BILL NUMBER: S1028
SPONSOR: JACKSON
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to charter entities; and
to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto
 
PURPOSE:
This legislation provides that the Board of Regents shall be the only
entity to authorize charters.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends subdivision 3 of Section 2851 of the Education Law by
providing that the Board of Regents shall be the entity to authorize
charters and repeals subdivision 5 of Section 2851 of the Education Law.
Section 2 amends paragraph (e) of subdivision 4 of Section 2851 of the
Education Law by providing that the Board of Regents shall be the entity
to establish and develop enrollment and retention targets of students
with disabilities, English language learners, and students who are
eligible applicants for the free and reduced price lunch program.
Section 3 amends subdivision 5-b of Section 2852 of the Education law by
providing that the Board of Regents is not required to authorize a char-
ter at the behest of the charter entity.
Section 4 amends subdivision 9 of Section 2852 of the Education Law by
providing that the Board of Regents shall be authorized to issue char-
ters upon application directly to the Board of Regents pursuant to a
competitive process. A charter that has been surrendered, revoked, or
terminated on or before July 1, 2015, including a charter that has not
been renewed, may be reissued only by the Board of Regents pursuant to a
competitive process.
Section 5 amends subdivision 9-a of Section 2852 of the Education Law by
providing that the Board of Regents is authorized to issue 460 charters
statewide upon applications that are directly submitted to the Board of
Regents. The Board of Regents shall be the entity authorized to develop
the methodology for a competitive request for proposals process for
charter school applications. The Board of Regents shall not consider any
application that does not meet the requisite criteria. Additionally, all
charter school applications must meet or exceed the enrollment and
retention targets set forth by the Board of Regents of students with
disabilities, English language learners, and students who are eligible
applicants for the free and reduced price lunch program. All charter
school applicants must conduct public outreach in accordance with the
process prescribed by the Board of Regents. The Board of Regepts shall
grant priority based on a scoring rubric and any additional objective
the Board of Regents may prescribe.
Section 6 amends subdivision 10 of Section 2852 of the Education law by
providing that a charter school formed by approval of the Board of
Regents on or after March 15th of any school year shall not commence
instruction until July of the second school year next following.
Section 7 amends subdivision 2-a of Section 2853 of the Education Law by
providing that charter schools approved by the Board of Regents, the
school district in which the charter school is located shall have the
right to visit, examine into, and inspect the charter school to ensure
that the school is in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations,
and charter provisions.
Section 8 amends subdivision 1 of Section 2855 of the Education law by
providing that a charter school shall have its charter revoked if a
charter school fails to meet or exceed the enrollment and retention
targets set forth by the Board of Regents of students with disabilities,
English language learners, and students who are eligible applicants for
the free and reduced price lunch program.
Section 9 amends subdivision 2 of Section 2857 of the Education Law by
providing that each charter school shall submit an annual report detail-
ing the efforts to comply with the retention and enrollment targets set
forth by the Board of Regents of students with disabilities, English
language learners, and students who are eligible applicants for the free
and reduced price lunch program.
Section 10 repeals subdivision 2-a of Section 355 of the Education Law.
Section 11 provides that all charters authorized by the Board of Trus-
tees of the State University of New York shall remain in effect unless
there is cause for revocation pursuant to Section 2855 of the Education
Law. Additionally, all applications for charter renewals after the
effective date of this act shall be approved by the Board of Regents.
Section 12 provides that all obligations to oversee and supervise char-
ters authorized by the Board of Trustees of the State University of New
York prior to the effective date of this act shall be transferred to the
Board of Regents on the effective date of this act.
Section 13 provides the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
As part of the budget that was ultimately signed into law in 1998, the
Pataki Administration authorized the Board of Trustees of the State
University of New York (SUNY) to be a charter authorizer in addition to
the Board of Regents. The Board of Regents is responsible for the gener-
al supervision of all educational activities within New York State. All
17 Regents are vetted through an open and transparent process conducted
by the Legislature where each regent is evaluated for their commitment
and dedication to education for all students. Conversely, the SUNY
Board of Trustees consist of 18 members, 15 of whom are appointed by the
Governor. Additionally, the SUNY Board of Trustees is responsible only
for the educational activities of SUNY.
Designating the Board of Regents as the sole charter authorizer central-
izes charter school applications to a single governing body. Currently,
if a charter school applicant is denied by one charter authorizer, the
applicant will simply go to the other charter authorizer for approval.
This ability to circumvent a determination by a charter authorizer
undermines the authority and mission of that authorizer. It should be
noted that the SUNY Board of Trustees has yet to deny a charter applica-
tion and has, in fact, authorized applications for which there are no
more vacancies.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-2022: S.1973 - Referred to Education/A.3621 - Referred to Education
2019-2020: S.5734 - Referred to Education/A.7848 - Referred to Education
 
STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S1028: 2851 education law, 2851(3) education law, 2851(5) education law, 2851(4) education law, 2852 education law, 2852(5-b) education law, 2852(9-a) education law, 2852(10) education law, 2853 education law, 2853(2-a) education law, 2855 education law, 2855(1) education law, 2857 education law, 2857(2) education law, 355 education law, 355(2-a) education law