Bill Text: NY S01945 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Enacts the "educational equity and choice act"; requires nonpublic schools to provide the same services that public schools currently provide to nonpublic schools; provides that such costs shall be approved by the commissioner of education and borne by the state; makes related provisions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-14 - REFERRED TO EDUCATION [S01945 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-S01945-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1945

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 14, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  WEBER  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Education

        AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation  to  requiring  nonpublic
          schools  to  provide  the  same services that public schools currently
          provide to nonpublic schools; and to repeal certain provisions of such
          law relating thereto

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
     2  the "educational equity and choice act".
     3    § 2. Section 305 of the education law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
     4  subdivision 63 to read as follows:
     5    63.  Notwithstanding  any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, the
     6  commissioner shall provide that no nonpublic school  shall  provide  any
     7  service  to  pupils  attending  such  school  without  approval from the
     8  commissioner. Prior to services being provided by  a  nonpublic  school,
     9  nonpublic  schools will be required to submit certifications in a system
    10  developed by the commissioner of the services provided electronically or
    11  in any other media form which  the  commissioner  reasonably  determines
    12  offers  the  same degree of accountability and control provided by paper
    13  certifications. The commissioner will have the power to review and  seek
    14  correction  of  any  service  provided  by nonpublic schools pursuant to
    15  sections seven hundred one, seven hundred eleven, seven  hundred  fifty-
    16  one,  nine  hundred  twelve,  thirty-six  hundred  two-c  and thirty-six
    17  hundred thirty-five  of  this  chapter.  All  costs  pertaining  to  the
    18  services  provided by nonpublic schools shall be approved by the commis-
    19  sioner and shall be borne by the state.
    20    § 3. Section 912 of the education law, as amended by  chapter  477  of
    21  the laws of 2004, is amended to read as follows:
    22    § 912. Health and welfare services to all children. [The voters and/or
    23  trustees  or  board  of  education  of every school district shall, upon
    24  request of the authorities of  a  school  other  than  public,  provide]
    25  Notwithstanding  any  law,  rule or regulation to the contrary, resident
    26  children who attend [such] a nonpublic school  shall  be  provided  with

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01086-01-5
        S. 1945                             2

     1  [any  or all of the] the same health and welfare services and facilities
     2  which are made available by [such] the voters and/or trustees  or  board
     3  of  education  to  or  for  children attending the public schools of the
     4  district. Such services may include, but are not limited to all services
     5  performed  by  a physician, physician assistant, dentist, dental hygien-
     6  ist, registered professional nurse, nurse practitioner, school  psychol-
     7  ogist,  school  social  worker  or school speech therapist, and may also
     8  include dental prophylaxis, vision and hearing  screening  examinations,
     9  the taking of medical histories and the administration of health screen-
    10  ing tests, the maintenance of cumulative health records and the adminis-
    11  tration of emergency care programs for ill or injured students. Any such
    12  services   or  facilities  shall  be  so  provided  notwithstanding  any
    13  provision of any charter or other provision of  law  inconsistent  here-
    14  with.  [Where  children  residing in one school district attend a school
    15  other than public located in another school district, the school author-
    16  ities of the district  of  residence  shall  contract  with  the  school
    17  authorities  of the district where such nonpublic school is located, for
    18  the provision of such health and welfare services and facilities to such
    19  children by the school district where such nonpublic school is  located,
    20  for  a consideration to be agreed upon between the school authorities of
    21  such districts, subject to the approval of the qualified voters  of  the
    22  district  of  residence when required under the provisions of this chap-
    23  ter. Every such contract shall be in writing and in the form  prescribed
    24  by the commissioner, and before such contract is executed the same shall
    25  be submitted for approval to the superintendent of schools having juris-
    26  diction  over  such  district  of  residence and such contract shall not
    27  become effective until approved by such superintendent.] All costs asso-
    28  ciated with this section shall be borne by the state.
    29    § 4. Subdivision 3 of section 701 of the education law, as amended  by
    30  chapter 391 of the laws of 1989, is amended to read as follows:
    31    3.  In the several cities and school districts of the state, boards of
    32  education, trustees or such body or officers as perform the function  of
    33  such  boards shall have the power and duty to purchase [and to loan upon
    34  individual  request,]  textbooks,  to  all  children  residing  in  such
    35  district  who are enrolled in a public school including children attend-
    36  ing the public schools of the district for whom the district is eligible
    37  to receive reimbursement pursuant to paragraph a of subdivision eight of
    38  section thirty-two hundred two of this chapter, provided, however,  that
    39  such children shall not be counted by any other school district[, and to
    40  all  children  residing in such district who are enrolled in a nonpublic
    41  school. Textbooks loaned to children enrolled in said nonpublic  schools
    42  shall be textbooks which are designated for use in any public schools of
    43  the  state or are approved by any boards of education, trustees or other
    44  school authorities. Such textbooks are to be loaned free to  such  chil-
    45  dren  subject  to such rules and regulations as are or may be prescribed
    46  by the board of regents and such boards of education, trustees or  other
    47  school authorities. Enrollment shall be as defined in subdivision one of
    48  section thirty-six hundred two of this chapter].
    49    §  5. Subdivision 4 of section 701 of the education law, as amended by
    50  chapter 82 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows:
    51    4. No school district shall  be  required  to  purchase  or  otherwise
    52  acquire textbooks, the cost of which shall exceed an amount equal to the
    53  apportionment pursuant to subdivision six of this section plus a minimum
    54  lottery  grant  determined pursuant to subdivision four of section nine-
    55  ty-two-c of the state finance law multiplied by the number  of  children
    56  residing  in  such  district  and  so enrolled in the base year[; and no
        S. 1945                             3

