Let Schools Share High Schools

Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new article 39-A to read as follows:

ARTICLE 39-A

REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOLS Section 1920. Regional high school; establishment.

§ 1920. Regional high school; establishment. The establishment of a regional high school shall be commenced upon the adoption of a resolution proposing the establishment of such a high school, by majority vote, of each of the boards of education of two or more school districts, which are city school districts in cities having a population of less than one hundred twenty-five thousand inhabitants, central school districts, union free school districts and/or common school districts, provided that all such school districts are wholly contained within the Cattaraugus-Allegany-Erie-Wyoming board of cooperative educational services supervisory district, the Erie 2 Chautauqua-Cattaraugus board of cooperative educational services supervisory district, or the Greater Southern Tier board of cooperative educational services supervisory district. Thereafter, if two or more school districts adopt such a resolution, the board of education of each school district proposing to establish the regional high school shall, not less than thirty days prior to any vote of its electors upon the resolution, conduct a meeting open to the public upon the terms and conditions of such resolution. The adoption of the resolution for the establishment of a regional high school shall be subject to approval thereof, by majority vote, of all electors of the school districts proposing to establish a regional high

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD04142-01-9

S. 953 2

school, such election being conducted within each school district and the votes therein being compiled at a central location by a board of canvass established by the boards of education of such school districts. Upon approval by the electors of the school districts the boards of education of such school districts shall jointly establish a proposed contract for the operation of a regional high school. Upon establishment of a proposed contract for the operation of a regional high school, such contract shall be submitted to the commissioner. Every proposed contract for a regional high school shall be subject to approval by the commissioner who shall, as a condition of such approval, certify that the creation of a regional high school will expand and improve the educational services available to all students of such high school and that it can result in administrative efficiencies for all participating districts. If the commissioner approves the proposed contract, the regional high school shall be deemed to have been established, except that nothing in this section shall prevent the high school which would serve as the host of the regional high school so established to continue to operate as a legal entity until the end of the school year. Except as otherwise provided in this article, the provisions of this chapter as to the courses of study, the qualifications and employment of teachers, non-instructional employees and other staff, and the maintenance, conduct and supervision of public schools in central school districts shall apply to a regional high school. Every regional high school and the contract therefor shall meet the following requirements:

1. the contract shall be for a period of not less than five school years and, with the approval of the commissioner, may be renewed by mutual agreement of the boards of education;

2. the regional high school shall commence operations on the first of July, and shall not cease operations before the thirtieth of June in any school year;

3. the contract shall state that the regional high school will be operated by one of the participating school districts, hereinafter referred to in this article as the "hosting school district";

4. the contract shall specify the manner in which the students of each participating school district shall be transported to the regional high school, and the cost of such transportation shall be a charge against each such participating school district and be funded in the same manner as transportation provided pursuant to section thirty-six hundred thirty-five of this chapter;

5. if the regional high school is operated by a hosting school district, the regional high school and the contract shall meet the following requirements:

a. the contract shall designate the site of the regional high school, which shall be within the boundaries of one of the participating school districts. The hosting school district and the board of education of such school district shall have responsibility for the operation, supervision and maintenance of the regional high school, as shall be designated in the contract,

b. the contract shall specify that the students receiving instruction from the regional high school shall be deemed to be enrolled in the regional high school, except to the extent that their enrollment and attendance shall be included in the enrollment and attendance counts of the participating districts for the purposes of state aid, and they shall be treated and counted as such for purposes of all state aid calculations pursuant to this chapter,

S. 953 3

c. the regional high school shall operate its own extracurricular activities and interscholastic athletics and the students attending such regional high school shall be eligible to participate in such activities and athletics and shall not be eligible to participate in such activities and athletics of their participating school district, except to the extent that if the activities or athletics of their participating district are designed or intended to accommodate joint participation between students from the junior high school of the participating district and the regional high school including, but not limited to, modified athletic teams, mixed grade music and band programs, and joint grade extra-curricular programs, then the students from the regional high school may jointly participate in such activities or athletics in their participating school district,

d. the regional high school shall be responsible for the evaluation and grading of the academic performance of all students attending the regional high school, and shall award students their diplomas upon graduation,

