What's happening
This bill amends charter school laws by adjusting charter limits, teacher certification requirements, and extending certain education law provisions through 2019.
Why it matters
Limits on New Charter Schools in NYC. The bill changes how many new charter schools can open in New York City, capping NYC's share at 40% of available charters each year. This could slow charter growth in the city and shift expansion to other parts of the state.
Recycling Unused or Closed Charters. Charters from closed or non-renewed schools can now be returned to the original pool and reissued, without counting against the statewide cap. This policy may allow for more charter schools overall, especially in areas outside NYC, by making it easier to replace failed or surrendered charters.
Looser Teacher Certification for Some Charter Schools. High-performing charter schools with strong internal training programs can now employ uncertified teachers for up to three years before certification is required. The bill also relaxes the cap on how many uncertified teachers a charter school can employ, allowing the “whichever is greater” rule for 30% of staff or five teachers, potentially making hiring easier for charters.
Extension of Key Education Provisions. The bill extends the expiration dates for major laws governing New York City’s school governance and charter school operations from 2017 to 2019. This maintains the current structure and authority of NYC education oversight bodies for two more years, affecting both charter and traditional public school governance.
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Who cares
Charter school operators
The bill would allow reuse of surrendered, revoked or terminated charters, remove the 22-charter reissuance cap and replace New York City’s 50-charter limit with a ceiling of 40 percent of remaining charters available each year.
Charter school teachers and administrators
The bill would give teachers at high-performing charter schools with rigorous training programs three school years to obtain certification and increase the allowance for certain uncertified teachers.
Board of Regents and SUNY trustees
The bill would expand charter reissuance opportunities and remove the one-year restriction on eligible charter schools seeking a different authorizer.
New York City education officials and community councils
The bill would extend provisions governing the city’s school system from June 30, 2017, to June 30, 2019.
Headline styles
Extend Charter School Limits
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 36–26
- Ordered to third reading cal.1507
- Referred to rules
Full text
4 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6568
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 charter schools; 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 the effectiveness thereof; and to amend chapter 345 of the laws of 2009, amending the education law and other laws relating to the New York city board of education, chancellor, community councils and community superintendents, in relation to the effectiveness 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; provided that a city of one million or more shall receive no more than forty percent of the remaining charters available in each year. [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.] The failure of any body to issue the regulations authorized pursuant 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
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13018-05-7
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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; and 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, 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
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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 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. 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] 2019 provided, further, that notwithstanding any provision of article 5 of the general construction law, on June 30, [2017] 2019 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 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
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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.
§ 5. Subdivision 12 of section 17 of chapter 345 of the laws of 2009, amending the education law and other laws relating to 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] 2019.
§ 6. This act shall take effect immediately, provided that if this act shall have become a law after June 23, 2017 section three of this act shall be deemed to have been in full force and effect on and after June 23, 2017.
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 charter schools; 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 the effectiveness thereof; and to amend chapter 345 of the laws of 2009, amending the education law and other laws relating to the New York city board of education, chancellor, community councils and community superintendents, in relation to the effectiveness thereof
Purpose
This bill establishes a two-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, or charters that are returned to the pool in the future into the pool of available charters.
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 makes permanent the ability for a charter school to switch the authorizing entity for that school.
Section 4 provides a two year extender to June 30, 2019 of the mayoral control legislation.
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 two year extender to June 30, 2019.
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 two years 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.