S 2851. Eligible
applicants; applications; submission. 1. An application to establish
a charter school may be submitted
by teachers, parents, school administrators, community
residents or any combination
thereof. Such application may be filed in conjunction with
a college, university, museum, educational institution,
not-for-profit corporation exempt from taxation under paragraph 3 of
subsection (c) of section 501of the internal revenue code or
for-profit business or corporate entity authorized to do business in New
York state. For charter schools established in
conjunction with a for-profit business or corporate entity, the
charter shall specify the extent of the entity's
participation in the management and operation of the school.
2. The information provided on the
application shall be consistent with the provisions of this article and
other applicable laws, rules and regulations. Such information shall
include:
(a) A mission statement for the school and a description of
an educational program that implements one or more of the
purposes described in subdivision two of section twenty-eight hundred
fifty of this article.
(b) A description of student achievement goals for the school's
educational program and the chosen methods of evaluating that
students have attained the skills and knowledge specified for those
goals. Such educational program shall meet or exceed the
student performance standards adopted by the board of regents for other
public schools.
(c) The proposed governance structure of the school, including
a list of members of the initial board of trustees, a description of
the qualifications, terms and method of appointment or election of
trustees, the
organizational structure of the school, and the processes to be followed
by the school to promote parental and staff involvement in school
governance.
(d) Admission policies and procedures for the school, which
shall be consistent with the requirements of subdivision
two of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-four of this article.
(e) A proposed budget and fiscal plan
for the school, including supporting
evidence that the fiscal plan is sound and that sufficient
start-up funds will be available to the charter school.
(f) Requirements and procedures for
programmatic and independent fiscal audits at least once
annually, with such audits being comparable in scope to those required of
other public schools.
(g) The hiring and personnel policies and procedures of
the school, including the qualifications to
be used in the hiring of teachers, school administrators and
other school employees, and a description of
staff responsibilities.
(h) The rules and procedures by which
students may be disciplined, including but not limited to expulsion or
suspension from the school, which shall be
consistent with the requirements of due process and with federal laws and
regulations governing the placement of students with
disabilities.
(i) The number of students to be served by the
school, which number shall be at least fifty at a single site
and the minimum number of teachers to
be employed at the school, which shall be at least three. Provided,
however, that a charter school may serve fewer
than fifty students or employ fewer than three teachers in the
school's first year of operation or if the applicant presents
a compelling justification, such as the school would serve a
geographically remote region.
(j) Information regarding the facilities to
be used by the school, including the location of the school, if known, and
the means by which pupils will be transported to and
from the school. If the facilities to be used by the proposed school are
not known at the time the application is submitted, the applicant shall
notify the charter entity and, if
applicable, the board of regents within ten business days of
acquiring facilities for such school; provided, however, that the
charter school must obtain a certificate of occupancy for such
facilities prior to the date on which instruction is to commence at the
school.
(k) The name of the proposed charter school, which
shall include the words "charter school" and which shall not
include the name or identification of a for-profit business or corporate
entity.
(l) A description of the ages and grade levels to be
served by the school.
(m) Identification and background information on
all applicants and proposed members of the board of trustees.
(n) The school calendar and school day schedule, which
shall provide at least as much instruction time
during a school year as required of other public schools.
(o) Types and amounts of insurance coverage to be
obtained by the school, which shall include
adequate insurance for liability, property loss and the personal
injury of students. The commissioner
and the superintendent of insurance may jointly promulgate
regulations to implement the provisions of this paragraph.
(p) The term of the proposed charter,
which shall not exceed five years.
(q) Evidence of adequate community support for and
interest in the charter school sufficient to allow
the school to reach its anticipated enrollment, and an assessment of the
projected programmatic and fiscal
impact of the school on other public and nonpublic schools in the area.
(r) A description of the health and food services
to be provided to students attending the school.
(s) Methods and strategies for serving students with
disabilities in compliance with all federal laws and regulations
relating thereto.
(t) Procedures to be followed in the case of the
closure or dissolution of the charter school, including provisions
for the transfer of students and student records to the
school district in which the charter
school is located and for the disposition of the school's assets to
the school district in which the charter school is located or
another charter school located within the school district.
(u) Requirements for the grant of a diploma, if the school
serves the twelfth grade.
(v) A code of ethics for the charter school, setting
forth for the guidance of its
trustees, officers and employees the standards of
conduct expected of them.
(w) A description of the residential facilities, if any,
provided by the charter school.
(x) Any other information relevant
to the issuance of a charter required by the charter entity.
