STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6711 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 15, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. GALEF -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the financing of char- ter schools The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 2856 of the education law, as added by chapter 4 of 2 the laws of 1998, subdivision 1 as amended by section 4 of part YYY of 3 chapter 59 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows: 4 § 2856. Financing of charter schools. 1. (a) The enrollment of 5 students attending charter schools shall not be included in the enroll- 6 ment, attendance, membership and, if applicable, count of students with 7 disabilities of the school district in which the pupil resides. The 8 charter school shall report all such data to the [~~school districts of~~ 9 ~~residence~~] department in a timely manner. [~~Each school district shall~~ 10 ~~report such enrollment, attendance and count of students with disabili-~~ 11 ~~ties to the department.~~] The [~~school district of residence~~] department 12 shall pay directly to the charter school for each student enrolled in 13 the charter school [~~who resides in the school district~~] the charter 14 school basic tuition, which shall be: 15 (i) for school years prior to the two thousand nine--two thousand ten 16 school year, an amount equal to one hundred percent of the amount calcu- 17 lated pursuant to paragraph f of subdivision one of section thirty-six 18 hundred two of this chapter for the student's school district of resi- 19 dence for the year prior to the base year increased by the percentage 20 change in the state total approved operating expense calculated pursuant 21 to paragraph t of subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred two of 22 this chapter from two years prior to the base year to the base year; 23 (ii) for the two thousand nine--two thousand ten school year, the 24 charter school basic tuition shall be the amount payable by such EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD10651-01-9

A. 6711 2 1 district as charter school basic tuition for the two thousand eight--two 2 thousand nine school year; 3 (iii) for the two thousand ten--two thousand eleven through two thou- 4 sand thirteen--two thousand fourteen school years, the charter school 5 basic tuition shall be the basic tuition computed for the two thousand 6 ten--two thousand eleven school year pursuant to the provisions of 7 subparagraph (i) of this paragraph; 8 (iv) for the two thousand fourteen--two thousand fifteen, two thousand 9 fifteen--two thousand sixteen and two thousand sixteen--two thousand 10 seventeen school years, the charter school basic tuition shall be the 11 sum of the lesser of the charter school basic tuition computed for the 12 two thousand ten--two thousand eleven school year pursuant to the 13 provisions of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph or the charter school 14 basic tuition computed for the current year pursuant to the provisions 15 of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph plus the supplemental basic 16 tuition; 17 (v) for the two thousand seventeen--two thousand eighteen school year, 18 the charter school basic tuition shall be the sum of (A) the charter 19 school basic tuition for the two thousand sixteen--two thousand seven- 20 teen school year plus (B) five hundred dollars; 21 (vi) for the two thousand eighteen--two thousand nineteen school year, 22 the charter school basic tuition shall be the lesser of (A) the product 23 of (i) the charter school basic tuition calculated for the base year 24 multiplied by (ii) the average of the quotients for each school year in 25 the period commencing with the year five years prior to the base year 26 and finishing with the year prior to the base year of the total approved 27 operating expense for such school district calculated pursuant to para- 28 graph t of subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred two of this 29 chapter for each such year divided by the total approved operating 30 expense for such district for the immediately preceding year, provided 31 that the highest and lowest annual quotients shall be excluded from the 32 calculation of such average or (B) the quotient of the total general 33 fund expenditures for the school district calculated pursuant to an 34 electronic data file created for the purpose of compliance with para- 35 graph b of subdivision twenty-one of section three hundred five of this 36 chapter published annually on May fifteenth for the year prior to the 37 base year divided by the total estimated public enrollment for the 38 school district pursuant to paragraph n of subdivision one of section 39 thirty-six hundred two of this chapter for the year prior to the base 40 year. 41 (vii) for the two thousand nineteen--two thousand twenty school year 42 the