e. the contract shall provide that all school principals, assistant principals, other supervisory employees, teachers, non-instructional employees and other staff members of the participating school districts, except the superintendent of schools, whose services in the participating school districts are no longer needed because of the creation of a regional high school or the transference of students to an existing regional high school, shall be granted employment rights in the host school district in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision, and in the same manner as is provided in sections three thousand fourteen-a and three thousand fourteen-b of this chapter,

f. in any case in which a participating school district sends students to a regional high school operated by a hosting school district, each school principal, assistant principal, supervisory employee, teacher, non-instructional employee and all other employees previously employed in the education of such students by such participating school district prior to the time that such participating district sends its students to the regional high school shall become members of the employee organizations representing the employees of the hosting district at the time of creation of the regional high school until such time as a successor agreement has been negotiated, and shall provide that the determination of bargaining unit status and representation rights shall be in accordance with article fourteen of the civil service law and the rules of procedure of the public employment relations board. Upon termination of the regional high school the school principals, assistant principals, supervisory employees, teachers, non-instructional employees and all other employees shall revert back to the contract currently in effect at the sending school district to which they are sent. For purposes of this section, when a participating school district takes back students that it sent to another district on a tuition basis and sends such students to a regional high school operated pursuant to this article, the hosting school district of the regional high school shall be deemed to be the sending district for purposes of the rights and protections provided in section three thousand fourteen-c of this chapter and/or article five of the civil service law,

g. if the number of supervisory, teaching, non-instructional and other positions needed to provide the educational services required by a regional high school is less than the number of school principals, assistant principals, supervisory employees, teachers, non-instructional employees and other employees eligible to be considered employees of the

S. 953 4

hosting school district of such regional high school as provided by paragraph f of this subdivision, the services of the school principals, assistant principals, supervisory employees, teachers, non-instructional employees and other employees having the least seniority in the participating school districts within the tenure area or civil service status, as the case may be, of the position shall be discontinued. Such school principals, assistant principals, supervisory employees, teachers, noninstructional employees and other employees shall be placed on a preferred eligible list of candidates for appointment to a vacancy that may thereafter occur in an office or position under the jurisdiction of the participating school district, the "receiving district" as defined in section three thousand fourteen-c of this chapter, from which a participating school district has taken back students, and the hosting school district of the regional high school similar to the one such school principal, assistant principal, supervisory employee, teacher or other employee filled in such component district. The school principals, assistant principals, supervisory employees, teachers, non-instructional employees and other employees on such preferred lists shall be reinstated or appointed to such vacancies in such corresponding or similar positions under the jurisdiction of the participating school district or the hosting school district of the regional high school in the order of their length of service in such participating school district, within seven years from the date of the placement of the employee on said list, and

h. for any such school principal, assistant principal, supervisory employee, teacher, non-instructional employee or other employee as described in paragraphs e and f of this subdivision, for salary, sick leave and any other purposes, the length of service credited in such participating school district shall be credited as employment time with the hosting school district if such employees have become employees of the hosting school district pursuant to subdivision fifteen of this section;

6. the contract shall specify the cost of the operation of the regional high school for each participating school district and an itemized listing of the cost savings for each participating school district;

7. the contract shall specify the current and proposed future supervisory, teaching, non-instructional and all other employee staffing levels and plans of the regional high school;

8. the contract shall specify the curricula and curriculum plans offered and provided by the regional high school, and shall require the regional high school to document and demonstrate the provision of an improved scope of educational services to students in comparison to the sending school districts;

9. the contract shall specify the current and future enrollment levels and plans of the regional high school;

10. the contract shall specify the current and future building and capital construction plans for the regional high school;

11. the contract shall specify plans for delivery of special education programs and services to students with disabilities attending the regional high school, including the roles and responsibilities of the committees on special education of the hosting school district and the student's school district of residence where that is different from the hosting school district;

12. the contract shall specify the procedures for discipline of students attending the regional high school, including the applicable code of conduct and procedures for superintendents' hearings and appeals

S. 953 5

to the board of education pursuant to section thirty-two hundred fourteen of this chapter;

13. the contract shall specify the fiscal implications of the establishment and operation of the regional high school, including the current and expected state aid changes, expenditures and property tax levies;