3. An applicant shall submit the application to a charter
entity for approval. For purposes of this article, a charter entity
shall be:
(a) The board of education of a school district eligible for an
apportionment of aid under subdivision twelve of section
thirty-six hundred two of this chapter, provided that a
board of education shall not approve
an application for a school to be operated outside the school
district's geographic boundaries and further provided that
in a city having a population of one million or
more, the chancellor of any such city school district shall be the
charter entity established by this paragraph;
(b) The board of trustees of the state university of New York; or
(c) The board of regents.
The board of regents shall be the only entity
authorized to issue a charter pursuant to this article. Notwithstanding
any provision of this subdivision to the
contrary, an application for the conversion of an existing public
school to a charter school shall be submitted to, and
may only be approved by, the charter entity set forth in
paragraph (a) of this subdivision. Any such
application for conversion shall be consistent with this
section, and the charter entity shall require that the parents
or guardians of a majority of the students then enrolled in the existing
public school vote in favor of converting the school to a
charter school.
4. Charters may be renewed, upon application, for a term of up to
five years in accordance with the provisions of this article for the
issuance of such charters pursuant to section twenty-eight
hundred fifty-two of this article; provided, however,
that a renewal application shall include:
(a) A report of the progress of the charter
school in achieving the educational objectives set forth in the charter.
(b) A detailed financial statement that discloses the cost of
administration, instruction and other spending
categories for the charter school that will allow a
comparison of such costs to other schools, both public and private.
Such statement shall be in a form prescribed by the board of regents.
(c) Copies of each of the annual
reports of the charter school required by
subdivision two of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-seven of this
article, including the charter school report
cards and the
certified financial statements.
(d) Indications of parent and student satisfaction.
Such renewal application shall be submitted to the
charter entity no later than six months prior to the expiration of the
charter; provided, however, that the charter entity may waive
such deadline for good cause shown.
S 2852.
Issuance of charter. 1. A charter entity that receives
an application for approval of a charter school shall act on
each request received prior to October first of a calendar
year on or before January first of the succeeding calendar year, and
a proposed charter between the applicant
and the charter entity resulting from such application shall
be executed on or before February first of such succeeding
year. Nothing in this subdivision shall be
construed to prevent a charter entity from receiving or acting upon an
application at any time.
2. An application for a charter school shall not be
approved unless the charter entity finds that:
(a) the charter school described in the application meets the
requirements set out in this article and all other applicable
laws, rules and regulations;
(b) the applicant can demonstrate the ability to operate the school
in an educationally and fiscally sound manner; and
(c) granting the application is likely to improve student learning
and achievement and materially further the purposes set out in
subdivision two of section twenty-eight hundred fifty of this article.
In reviewing applications, the charter
entity is encouraged to give preference to applications that demonstrate
the capability to provide comprehensive learning
experiences to students identified by the applicants as at risk of
academic failure.
3. A charter entity is not required to approve
a charter and may require an applicant to modify
or supplement an application as a condition of approval. An existing
private school shall not be eligible to
convert to a charter school. In
determining whether an application involves the conversion of an existing
private school, the charter entity and the board of regents shall consider
such factors as: (a) whether
the charter school would have the same or substantially the
same board of trustees and/or officers as an existing private school; (b)
whether a substantial proportion of employees of the charter school would
be drawn from such existing private school; (c) whether a substantial
portion of the assets and property of such existing private
school would be transferred to the charter school; (d) whether the
charter school would be located at the
same site as such existing private school; (e) upon
renewal only, whether such private school closed within
one year of establishment of the charter school; and (f)
upon renewal only, whether
a substantial portion of the charter school's students were
drawn from such existing private school.
4. Each individual applicant seeking to
establish a charter school shall submit a full set of fingerprints to the
charter entity for the purpose of
obtaining a state and federal criminal records check. The
division of criminal justice services is authorized
to provide this information to the
federal bureau of investigation and to perform a state and
federal criminal records check on each applicant and
report the results to the charter entity and the board of regents. The
criminal records check shall be completed to
the satisfaction of the charter entity prior to approval of the
application. The department and the division
of criminal justice services shall enter into any memoranda of agreement
necessary to implement the requirements of this subdivision.
5. Upon approval of an application by a charter entity, the
applicant and charter entity shall enter into a proposed
agreement allowing the applicants to organize and operate a charter
school. Such written agreement, known as the charter, shall include (a)
the information required by subdivision two
of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-one of this article, as
modified or supplemented during the approval process,
(b) any other terms or conditions required by
applicable laws, rules and regulations, and (c) any other terms
or conditions, not inconsistent with law, agreed upon by
the applicant and the charter entity. In addition, the charter
shall include the specific commitments of the charter entity relating to
its obligations to oversee and supervise the charter school.
Within five days after entering into a proposed charter,
the charter entity other than the board of regents shall submit to the
board of regents a copy of the charter,
the application and supporting documentation for final
approval and issuance by the board of regents in accordance with
subdivisions five-a and five-b of this section.