     1  school district shall be required to loan textbooks  in  excess  of  the
     2  textbooks owned or acquired by such district; provided, however that all
     3  textbooks owned or acquired by such district shall be loaned to children
     4  residing in the district and so enrolled in public and nonpublic schools
     5  on an equitable basis].
     6    § 6. Subdivision 8 of section 701 of the education law is REPEALED and
     7  a new subdivision 8 is added to read as follows:
     8    8.  Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, chil-
     9  dren attending a nonpublic school shall be  provided  by  the  nonpublic
    10  school  with  the  same  textbooks  that  are made available to children
    11  attending the public school of where such nonpublic school  is  located.
    12  All  costs  associated with this subdivision shall be borne by the state
    13  in a similar apportionment pursuant to subdivision four of this section.
    14    § 7. Subdivision 3 of section 751 of the education law, as amended  by
    15  section  4  of  part A of chapter 436 of the laws of 1997, is amended to
    16  read as follows:
    17    3. No school district shall  be  required  to  purchase  or  otherwise
    18  acquire  software  programs,  the  cost  of which shall exceed an amount
    19  equal to the software factor multiplied by the sum of the public  school
    20  district  enrollment  [and  the nonpublic school enrollment] in the base
    21  year as defined in subparagraphs two and three of paragraph n of  subdi-
    22  vision one of section thirty-six hundred two of this chapter.
    23    §  8. Subdivision 4 of section 751 of the education law, as amended by
    24  section 3 of part H of chapter 83 of the laws of  2002,  is  amended  to
    25  read as follows:
    26    4. The commissioner, in addition to the annual apportionment of public
    27  monies  pursuant  to  other articles of this chapter, shall apportion to
    28  each school district an  amount  equal  to  the  cost  of  the  software
    29  programs  purchased by the district pursuant to this section in the base
    30  year, but in no case shall the aid apportioned to  the  district  exceed
    31  the product of the software factor and the sum of public school district
    32  enrollment, [nonpublic school enrollment,] and additional public enroll-
    33  ment  as  defined in subparagraphs two, three, and six of paragraph n of
    34  subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred two of this chapter.
    35    § 9. Subdivision 1 of section 752 of the education law is REPEALED and
    36  a new subdivision 1 is added to read as follows:
    37    1. Children attending a nonpublic school  shall  be  provided  by  the
    38  nonpublic  school with the same computer software that is made available
    39  to children attending the public school of where such  nonpublic  school
    40  is located. All costs associated with this subdivision shall be borne by
    41  the  state  in  a  similar apportionment pursuant to subdivision four of
    42  section seven hundred fifty-one of this article.
    43    § 10. Subdivision 1 of section 753 of the education law, as amended by
    44  section 4 of part A-1 of chapter 58 of the laws of 2011, is  amended  to
    45  read as follows:
    46    1. In addition to any other apportionment under this chapter, a school
    47  district  shall be eligible for an apportionment under the provisions of
    48  this section for approved expenses for (i)  the  purchase  or  lease  of
    49  micro  and/or  mini  computer  equipment  or terminals for instructional
    50  purposes or (ii) technology equipment, as  defined  in  paragraph  c  of
    51  subdivision  two  of  this  section, used for instructional purposes, or
    52  (iii) for the repair of such equipment and training and  staff  develop-
    53  ment  for  instructional  purposes  as provided hereinafter, or (iv) for
    54  expenses incurred on or after July first, two thousand eleven, any items
    55  of expenditure that  are  eligible  for  an  apportionment  pursuant  to
    56  sections  seven  hundred  one, seven hundred eleven and/or seven hundred
        S. 1945                             4

