization of the New York city board of education, chancellor, community councils and community superintendents, as amended by section 2 of part O of chapter 73 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows:
12. any provision in sections one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten and eleven of this act not otherwise set to expire pursuant to section 34 of chapter 91 of the laws of 2002, as amended, or section 17 of chapter 123 of the laws of 2003, as amended, shall expire and be deemed repealed June 30, [2017] 2018.
§ 5. Section 34 of chapter 91 of the laws of 2002, amending the education law and other laws relating to reorganization of the New York city school construction authority, board of education and community boards, as amended by section 1 of part O of chapter 73 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows:
§ 34. This act shall take effect July 1, 2002; provided, that sections one through twenty, twenty-four, and twenty-six through thirty of this act shall expire and be deemed repealed June 30, [2017] 2018 provided, further, that notwithstanding any provision of article 5 of the general construction law, on June 30, [2017] 2018 the provisions of subdivisions 3, 5, and 8, paragraph b of subdivision 13, subdivision 14, paragraphs b, d, and e of subdivision 15, and subdivisions 17 and 21 of section 2554 of the education law as repealed by section three of this act, subdivision 1 of section 2590-b of the education law as repealed by section six of this act, paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section
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2590-b of the education law as repealed by section seven of this act, section 2590-c of the education law as repealed by section eight of this act, paragraph c of subdivision 2 of section 2590-d of the education law as repealed by section twenty-six of this act, subdivision 1 of section 2590-e of the education law as repealed by section twenty-seven of this act, subdivision 28 of section 2590-h of the education law as repealed by section twenty-eight of this act, subdivision 30 of section 2590-h of the education law as repealed by section twenty-nine of this act, subdivision 30-a of section 2590-h of the education law as repealed by section thirty of this act shall be revived and be read as such provisions existed in law on the date immediately preceding the effective date of this act; provided, however, that sections seven and eight of this act shall take effect on November 30, 2003; provided further that the amendments to subdivision 25 of section 2554 of the education law made by section two of this act shall be subject to the expiration and reversion of such subdivision pursuant to section 12 of chapter 147 of the laws of 2001, as amended, when upon such date the provisions of section four of this act shall take effect.
§ 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
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 surrender, revocation or termination of a charter and requirements for teaching staff of charter schools; to amend chapter 345 of the laws of 2009 amending the education law and other laws relating to the reorganization of the New York city board of education, chancellor, community councils and community superintendents, in relation to extending the expiration and repeal date of certain provisions thereof; and to amend chapter 91 of the laws of 2002, amending the education law and other laws relating to reorganization of the New York city school construction authority, board of education and community boards, in relation to extending the expiration and repeal date of certain provisions thereof
Purpose
This bill establishes a one-year extension of mayoral control of New York City schools, and creates additional procedures to ensure charter schools have flexibility in staffing schools with qualified teachers and operating within the statutory cap on the number of charter schools authorized in New York State.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 allows up to 40% of the remaining amount of charter schools under the statewide cap to be opened in New York City, and returns charters that were previously granted but not currently being used to the pool of available charters.
Read the full memo (604 words)
Section 2 allows charter schools with teacher training programs to employ teachers for a period of three years, after which time they must obtain certification to continue employment.
Section 3 provides a one year extension for the ability for a charter school to switch the authorizing entity for that school.
Section 4 relates to mayoral control of the New York City school system and provides a one year extender to June 30, 2018.
Section 5 relates to the New York City school system's board of education and community board governance system in Education Law Article 52-A and provides a one year extender to June 30, 2018.
Section 6 contains the effective date.
Justification
The current system of mayoral control in New York City is set to expire June 30, 2017. Extending mayoral control for one year will ensure continuity of the existing structure, but also allow the Legislature to re-examine the issue of extending mayoral control after continued progress and transparency in management has been demonstrated.
Charter schools help to provide quality access to education, not only in New York City, but in areas across the State. Adding flexibility in how many charters can operate under the statutory cap on the number of charters will increase access to charter schools, which are held accountable by the charter renewal process, and will allow students the opportunity to attend some of the most successful and highest achieving schools in the State.
Allowing charter schools with teacher training programs to employ teachers for a period of three years, after which time those teachers must obtain certification to continue employment, creates a training ground for a larger pool of teachers who have substantive experience in charter school classrooms. Such teachers will ensure students have opportunities to thrive by being educated by instructors who have honed their craft with practical teaching experiences.
By allowing charters in New York City to use up to 40% of the remaining schools under the statutory cap on the number of charter schools, students can have an opportunity to attend a school of their choice, and not be limited in their options by waiting lists at either traditional public schools or charter schools.
Legislative history
New Bill.
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.