5-a. Upon receipt of a proposed charter submitted by a charter
entity, the board of regents shall review such proposed
charter in accordance with the standards set forth in subdivision
two of this section. The
board of regents shall either (a)
approve and issue the charter as proposed by the charter entity or (b)
return the proposed charter to the charter entity for reconsideration with
the written comments and recommendations of the board of regents. If
the board of regents fails to act on such proposed
charter within sixty days of its submission to the board of
regents in accordance with the previous sentence, the proposed
charter shall be deemed to have been approved and issued by the board of
regents at the expiration of such period.
5-b. If the board of regents returns a proposed charter to the
charter entity pursuant to the provisions of subdivision five-a of this
section, such charter entity shall reconsider the proposed
charter, taking into
consideration the comments and recommendation of the board of
regents. Thereafter, the charter entity shall resubmit
the proposed charter to the board of regents with modifications,
provided that the applicant consents in writing to such
modifications, resubmit the proposed charter to the board of
regents without modifications, or abandon the proposed charter. The
board of regents shall review each
such resubmitted proposed charter in accordance with the provisions
of subdivision five-a of this section; provided,
however, that it shall be the duty of the board of regents to approve and
issue a proposed charter resubmitted by the charter
entity described in paragraph (b) of subdivision three of section
twenty-eight hundred fifty-one of this article
within thirty days of the resubmission of such proposed charter or
such proposed charter shall be deemed approved and issued at the
expiration of such period.
6. The denial of an application for a charter
school by a charter entity shall be in
writing and shall state the reasons for the denial. Notwithstanding any
provision of law to the contrary, such denial is
final and shall not be reviewable in any court or by any
administrative body.
7. A revision of a charter shall be made only upon the approval of
the charter entity and the board of
regents in accordance with the provisions of
subdivisions five-a and five-b of this section.
8. A charter entity shall not charge a fee or require reimbursement
of expenses for considering a charter application, for approving a
charter application or for providing oversight of a charter school.
9. The total number of charters issued pursuant to this
article shall not exceed one hundred. Fifty of
such charters shall be issued on the recommendation of the charter
entity described in paragraph (b) of
subdivision three of section twenty-eight
hundred fifty-one of this article, and fifty of such charters shall be
issued on the recommendation of the
other charter entities set forth in subdivision three of
section twenty-eight hundred fifty-one of this article. The
failure of any body to issue the regulations
authorized pursuant to this article shall not effect 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 shall not be
counted toward the numerical limits established by this subdivision.
S 2853. Charter school
organization; oversight; facilities. 1. Organization and
legal status. (a) Upon the approval of a charter by the
board of regents, the board of regents shall incorporate
the charter school as an education corporation for a term not
to exceed five years. Such certificate of incorporation shall not modify
or limit any terms of the charter approved by the board of regents. Upon
approval of an application to renew a charter, the board of regents shall
extend the certificate of incorporation for a term not to exceed five
years. Upon termination or nonrenewal of
the charter of a charter school pursuant to section twenty-eight
hundred fifty-five of this article, the certificate of incorporation of
the charter school shall be revoked by the board of regents
pursuant to section two hundred
nineteen of this chapter, provided that compliance with the
notice and hearing requirements of such
section twenty-eight hundred fifty-five of this article shall
be deemed to satisfy the notice and hearing requirements of
such section two hundred nineteen. It shall be the duty of the
trustees of the charter school to obtain federal tax-exempt status no
later than one year following approval
of a charter school by the board of regents. For
purposes of this article, "certificate of incorporation" shall
mean the provisional charter issued by the board of
regents to form the charter school as an educational corporation pursuant
to sections two hundred sixteen and two hundred
seventeen of this chapter.
(b) An education corporation organized to
operate a charter school shall have all corporate powers necessary and
desirable for carrying out a charter school program in accordance with the
provisions of this article, other applicable laws and regulations and the
terms of the charter, including all of the powers of an education
corporation formed to operate an elementary or secondary school and
those powers granted under the provisions of the not-for-profit
corporation law that are made applicable to charter schools by section two
hundred sixteen-a of this chapter. The powers of the trustees of the
charter school shall include those powers
specified in section two hundred twenty-six of this chapter.
(b-1) An education corporation operating a charter school shall not
be authorized to operate more than one school or house
any grade at more than one site, provided that:
(A) a charter school may operate in more than one building at a
single site; and
(B) a charter school which provides instruction to
its students at different locations for a portion of their
school day shall be deemed to be operating at a single site.
(c) A charter school shall be deemed an
independent and autonomous public school, except as otherwise provided in
this article. The charter entity and the board of regents shall be deemed
to be the public agents authorized to supervise and oversee the
charter school.