     1  fifty-one of this title, where such items are designated by  the  school
     2  district  as eligible for aid pursuant to this section, provided, howev-
     3  er, that if aided pursuant to this section, such expenses shall  not  be
     4  aidable pursuant to any other section of law. Such aid shall be provided
     5  pursuant  to  a plan developed by the district which demonstrates to the
     6  satisfaction of the commissioner that the instructional  computer  hard-
     7  ware needs of the district's public school students have been adequately
     8  met  [and that the school district has provided for the loan of instruc-
     9  tional computer hardware to students legally attending nonpublic schools
    10  pursuant to section seven hundred fifty-four  of  this  article].    The
    11  apportionment  shall  equal  the  lesser of such approved expense in the
    12  base year or, the product of (i) the technology factor, (ii) the sum  of
    13  the  public school district enrollment [and the nonpublic school enroll-
    14  ment] in the base year as defined in  subparagraphs  two  and  three  of
    15  paragraph n of subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred two of this
    16  chapter,  and  (iii)  the  building aid ratio, as defined in subdivision
    17  four of section thirty-six hundred two of this chapter. For aid  payable
    18  in  the two thousand seven--two thousand eight school year and thereaft-
    19  er, the technology factor shall be twenty-four dollars and twenty cents.
    20  A school district may use up to twenty percent of the product of (i) the
    21  technology factor, (ii) the sum of the public school district enrollment
    22  [and the nonpublic school enrollment] in the base  year  as  defined  in
    23  subparagraphs two and three of paragraph n of subdivision one of section
    24  thirty-six hundred two of this chapter, and (iii) the building aid ratio
    25  for  the repair of instructional computer hardware and technology equip-
    26  ment and training  and  staff  development  for  instructional  purposes
    27  pursuant to a plan submitted to the commissioner.
    28    §  11.  Subdivision  1 of section 754 of the education law is REPEALED
    29  and a new subdivision 1 is added to read as follows:
    30    1. Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary,  chil-
    31  dren  attending  a  nonpublic  school shall be provided by the nonpublic
    32  school with the same computer hardware that is made available  to  chil-
    33  dren  attending  the  public  school  of  where such nonpublic school is
    34  located as provided by section seven hundred fifty-three of  this  arti-
    35  cle.  All  costs  associated with this subdivision shall be borne by the
    36  state in a similar apportionment pursuant to subdivision four of section
    37  seven hundred fifty-three of this article.
    38    § 12. Section 755 of the education law is REPEALED.
    39    § 13. Subdivision 3 of section 711 of the education law, as amended by
    40  section 7 of part B of chapter 57 of the laws of  2007,  is  amended  to
    41  read as follows:
    42    3.  No  school  district  shall  be  required to purchase or otherwise
    43  acquire school library materials, the cost  of  which  shall  exceed  an
    44  amount  equal  to  the library materials factor multiplied by the sum of
    45  the public school district enrollment [and the nonpublic school  enroll-
    46  ment]  in  the  base  year  as defined in subparagraphs two and three of
    47  paragraph n of subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred two of this
    48  chapter. For aid payable in the nineteen hundred  ninety-eight--nineteen
    49  hundred  ninety-nine  school year, the library materials factor shall be
    50  four dollars. For aid payable in the two  thousand  seven--two  thousand
    51  eight  school year and thereafter, the library materials factor shall be
    52  six dollars and twenty-five cents.
    53    § 14. Subdivision 4 of section 711 of the education law, as amended by
    54  section 4 of part C of chapter 58 of the laws of  1998,  is  amended  to
    55  read as follows:
        S. 1945                             5