charter school basic tuition shall be the lesser of (A) the product 43 of (i) the charter school basic tuition calculated for the base year 44 multiplied by (ii) the average of the quotients for each school year in 45 the period commencing with the year three years prior to the base year 46 and finishing with the year prior to the base year of the total approved 47 operating expense for such school district calculated pursuant to para- 48 graph t of subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred two of this 49 chapter for each such year divided by the total approved operating 50 expense for such district for the immediately preceding year provided 51 that the highest annual quotient calculated pursuant to this subpara- 52 graph shall be replaced by the average quotient calculated pursuant to 53 subparagraph (vi) of this paragraph or (B) the quotient of the total 54 general fund expenditures for the school district calculated pursuant to 55 an electronic data file created for the purpose of compliance with para- 56 graph b of subdivision twenty-one of section three hundred five of this

A. 6711 3 1 chapter published annually on May fifteenth for the year prior to the 2 base year divided by the total estimated public enrollment for the 3 school district pursuant to paragraph n of subdivision one of section 4 thirty-six hundred two of this chapter for the year prior to the base 5 year. 6 (viii) for the two thousand twenty--two thousand twenty-one school 7 year and thereafter, the charter school basic tuition shall be the less- 8 er of (A) the product of (i) the charter school basic tuition calculated 9 for the base year multiplied by (ii) the average of the quotients for 10 each school year in the period commencing with the year three years 11 prior to the base year and finishing with the year prior to the base 12 year of the total approved operating expense for such school district 13 calculated pursuant to paragraph t of subdivision one of section thir- 14 ty-six hundred two of this chapter for each such year divided by the 15 total approved operating expense for such district for the immediately 16 preceding year or (B) the quotient of the total general fund expendi- 17 tures for the school district calculated pursuant to an electronic data 18 file created for the purpose of compliance with paragraph b of subdivi- 19 sion twenty-one of section three hundred five of this chapter published 20 annually on May fifteenth for the year prior to the base year divided by 21 the total estimated public enrollment for the school district pursuant 22 to paragraph n of subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred two of 23 this chapter for the year prior to the base year. 24 For the purposes of this subdivision, the "supplemental basic tuition" 25 shall be (A) for a school district for which the charter school basic 26 tuition computed for the current year is greater than or equal to the 27 charter school basic tuition for the two thousand ten--two thousand 28 eleven school year pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph (i) of 29 this paragraph, (1) for the two thousand fourteen--two thousand fifteen 30 school year two hundred and fifty dollars, and (2) for the two thousand 31 fifteen--two thousand sixteen school year three hundred and fifty 32 dollars, and (3) for the two thousand sixteen--two thousand seventeen 33 school year five hundred dollars, and (4) for the two thousand seven- 34 teen--two thousand eighteen school year and thereafter, the sum of (i) 35 the supplemental basic tuition calculated for the two thousand sixteen- 36 -two thousand seventeen school year plus (ii) five hundred dollars, and 37 (B) for school years prior to the two thousand seventeen--two thousand 38 eighteen school year, for a school district for which the charter school 39 basic tuition for the two thousand ten--two thousand eleven school year 40 is greater than the charter school basic tuition for the current year 41 pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, the 42 positive difference of the charter school basic tuition for the two 43 thousand ten--two thousand eleven school year minus the charter school 44 basic tuition for the current year pursuant to the provisions of subpar- 45 agraph (i) of this paragraph and (C) for school years following the two 46 thousand sixteen--two thousand seventeen school years, for a school 47 district for which the charter school basic tuition for the two thousand 48 ten--two thousand eleven school year is greater than the charter school 49 basic tuition for the current year pursuant to the provisions of subpar- 50 agraph (i) of this paragraph, the sum of (i) the supplemental basic 51 tuition calculated for the two thousand sixteen--two thousand seventeen 52 school year plus (ii) five hundred dollars. 53 (b) The [~~school district~~] department shall also pay directly to the 54 charter school any federal or state aid attributable to a student with a 55 disability attending the charter school in proportion to the level of 56 services for such student with a disability that the charter school

