BILL NUMBER: S4107
SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law and the administrative code of the
city of New York, in relation to authorizing the chancellor of the city
district to control and operate certain specialized high schools in the
city of New York and to establish a commission on middle school achieve-
ment; and providing for the repeal of certain provisions upon the expi-
ration thereof
 
PURPOSE:
Creates additional New York City specialized high schools; by the
20232024 academic year, guarantees the availability of free specialized
high school admissions test tutoring services to all students; by the
2023-2024 academic year, requires eligible eighth grade public school
students to take the specialized high school admissions test ("SHSAT")
but with the ability to opt-out; by the 2023-2024 academic year, creates
new Gifted and Talented programs for elementary and middle school
students and requires eligible students to take the Gifted and Talented
admissions exam; mandates the New York City Department of Education
shall conduct additional outreach concerning specialized high schools
and the specialized high school admissions test; and immediately estab-
lishes a commission to evaluate New York City's middle schools and offer
recommendations for improvement.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1, Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 2590-h of the
education law, as amended by chapter 345 of the laws of 2009, is a mend-
ed to: require all eighth grade public school students to take the
specialized high school admissions test unless opted out of the exam by
a parent or guardian; and require that the chancellor undertake a peri-
odic study of the SHSAT to evaluate the SHSAT's predictive validity
concerning students' performance at specialized high schools and whether
questions on the SHSAT evidence bias on the basis of sex, gender, race,
religion or creed, national origin or ancestry, or income and that the
results of such a study be made publicly available.
Section 2, subdivision 2 of section 2590-h of the education law, as
amended by chapter 345 of the laws of 2009, is amended to establish:
ten new specialized high schools, targeting geographically underrepre-
sented school districts; a publicly funded test preparation program for
all public school students in sixth and seventh grades; and an outreach
program to raise awareness about the specialized high school admission
test.
Section 3, Tide 21A, Chapter 12 of the administrative code of the city
oz New York is amended by adding a new section 21-974.1 to create Gifted
and Talented programs in each school district.
Section 2590-b of the education law, is amended, by renumbering the
current subdivision 7 as subdivision 8, and inserting prior to the
renumbered subdivision 8, a new subdivision 7, to establish a council on
middle schools within 30 days that will review educational policies and
practices of city middle schools and recommend best practices to foster
student achievement.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
New York City must end the inequities in the city's specialized high
schools. While Black and Latino students make up almost 70% of New York
City public school children, Black and Latino students have been histor-
ically underrepresented in specialized high schools, recently accounting
for just 10% of students at these schools.
This legislation provides a comprehensive plan to increase diversity at
New York City's specialized high schools by improving educational oppor-
tunities in every community; creating more specialized high schools
across the five boroughs; and ensuring that every student-regardless of
race, income, or background-has equal access to high-quality, publicly
funded test preparation. This aim is achieved in five principal ways:
(1) increasing the number of specialized high schools, including by
establishing ten new schools; (2) creating a commission to recommend
improvements to New York City middle schools; (3) investing in free
SHSAT prep for every sixth and seventh grade student in the city; (4)
requiring every eighth grader to take the SHSAT, subject to a parent or
guardian's right to opt out, and establishing an outreach program to
increase participation of underrepresented communities in preparing for
and taking the SHSAT; (5) creating a Gifted & Talented program in every
district. Each is explained in more detail below.
First, this legislation addresses the needs of the school districts
across the city without access to a specialized high school. There are
currently only 15,000 seats for over 360,000 high school students. The
creation of ten new specialized high schools ensures that more students,
especially those from underserved areas, will have access to a special-
ized high school.
Second, this legislation focuses on the need to improve New York City
middle schools. Currently, 15 district middle schools account for half
of the new students admitted to specialized high schools. Four hundred
eighty-five schools admitted five or fewer students. By establishing a
special commission focused on researching, evaluating and proposing
recommendations that reform middle school education, the legislation
addresses the root cause of the lack of diversity in the specialized
high schools.
Third, the legislation creates a free SHSAT preparation program for
every sixth and seventh grade student, citywide. Today, more than 90%.
of NYC middle schools do not have access to publicly-funded test prep.
With a meaningful, public investment in test prep programs, students in
underrepresented communities gain the opportunity to excel on the exam.
This legislation also provides for fairer access to the test itself.
Currently, most students can only take the test on a single fall week-
end. Moving forward, students will be able to take the test during regu-
lar school hours.
Fourth, this legislation creates a requirement for every eighth grader
to take the SHSAT. Only a small minority of Black and Latino students
currently take the SHSAT, reducing the number of eligible applicants for
the specialized high schools. To increase awareness around the exam and
expand the pool of Black and Latino test takers, the legislation also
establishes an outreach program that utilizes technology and partner--
ships across city agencies to reach students and their parents both at
home and in school.
Finally, this legislation establishes Gifted & Talented programs in
every district. By creating accessible programs that offer advanced
education from a young age, the legislation creates a pipeline of diver-
sity from elementary to high school.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-2024: S2492 Comrie/ A2060 Walker
2021-22: S.4015
 
FISCAL IMPACT:
This bill would have no fiscal impact on New York State.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S4107: 2590-a education law, 2590-h education law, 2590-h(1) education law, 2590-h(2) education law