     1    4.   Commencing   July   first,   nineteen   hundred   [ninety  eight]
     2  ninety-eight, the commissioner, in addition to the annual  apportionment
     3  of  public  monies  pursuant  to  other  articles of this chapter, shall
     4  apportion to each school district an amount equal to  the  cost  of  the
     5  school  library  materials  purchased  by  the district pursuant to this
     6  section in the base year, but in no case shall the  aid  apportioned  to
     7  the  district exceed the product of the library materials factor and the
     8  sum of public school district enrollment, [nonpublic school enrollment,]
     9  and additional public enrollment as defined in subparagraphs two, three,
    10  and six of paragraph n of subdivision one of section thirty-six  hundred
    11  two  of  this  chapter.    Aid payable pursuant to this section shall be
    12  deemed final and not subject to change  after  April  thirtieth  of  the
    13  school year for which payment was due.
    14    §  15.  Section  711  of  the education law is amended by adding a new
    15  subdivision 5 to read as follows:
    16    5. Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary,  chil-
    17  dren  attending  a  nonpublic  school shall be provided by the nonpublic
    18  school with the same school library materials that is made available  to
    19  children  attending  the public school of where such nonpublic school is
    20  located. All costs associated with this subdivision shall  be  borne  by
    21  the  state in a similar apportionment pursuant to subdivisions three and
    22  four of this section.
    23    § 16. Section 712 of the education law is REPEALED.
    24    § 17. Paragraph b of subdivision 1 of section 3635  of  the  education
    25  law is REPEALED.
    26    §  18.  Subdivision  2-a  of  section  3635  of  the  education law is
    27  REPEALED.
    28    § 19. Section 3635 of the education law is amended  by  adding  a  new
    29  subdivision 9 to read as follows:
    30    9.  Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, chil-
    31  dren attending a nonpublic school shall be  provided  by  the  nonpublic
    32  school  with  the  same sufficient transportation services that are made
    33  available to children attending the public school of where such  nonpub-
    34  lic  school is located. All costs associated with this subdivision shall
    35  be borne by the state in a similar apportionment pursuant to subdivision
    36  seven of section thirty-six hundred two of this article.
    37    § 20. The section heading, subdivision 1, paragraphs a and d of subdi-
    38  vision 2, subdivisions 3, 4, 6 and 10 of section 3602-c of the education
    39  law, the section heading and subdivisions 3 and 6 as  added  by  chapter
    40  593  of the laws of 1974, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 740 of the
    41  laws of 1982, paragraphs a and d of subdivision 1 and subdivision  4  as
    42  amended by chapter 474 of the laws of 2004, paragraph c of subdivision 1
    43  as  amended  by chapter 301 of the laws of 1996, paragraph f of subdivi-
    44  sion 1 as added by chapter 378 of the laws of 2007, paragraphs a  and  d
    45  of  subdivision  2  as  amended  by chapter 378 of the laws of 2007, and
    46  subdivision 10 as added by chapter 352 of the laws of 2005, are  amended
    47  to read as follows:
    48    Apportionment  of  moneys  to [school districts] nonpublic schools for
    49  the provision of services to pupils attending nonpublic schools  partic-
    50  ipating  in  specialized  educational  services.    1. Definitions. [As]
    51  Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, as used  in
    52  this section the following terms are defined as follows:
    53    a.  "Services"  shall  mean instruction in the areas of gifted pupils,
    54  career education and education for students with disabilities, and coun-
    55  seling, psychological and social work services related to such  instruc-
    56  tion  provided  during  the regular school year for pupils enrolled in a
        S. 1945                             6