A. 6711 4 1 provides directly or indirectly. Notwithstanding anything in this 2 section to the contrary, amounts payable pursuant to this subdivision 3 from state or local funds may be reduced pursuant to an agreement 4 between the department, the charter school and the charter entity set 5 forth in the charter. Payments made pursuant to this subdivision shall 6 be made by the [~~school district~~] department in six substantially equal 7 installments each year beginning on the first business day of July and 8 every two months thereafter. Amounts payable under this subdivision 9 shall be determined by the commissioner. Amounts payable to a charter 10 school in its first year of operation shall be based on the projections 11 of initial-year enrollment set forth in the charter until actual enroll- 12 ment data is reported to the school district by the charter school. Such 13 projections shall be reconciled with the actual enrollment as actual 14 enrollment data is so reported and at the end of the school's first year 15 of operation and each subsequent year based on a final report of actual 16 enrollment by the charter school, and any necessary adjustments result- 17 ing from such final report shall be made to payments during the school's 18 following year of operation. 19 (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subdivision to the 20 contrary, payment of the federal aid attributable to a student with a 21 disability attending a charter school shall be made in accordance with 22 the requirements of section 8065-a of title twenty of the United States 23 code and sections 76.785-76.799 and 300.209 of title thirty-four of the 24 code of federal regulations. 25 (d) School districts shall be eligible for an annual apportionment 26 equal to the amount of the supplemental basic tuition for the charter 27 school in the base year for the expenses incurred in the two thousand 28 fourteen--two thousand fifteen, two thousand fifteen--two thousand 29 sixteen, two thousand sixteen--two thousand seventeen school years and 30 thereafter. 31 2. [~~In the event of the failure of the school district to make~~ 32 ~~payments required by this section, the state comptroller shall deduct~~ 33 ~~from any state funds which become due to such school district an amount~~ 34 ~~equal to the unpaid obligation. The comptroller shall pay over such sum~~ 35 ~~to the charter school upon certification of the commissioner. The~~ 36 ~~commissioner shall promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of~~ 37 ~~this subdivision.~~ 38 3.] Nothing in this article shall be construed to prohibit any person 39 or organization from providing funding or other assistance to the estab- 40 lishment or operation of a charter school. The board of trustees of a 41 charter school is authorized to accept gifts, donations or grants of any 42 kind made to the charter school and to expend or use such gifts, 43 donations or grants in accordance with the conditions prescribed by the 44 donor; provided, however, that no gift, donation or grant may be 45 accepted if subject to a condition that is contrary to any provision of 46 law or term of the charter. 47 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 2856 of the education law, as amended by 48 section 4-a of part YYY of chapter 59 of the laws of 2017, is amended to 49 read as follows: 50 1. (a) The enrollment of students attending charter schools shall not 51 be included in the enrollment, attendance and, if applicable, count of 52 students with disabilities of the school district in which the pupil 53 resides. The charter school shall report all such data to the [~~school~~ 54 ~~districts of residence~~] department in a timely manner. [~~Each school~~ 55 ~~district shall report such enrollment, attendance and count of students~~ 56 ~~with disabilities to the department.~~] The [~~school district of residence~~]

A. 6711 5 1 department shall pay directly to the charter school for each student 2 enrolled in the charter school [~~who resides in the school district~~] the 3 charter school basic tuition which shall be: 4 (i) for school years prior to the two thousand nine--two thousand ten 5 school year, an amount equal to one hundred percent of the amount calcu- 6 lated pursuant to paragraph f of subdivision one of section thirty-six 7 hundred two of this chapter for the school district for the year prior 8 to the base year increased by the percentage change in the state total 9 approved operating expense calculated pursuant to paragraph t of subdi- 10 vision one of section thirty-six hundred two of this chapter from two 11 years prior to the base year to the base year; 12 (ii) for the two thousand nine--two thousand ten school year, the 13 charter