(d) The powers granted to a charter school under this article
constitute the performance of essential public
purposes and governmental purposes of this
state. A charter school shall be exempt to the same
extent as other public schools from all taxation, fees,
assessments or special ad valorem levies on its
earnings and its property, including property leased by the charter
school. Instruments of conveyance to or from a charter school
and any bonds or notes issued by a charter school, together
with the income therefrom, shall at all times be exempt from
taxation.
(e) A charter school shall not have the power to
levy taxes or to acquire property by eminent domain.
(f) The board of trustees of
the charter school shall have final authority for policy and operational
decisions of the school. Nothing herein
shall prohibit the board of trustees of a charter school
from
delegating decision-making authority to officers and employees
of the school in accordance with the provisions of the charter.
(g) Notwithstanding any provision of law to
the contrary, no civil liability shall attach to any charter entity, the
board of regents, or to any of their members or
employees, individually or collectively, for
any acts or omissions of the charter school. Neither the
local school district, the charter entity nor the state shall be
liable for the debts or financial obligations of a charter school or
any person or corporate
entity who operates a charter school.
2. The board of regents and charter entity shall oversee
each school approved by such entity, and may
visit, examine into and inspect any charter school, including the records
of such school, under its over-sight. Oversight by a charter entity and the board of regents
shall be sufficient to ensure that the charter school is in
compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and charter
provisions.
2-a. For schools approved by an entity described in
paragraph (b) or (c) of subdivision three of section twenty-eight
hundred fifty-one of this article, the school district in
which the charter school is located
shall have the right to visit, examine into, and
inspect the charter school for the purpose of ensuring that the school is
in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and charter
provisions. Any evidence of
non-compliance may be forwarded by such school district to the board
of regents and the charter entity for action pursuant to
section twenty-eight hundred fifty-five of this article.
3. Facilities. (a) A charter school may be
located in part of an existing public
school building, in space provided on a private work site, in
a public building or in any other suitable location. A charter
school may own, lease or rent its space. For purposes of local
zoning, land use regulation and building code compliance, a charter school
shall be deemed a nonpublic school.
(b) A charter school may pledge, assign or encumber its
assets to be used as collateral for loans or extensions of
credit; provided, however, that a charter school shall not pledge or
assign monies provided, or to be provided, pursuant to subdivision one of
section twenty-eight hundred fifty-six of this
article in connection with the
purchase or construction, acquisition, reconstruction,
rehabilitation or improvement of a school facility.
(c) The office of general services shall annually
publish a list of vacant and unused buildings and vacant and unused
portions of buildings that are owned by the state and
that may be suitable for the operation
of a charter school. Such list shall be provided to applicants for charter
schools and to existing charter schools. At the request of a charter
school or a prospective applicant, a school district shall
make available a list of vacant and unused school buildings
and vacant and unused portions of school buildings, including private
school buildings, within the school district that may be suitable for the
operation of a charter school.
4. Public and private assistance to charter schools. (a) For
purposes of sections seven hundred one, seven
hundred eleven, seven hundred fifty-one and
nine hundred twelve of this chapter, a charter school
shall be deemed a nonpublic school in the school district
within which the charter school is located. Special
education programs and services shall be provided to students with
a disability attending a charter school
in accordance with the individualized education program
recommended by the committee or subcommittee on special
education of the student's school district of
residence. The charter school may arrange to have such services provided
by such school district of residence or by the charter school
directly or by contract with another provider.
(b) For purposes of section thirty-six
hundred thirty-five of this chapter, a charter school shall be deemed a
nonpublic school. The charter and application
therefore shall set forth the manner in which
students ineligible for transportation pursuant to
section thirty-six hundred thirty-five of
this chapter shall be transported to and from school. Any
supplemental transportation provided by a charter
school shall comply with all transportation safety laws and
regulations applicable to other public schools. A school
district may enter into a contract for the
provision of supplemental transportation services to a
charter school, and any such services shall be provided by
the school district at cost.
(c) A charter school may
contract with a school district or the governing body of a
public college or university for the use of a school building and grounds,
the operation and maintenance thereof. Any such
contract shall provide such services or facilities at cost.
(d) Private persons and organizations are encouraged to
provide funding and other assistance to the establishment or
operation of charter schools.
(e) The school district of residence of children
attending a charter school may, but is not required to, allow such
children to participate in athletic and extra-curricular
activities of the district's schools.
S 2854.
General requirements. 1. Applicability of other laws.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, to the extent
that any provision of this article is inconsistent with any
other state or local law, rule or
regulation, the provisions of this article shall govern and be
controlling.
(b) A charter school shall meet the same health
and safety, civil rights, and student assessment
requirements applicable to other public schools, except as otherwise
specifically provided in this article. A
charter school shall be exempt from all
other state and local laws, rules, regulations or policies
governing public or private schools, boards
of education and school districts, including those relating to
school personnel and students, except as specifically provided
in the school's charter or in this article. Nothing in
this subdivision shall affect the requirements of compulsory education of
minors established by part one of article sixty-five of this chapter.
