Procedure to Register New Public Schools or Request Adjustment of Accountability Status for Existing Schools

Section 100.2(p) of Commissioner’s Regulations states that, “Only those public and nonpublic schools, which are registered by the Board of Regents upon recommendation of the Commissioner, may issue diplomas and administer Regents examinations, except that charter schools may issue diplomas and administer Regents examinations as authorized by Article 56 of the Education Law.”

The regulations further specify that a school district that seeks to register a new public elementary, intermediate, middle, junior high school or high school shall submit a petition for registration to the Board of Regents no later than June 15th for schools opening in September of the next successive school year or, for schools opening during the school year, at least 90 days prior to the opening of the school. The regulations also require the district to submit a copy of the Board of Education resolution to open the school and a certificate of occupancy. The Commissioner will review the petition before recommending its approval to the Board of Regents if it is satisfactorily demonstrated that the school will be operated in an educationally sound manner; is in compliance with applicable statues, rules and regulations relating to public schools; and will operate in accordance with applicable building codes and pursuant to a certificate of occupancy. Action on petitions submitted by June 15 will be taken to the Board of Regents at its July meeting.

A completed addendum for each new school must be submitted along with the petition for registration to Mr. Ronald Danforth, Office of Information and Reporting Services, State Education Department, Room 865 EBA, Albany, New York, 12234 by June 15. Further, in the event that a school district merges two or more schools or transfers organizational responsibility for one or more grades from one school to another, the school district may request that the commissioner adjust the accountability status of the affected schools to reflect such organizational changes. In such an event only an addendum must be submitted. The information acquired in the addendum will be used to determine the school’s accountability status under No Child Left Behind and the New York State’s System of Accountability for Student Success (SASS).

Questions about school registration can be addressed to Ira Schwartz, Coordinator for Accountability, Policy and Administration, at (718) 722-2796 or to Maria Parzych-Sokol at emscapa@mail.nysed.gov.