school basic tuition shall be the amount payable by such 14 district as charter school basic tuition for the two thousand eight--two 15 thousand nine school year; 16 (iii) for the two thousand ten--two thousand eleven through two thou- 17 sand thirteen--two thousand fourteen school years, the charter school 18 basic tuition shall be the basic tuition computed for the two thousand 19 ten--two thousand eleven school year pursuant to the provisions of 20 subparagraph (i) of this paragraph; 21 (iv) for the two thousand fourteen--two thousand fifteen, two thousand 22 fifteen--two thousand sixteen and two thousand sixteen--two thousand 23 seventeen school years, the charter school basic tuition shall be the 24 sum of the lesser of the charter school basic tuition computed for the 25 two thousand ten--two thousand eleven school year pursuant to the 26 provisions of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph or the charter school 27 basic tuition computed for the current year pursuant to the provisions 28 of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph plus the supplemental basic 29 tuition; 30 (v) for the two thousand seventeen--two thousand eighteen school year, 31 the charter school basic tuition shall be the sum of (A) the charter 32 school basic tuition for the two thousand sixteen--two thousand seven- 33 teen school year plus (B) five hundred dollars; 34 (vi) for the two thousand eighteen--two thousand nineteen school year, 35 the charter school basic tuition shall be the lesser of (A) the product 36 of (i) the charter school basic tuition calculated for the base year 37 multiplied by (ii) the average of the quotients for each school year in 38 the period commencing with the year five years prior to the base year 39 and finishing with the year prior to the base year of the total approved 40 operating expense for such school district calculated pursuant to para- 41 graph t of subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred two of this 42 chapter for each such year divided by the total approved operating 43 expense for such district for the immediately preceding year, provided 44 that the highest and lowest annual quotients shall be excluded from the 45 calculation of such average or (B) the quotient of the total general 46 fund expenditures for the school district calculated pursuant to an 47 electronic data file created for the purpose of compliance with para- 48 graph b of subdivision twenty-one of section three hundred five of this 49 chapter published annually on May fifteenth for the year prior to the 50 base year divided by the total estimated public enrollment for the 51 school district pursuant to paragraph n of subdivision one of section 52 thirty-six hundred two of this chapter for the year prior to the base 53 year. 54 (vii) for the two thousand nineteen--two thousand twenty school year 55 the charter school basic tuition shall be the lesser of (A) the product 56 of (i) the charter school basic tuition calculated for the base year

A. 6711 6 1 multiplied by (ii) the average of the quotients for each school year in 2 the period commencing with the year three years prior to the base year 3 and finishing with the year prior to the base year of the total approved 4 operating expense for such school district calculated pursuant to para- 5 graph t of subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred two of this 6 chapter for each such year divided by the total approved operating 7 expense for such district for the immediately preceding year provided 8 that the highest annual quotient calculated pursuant to this subpara- 9 graph shall be replaced by the average quotient calculated pursuant to 10 subparagraph (vi) of this paragraph or (B) the quotient of the total 11 general fund expenditures for the school district calculated pursuant to 12 an electronic data file created for the purpose of compliance with para- 13 graph b of subdivision twenty-one of section three hundred five of this 14 chapter published annually on May fifteenth for the year prior to the 15 base year divided by the total estimated public enrollment for the 16 school district pursuant to paragraph n of subdivision one of section 17 thirty-six hundred two of this chapter for the year prior to the base 18 year. 19 (viii) for the two thousand twenty--two thousand twenty-one school 20 year and thereafter, the charter school basic tuition shall be the less- 21 er of (A) the product of (i) the charter school basic tuition calculated 22 for the base year multiplied by (ii) the average of the quotients for 23 each school year in the period commencing with the year three years 24 prior to the base year and finishing with the year prior to the base 25 year of the total approved operating expense for such school district 26 calculated pursuant to paragraph t of subdivision one of section thir- 27 ty-six hundred two of this chapter for each such year divided