(c) A charter school shall be subject to the
financial audits, the audit procedures, and the
audit requirements set forth in the charter. Such procedures
and standards shall be consistent with
generally
accepted accounting and audit standards. Independent fiscal audits shall
be required at least once annually.
(d) A charter school shall design its educational programs to
meet or exceed the student performance standards adopted by the board of
regents and the student performance standards contained in the charter.
Students attending charter school shall be required to take regents
examinations to the same extent such examinations are required of other
public school students. A charter school
offering instruction in the high school grades may grant
regents diplomas and local diplomas to the same extent as
other public schools, and such other certificates and honors as are
specifically authorized by their charter, and in testimony thereof
give suitable certificates, honors and diplomas
under its seal; and every certificate and diploma so granted shall
entitle the conferee to all privileges
and immunities which by usage or statute are
allowed for similar diplomas of corresponding grade granted
by any other public school.
(e) A charter school shall be subject to the
provisions of articles six and seven of the public officers law.
2. Admissions; enrollment; students. (a) A charter
school shall be nonsectarian in its programs, admission
policies, employment practices, and all other operations and shall not
charge tuition or fees; provided that a charter school may
require the payment of fees on the same basis and to the same extent as
other public schools. A charter school shall not
discriminate against any student, employee or any other person
on the basis of ethnicity, national origin, gender, or
disability or any other ground that would be
unlawful if done by a school. Admission of students shall not be limited
on the basis of intellectual ability,
measures of achievement or aptitude, athletic ability, disability, race,
creed, gender, national origin, religion, or ancestry; provided,
however, that nothing in this article shall be
construed to prevent the establishment of
a single-sex charter school or a
charter school designed to provide expanded learning opportunities for
students at-risk of academic failure. A charter shall not be issued
to any school that would be wholly or in
part under the control or direction of any religious denomination, or in
which any denominational tenet or doctrine would
be taught.
(b) Any child who is qualified under the laws of this state for
admission to a public school is qualified for admission to a charter
school. The school shall enroll each eligible student
who submits a timely application, unless the
number of applications exceeds the capacity of the grade level or
building. In such cases, students shall be accepted from
among applicants by a random selection process, provided, however, that an
enrollment preference shall be provided to pupils returning to
the charter school in the second or any subsequent year of operation and
pupils residing in the school district in which the
charter school is located, and siblings of pupils already enrolled in the
charter school.
(c) A charter school shall serve one or more of the grades one
through twelve, and shall limit admission to pupils
within the grade levels served. Nothing herein shall
prohibit a charter school from establishing
a kindergarten program.
(d) A student may withdraw from
a charter school at any time and enroll in a public school. A charter
school may refuse admission to any student who has
been expelled or suspended from a public school until the period of
suspension or expulsion from the
public school has expired, consistent with the requirements of
due process.
3. School personnel. (a) An employee of a charter
school shall be an employee of the education corporation
formed to operate the charter school
and not an employee of the local school district in
which the charter school is located. An employee of a
charter school shall be deemed to be a
public employee solely for purposes of article fourteen of the civil
service law, except for section two hundred twelve of such
law, and for no other purposes unless otherwise specified in this
article, the board of trustees of the charter school
shall constitute a board of education solely for
purposes of article fourteen of the civil service law, except for section
two hundred twelve of such law, and for no other purposes
unless otherwise specified in this article, a charter school
shall be deemed to be a public employer solely for purposes of
article fourteen of the civil service law,
except for section two hundred twelve of such law,
and for no other purposes unless otherwise specified in this
article, and the chief executive officer of the charter school
shall be the person designated as such by the board of trustees of the
charter school.
(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 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 more than thirty per centum
of the teaching staff of a charter school, or five
teachers, whichever is less. A teacher certified or
otherwise approved by the commissioner shall
not be included in the numerical limits established by the preceding
sentence.
* (a-2) (i) The board of trustees of a charter school
shall require, for purposes of a criminal history record
check, the fingerprinting of all prospective employees pursuant to section
three thousand thirty-five of this chapter, who do not
hold valid clearance pursuant to such
section or pursuant to section three thousand four-b of this chapter
or section five hundred nine-cc or twelve hundred
twenty-nine-d of the vehicle and traffic law. Prior to
initiating the fingerprinting process, the prospective
employer shall furnish the applicant with the form
described in paragraph (c) of subdivision
thirty of section three hundred five of this chapter and
shall obtain the applicant's consent to the criminal
history records search. Every set of fingerprints taken
pursuant to this paragraph shall be promptly submitted to
the commissioner for purposes of clearance for employment.