by the 28 total approved operating expense for such district for the immediately 29 preceding year or (B) the quotient of the total general fund expendi- 30 tures for the school district calculated pursuant to an electronic data 31 file created for the purpose of compliance with paragraph b of subdivi- 32 sion twenty-one of section three hundred five of this chapter published 33 annually on May fifteenth for the year prior to the base year divided by 34 the total estimated public enrollment for the school district pursuant 35 to paragraph n of subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred two of 36 this chapter for the year prior to the base year. 37 For the purposes of this subdivision, the "supplemental basic tuition" 38 shall be (A) for a school district for which the charter school basic 39 tuition computed for the current year is greater than or equal to the 40 charter school basic tuition for the two thousand ten--two thousand 41 eleven school year pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph (i) of 42 this paragraph, (1) for the two thousand fourteen--two thousand fifteen 43 school year two hundred and fifty dollars, and (2) for the two thousand 44 fifteen--two thousand sixteen school year three hundred and fifty 45 dollars, and (3) for the two thousand sixteen--two thousand seventeen 46 school year five hundred dollars, and (4) for the two thousand seven- 47 teen--two thousand eighteen school year and thereafter, the sum of (i) 48 the supplemental basic tuition calculated for the two thousand sixteen- 49 -two thousand seventeen school year plus (ii) five hundred dollars, and 50 (B) for school years prior to the two thousand seventeen--two thousand 51 eighteen school year, for a school district for which the charter school 52 basic tuition for the two thousand ten--two thousand eleven school year 53 is greater than the charter school basic tuition for the current year 54 pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, the 55 positive difference of the charter school basic tuition for the two 56 thousand ten--two thousand eleven school year minus the charter school

A. 6711 7 1 basic tuition for the current year pursuant to the provisions of subpar- 2 agraph (i) of this paragraph and (C) for school years following the two 3 thousand sixteen--two thousand seventeen school years, for a school 4 district for which the charter school basic tuition for the two thousand 5 ten--two thousand eleven school year is greater than the charter school 6 basic tuition for the current year pursuant to the provisions of subpar- 7 agraph (i) of this paragraph, the sum of (i) the supplemental basic 8 tuition calculated for the two thousand sixteen--two thousand seventeen 9 school year plus (ii) five hundred dollars. 10 (b) The [~~school district~~] department shall also pay directly to the 11 charter school any federal or state aid attributable to a student with a 12 disability attending charter school in proportion to the level of 13 services for such student with a disability that the charter school 14 provides directly or indirectly. Notwithstanding anything in this 15 section to the contrary, amounts payable pursuant to this subdivision 16 may be reduced pursuant to an agreement between the department, the 17 charter school and the charter entity set forth in the charter. Payments 18 made pursuant to this subdivision shall be made by the [~~school district~~] 19 department in six substantially equal installments each year beginning 20 on the first business day of July and every two months thereafter. 21 Amounts payable under this subdivision shall be determined by the 22 commissioner. Amounts payable to a charter school in its first year of 23 operation shall be based on the projections of initial-year enrollment 24 set forth in the charter. Such projections shall be reconciled with the 25 actual enrollment at the end of the school's first year of operation, 26 and any necessary adjustments shall be made to payments during the 27 school's second year of operation. 28 (c) School districts shall be eligible for an annual apportionment 29 equal to the amount of the supplemental basic tuition for the charter 30 school in the base year for the expenses incurred in the two thousand 31 fourteen--two thousand fifteen, two thousand fifteen--two thousand 32 sixteen, two thousand sixteen--two thousand seventeen school years and 33 thereafter. 34 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, that 35 the amendments to subdivision 1 of section 2856 of the education law 36 made by section one of this act shall not affect the expiration and 37 reversion of such subdivision pursuant to subdivision d of section 27 of 38 chapter 378 of the laws of 2007, as amended when upon such date the 39 provisions of section two of this act shall take effect.

Relates to the financing of charter schools

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