(ii) Upon the recommendation of the chief
executive officer of the charter school, the board of trustees of a
charter school may conditionally appoint
a prospective employee. A request for conditional
clearance shall be forwarded to the commissioner along with the
prospective employee's fingerprints, as required by subparagraph (i)
of this paragraph. Such appointment shall not commence until
notification by the commissioner that the
prospective employee has been conditionally
cleared for employment and shall terminate when the prospective employer
is notified of a determination by the commissioner to
grant or deny clearance, provided that if clearance is
granted, the appointment shall continue and the conditional status shall
be removed. Prior to commencement of such conditional appointment,
the prospective employer shall obtain a signed
statement for conditional appointment from the prospective employee,
indicating whether, to the best of his or her knowledge, he
or she has a pending criminal charge or criminal conviction in
any jurisdiction outside the state.
(iii) Upon the recommendation of the chief executive
officer of the charter school, the board of
trustees of a charter school may make an emergency conditional appointment
when an unforeseen emergency vacancy has occurred. When such
appointment is made, the process for conditional appointment pursuant to
subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph must also be initiated.
Emergency conditional appointment may
commence prior to notification from the commissioner on
conditional clearance but shall terminate twenty
business days from the date such appointment commences or when the
prospective employer is notified by the commissioner regarding conditional
clearance, whichever occurs earlier, provided that if
conditional clearance is granted, the appointment shall
continue as a conditional appointment. Prior to the commencement of
such appointment, the prospective employer must
obtain a signed statement for emergency conditional appointment from the
prospective employee, indicating whether, to the best of his or her
knowledge, he or she has a pending criminal charge
or criminal conviction in any jurisdiction. An unforeseen
emergency vacancy shall be defined as: (1) a vacancy that occurred
less than ten business days before the start of any school session,
including summer school, or during any school session,
including summer school, without sufficient notice to allow for clearance
or conditional clearance; (2) when no other qualified person
is available to fill the vacancy temporarily; and (3) when emergency
conditional appointment is necessary to maintain services
which the charter school is legally required to provide or services
necessary to protect the health, education or
safety of students or staff. The
provisions of clause one of this subparagraph shall not apply if the
board finds that the charter school has been unable to
fill the vacancy despite good faith efforts to fill such vacancy in a
manner which would have allowed sufficient time for
clearance or conditional clearance.
(iv) Shall develop a policy for the safety of the
children who have contact with an employee holding conditional
appointment or emergency conditional appointment.
* NB Effective until July 1, 2003
* (a-2) The board of trustees of a charter school shall
require, for purposes of a criminal history record check, the
fingerprinting of all prospective employees pursuant to
section three thousand thirty-five of
this chapter, who do not hold valid clearance pursuant to such
section or pursuant to section three thousand four-b of this chapter
or section five hundred nine-cc or twelve hundred twenty-nine-d of the
vehicle and traffic law. Prior to
initiating the fingerprinting process, the
prospective employer shall furnish the applicant with the form described
in paragraph (c) of subdivision thirty of section three hundred five
of this chapter and shall obtain the applicant's consent
to the criminal history records search. Every set of fingerprints taken
pursuant to this paragraph shall be promptly submitted to the
commissioner for purposes of clearance for employment.
* NB Effective July 1, 2003
(a-3) The board of trustees of a charter school shall
upon commencement and termination of employment of an employee by the
charter school district, provide the commissioner with the name of
and position held by such employee.
(b) The school employees of a charter school that has
been converted from an existing public school who are eligible for
representation under article fourteen of the civil service law shall be
deemed to be included
within the negotiating unit containing like titles or positions, if any,
for the school district in which such charter school
is located and shall be subject to the
collective bargaining agreement covering that
school district negotiating unit; provided, however, that a majority
of the members of a negotiating unit within a charter school may modify,
in writing, a collective bargaining agreement for the purposes
of employment in the charter school with the approval of the board of
trustees of the charter school.
(b-1) The employees of a charter school that is not a
conversion from an existing public school shall
not be deemed members of any existing collective bargaining unit
representing employees of the school district
in which the charter school is located, and the charter school
and its employees shall not be subject to
any existing collective bargaining agreement between the
school district and its employees. Provided,
however, that (i) if the student enrollment of the charter school on the
first day on which the charter school
commences student instruction exceeds two hundred fifty or if the average
daily student enrollment of such school exceeds two
hundred fifty students at any point during the first year after the
charter school commences student instruction, all
instructional employees of the school who are
eligible for representation under article fourteen of the civil service
law shall be deemed to be represented in a
separate negotiating unit at the charter school by the same employee
organization, if any, that represents like employees in the school
district in which such charter school is located; (ii) the provisions of
subparagraph (i) of this paragraph may be waived in up to ten
charters issued on the recommendation of the charter entity set
forth in paragraph (b) of subdivision three of
section twenty-eight hundred fifty-one of this article; (iii)
the provisions of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall not be
applicable to the renewal or extension of a charter; and (iv)
nothing in this sentence shall be construed to subject a charter school
subject to the provisions of this paragraph or its
employees to any collective bargaining agreement between
any
public school district and its employees or to make the
employees of such charter school part
of any negotiating unit at such school
district. The charter school may, in its sole discretion, choose whether
or not to offer the terms of any existing
collective bargaining to school employees.
(c) The employees of the charter school may be deemed employees of
the local school district for the purpose of providing retirement
benefits, including membership in the teachers`
retirement system and other retirement
systems open to employees of public schools. The financial
contributions for such benefits shall be the responsibility of the charter
school and the school's employees. The commissioner, in consultation
with the comptroller, shall develop
regulations to implement the provisions of this
paragraph in a manner that allows charter schools to provide retirement
benefits to its employees in the same manner as other public school
employees.
(c-1) Reasonable access. (i) If employees of the
charter school are not represented, any charter school chartered pursuant
to this article must afford reasonable
access to any employee organization during the
reasonable proximate period before any
representation question is raised; or
(ii) If the employee organization
is a challenging organization, reasonable access must be provided to
any organization seeking to represent employees beginning with a date
reasonably proximate to a challenge
period. Reasonableness is defined, at a minimum, as access equal to that
provided to the incumbent organization.
(c-2) Employer neutrality. It shall be an
improper practice for a charter school
board of directors, chief administrative officer and
their agents to commit any of the acts set forth in subdivision
one of section two hundred nine-a of the civil service law and could
in accordance with section twenty-eight
hundred fifty-five of this article, result in the revocation
of the charter.
(d) A teacher employed by a school district may make a written
request to the board of education for an extended leave of absence to
teach at a charter school. Approval for such a leave of absence for a
period of two years or less shall not be unreasonably withheld. If
such approval is granted to a teacher by the
school district, the teacher may return to teach in the school district
during such period of leave without the loss of
any right of certification, retirement, seniority, salary status or
any other benefit provided by law or by collective bargaining agreement.
If an appropriate position is unavailable, the
teacher's name shall be placed on a preferred eligible list of
candidates for appointment to a vacancy that may thereafter occur in
an office or position similar to the
one such teacher filled in such school district immediately prior to
the leave of service.
S 2855.
Causes for revocation or termination. 1. The charter entity, or the board
of regents, may terminate a charter upon any of the following grounds:
(a) When a charter school`s outcome on student
assessment measures adopted by the board of regents
falls below the level that would allow the commissioner to revoke the
registration of another public school,
and student achievement on such measures has not shown improvement
over the preceding three school years:
(b) Serious violations of law;
(c) Material and substantial violation of
the charter, including fiscal mismanagement; or
(d) When the public employment relations board makes a
determination that the charter school demonstrates a practice and pattern
of egregious and intentional violations of subdivision one of
section two hundred nine-a of the civil service law involving
interference with or discrimination against employee
rights under article fourteen of the civil service law.
2. Notice of intent to revoke a charter shall be provided to the
board of trustees of a charter school at least thirty days prior to the
effective date of the proposed revocation. Such notice shall include a
statement of reasons for the proposed revocation. The charter school shall
be allowed at least thirty days to correct the problems associated with
the proposed revocation. Prior to revocation of
the charter, a charter school shall be provided an
opportunity to be heard, consistent with the requirements of
due process. Upon the termination of a charter, the
charter school shall proceed with dissolution pursuant to the procedures
of the charter and direction of the charter entity and
the board of regents.
3. In addition to the provisions of subdivision two of
this section, the charter entity or the board of regents may place
a charter school falling within the
provisions of subdivision one of this section on probationary
status to allow the implementation of a remedial
action plan. The failure of a charter
school to comply with the terms and conditions of a remedial action plan
may result in summary revocation of the school's charter.
4. Any individual or group may bring a complaint to the board of
trustees of a charter school alleging a violation of the provisions
of this article, the charter, or any
other provision of law relating to the management or operation of the
charter school. If, after presentation of the complaint to the board of
trustees of a charter school, the individual or group determines that such
board has not adequately addressed the complaint, they may present that
complaint to the charter entity, which shall investigate
and respond. If, after presentation of the complaint to the charter
entity, the individual or group determines that the charter entity has not
adequately addressed the complaint, they may present that
complaint to the board of regents, which shall
investigate and respond. The charter entity and the board of
regents shall have the power and the
duty to issue appropriate remedial orders to charter
schools under their jurisdiction to effectuate the provisions
of this section.
5. The regulatory power of the board of regents and the
commissioner shall not extend to charter schools except
as otherwise specifically provided in this article.
S 2856.
Financing of charter schools. 1. The enrollment of students
attending charter schools shall be included in the enrollment,
attendance and, if applicable, count of
students with disabilities of the
school district in which the pupil resides. The charter
school shall report all such data to the school
districts of residence in a timely manner. Each school district shall
report such enrollment, attendance
and count of students with disabilities to the
department. The school district of residence shall pay directly to the
charter school for each student enrolled in
the charter school who resides in the school
district an amount equal to one hundred percent of the amount calculated
pursuant to paragraph f of subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred
two of this chapter for the school district for the year prior
to the base year increased by the percentage change in the state
total approved operating expense calculated pursuant to
subdivision eleven of section thirty-six hundred two of this chapter from
two years prior to the base year to the base year.
The school district shall also pay directly to the charter school any
federal or state aid attributable to a student with a
disability attending charter school in proportion to the level of
services for such student with a disability
that the charter school provides directly or
indirectly. Notwithstanding anything in this
section to the contrary, amounts payable pursuant to
this subdivision may be reduced pursuant to an agreement between the
school and the charter entity set forth in the charter.
Payments made pursuant to this subdivision
shall be made by the school district in six substantially
equal installments each year beginning on the first business day of July
and every two months thereafter. Amounts payable under this
subdivision shall be determined by the commissioner.
Amounts payable to a charter school in its first year of operation shall
be based on the projections of initial-year
enrollment set forth in the charter. Such projections shall be
reconciled with the actual enrollment at
the end of the school's first year of operation, and any
necessary adjustments shall be made to payments during the school's second
year of operation.
2. In the event of the failure of the school district to make
payments required by this section, the state comptroller
shall deduct from any state funds which become due to such school district
an amount equal to
the unpaid obligation. The comptroller shall pay over
such sum to the charter school upon certification of the commissioner.
The commissioner shall promulgate regulations to implement the
provisions of this subdivision.
3. Nothing in this article shall be construed to prohibit
any person or organization from providing funding or other
assistance to the establishment or operation of a
charter school. The board of trustees of a
charter school is authorized to accept gifts, donations or grants of any
kind made to the charter school and to
expend or use such gifts, donations or
grants in accordance with the conditions prescribed by the donor;
provided, however, that no gift, donation
or grant may be accepted if subject to a condition
that is contrary to any provision of law or term of the charter.
S 2857. Notice; review and assessment.
1. The board of regents shall distribute information announcing the
availability of the charter school process described in this article to
each local school district and public
postsecondary educational institution. At each significant stage of the
chartering process, the charter entity and the board of regents
shall provide appropriate notification to the school district in
which the charter school is located and to public and nonpublic schools in
the same geographic area as the proposed charter school. Prior to the
issuance or renewal of a charter, the school district in which
the charter school is located shall be given an
opportunity to comment on the proposed charter
to the charter entity. In addition, such
school district may hold a public hearing to solicit comments from the
community in connection with the foregoing.
2. Each charter school shall submit to the charter entity and
to the board of regents an annual report. Such report shall be
issued no later than the first day of August of each year for the
preceding school year. The annual report shall be in such form as shall
be prescribed by the commissioner and shall include at
least the following components:
(a) a charter school report card, which shall include
measures of the comparative academic and fiscal performance of the school,
as prescribed by the commissioner in regulations adopted for such purpose.
Such measures shall include, but not be
limited to, graduation rates, dropout rates, performance of students
on standardized tests, college entry rates, total
spending per pupil and administrative spending per pupil.
(b) discussion of the progress made towards achievement
of the goals set forth in the charter.
(c) a certified financial statement setting
forth, by appropriate categories, the revenues and
expenditures for the preceding school year, including a
copy of the most recent independent fiscal audit of the
school.
3. The board of regents shall report annually to
the governor, the temporary president of the
senate, and the speaker of the assembly the following information:
(a) The number, distribution, and a brief description of
new charter schools established during the preceding year;
(b) The current and projected programmatic and fiscal impact
of charter schools on the delivery of services by the public school
system;
(c) The academic progress of students attending charter
schools, as measured against comparable public and nonpublic
schools wherever practicable; and
(d) Any other information regarding charter schools that the
board of regents deems necessary.
4. The board of regents shall review the educational
effectiveness of the charter school approach authorized by this article
and the effect of charter schools on the public and nonpublic school
systems. Not later than December
thirty-first, two thousand three, the board of regents shall
report to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker
of the assembly and the board of regents with recommendations to modify,
expand, or terminate that approach. Such report shall include,
for each charter school, a copy of the
school's mission statement, attendance statistics and dropout rates,
student performance on standardized assessment tests,
projections of financial stability, and, wherever practicable, comparisons
to other public schools.