     1  nonpublic school [located in  a  school  district,  provided  that  such
     2  instruction  is  given  to pupils enrolled in the public schools of such
     3  district].
     4    b.  "Gifted  pupils" shall mean those pupils who show evidence of high
     5  performance capability and exceptional potential in areas such as gener-
     6  al intellectual ability,  special  academic  aptitude,  and  outstanding
     7  ability  in  visual  and  performing arts. Such definition shall include
     8  those children who require educational programs or services beyond those
     9  normally provided by the regular school  program  in  order  to  realize
    10  their full potential.
    11    c.  "Career  education"  shall mean training or retraining designed to
    12  prepare individuals [who are entitled to attend the  public  schools  of
    13  the state] without the payment of tuition pursuant to section thirty-two
    14  hundred  two  of [the education law] this chapter for gainful employment
    15  as semi-skilled or skilled workers or technicians or subprofessionals in
    16  recognized occupations and in new or emerging occupations or to  prepare
    17  pupils  for  enrollment  in  advanced  technical education programs, but
    18  excluding any program to prepare pupils for  employment  in  occupations
    19  which generally are considered professional or which require a baccalau-
    20  reate or higher degree; such training generally being grouped within the
    21  occupational fields of agriculture, business, distributive, health, home
    22  economics related, trade and technical education.
    23    d.  "Education  for  students  with  disabilities"  shall mean special
    24  educational programs designed to serve persons who meet  the  definition
    25  of  children  with  disabilities set forth in subdivision one of section
    26  forty-four hundred one of this chapter.
    27    e. "Average daily attendance" shall mean the total number  of  attend-
    28  ance days of pupils receiving services divided by the number of days the
    29  [public  school]  nonpublic  school  was  in session for each attendance
    30  period. For each such attendance period the total number  of  attendance
    31  days  for  each such pupil shall be determined by multiplying the number
    32  of days on which each such pupil was in attendance by the ratio obtained
    33  by dividing the number of class periods of each such pupil by the  total
    34  number  of  class  periods,  not  to exceed five, operated by the public
    35  school during the school day. Only pupils residing in this  state  shall
    36  be included in such computation.
    37    f.  "School  district  of location" means the school district in which
    38  the nonpublic elementary or secondary school attended by the student  is
    39  located.
    40    a.  [Boards  of  education of all school districts of] Notwithstanding
    41  any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, every  certified  nonpublic
    42  school in the state shall furnish services to students who are residents
    43  of  this  state and who attend nonpublic schools [located in such school
    44  districts], upon the written request of the parent or person in parental
    45  relation of any such student. Such a request  for  career  education  or
    46  services  to gifted students shall be filed with the [board of education
    47  of the school district] nonpublic school in which the parent  or  person
    48  in  parental  relation of the student resides on or before the first day
    49  of June preceding the school year for which the request is made. In  the
    50  case  of  education for students with disabilities, such a request shall
    51  be filed with the [trustees or board of education of the school district
    52  of location] nonpublic school on or before the first of  June  preceding
    53  the  school  year  for  which the request is made, or by July first, two
    54  thousand seven for the two thousand  seven--two  thousand  eight  school
    55  year  only,  provided  that  where  a  student  is first identified as a
    56  student with a disability after the first  day  of  June  preceding  the
        S. 1945                             7

     1  school  year  for  which  the  request is made, or thirty days after the
     2  chapter of the laws of two thousand seven which amended this  paragraph,
     3  takes  effect  where  applicable, and prior to the first day of April of
     4  such  current school year, such request shall be submitted within thirty
     5  days after such student is first identified. For students first  identi-
     6  fied  after March first of the current school year, any such request for
     7  education for students with disabilities in the current school year that
     8  is submitted on or after April first of such current school year,  shall
     9  be  deemed  a  timely  request for such services in the following school
    10  year.
    11    [d. In the case of career education and education of gifted  students,
    12  the school district of residence shall contract with the school district
    13  in  which the nonpublic school attended by the pupil is located, for the
    14  provision of services pursuant to this section.]
    15    3. [Boards of education] Notwithstanding any law, rule  or  regulation
    16  to the contrary, nonpublic schools, with the consent of the commissioner
    17  of education, are authorized to [contract with] establish programs simi-
    18  lar  to  boards  of  cooperative  educational  services  to  provide the
    19  services required by this act.   [Pupils receiving  services  under  the
    20  provisions  of this subdivision shall be deemed public school pupils for
    21  the purpose of determining aid  pursuant  to  section  nineteen  hundred
    22  fifty  of  the  education  law.]  Any  such  pupil who attends a program
    23  offered by a board of cooperative educational services, and who does not
    24  attend classes in the schools of the district furnishing services, shall
    25  not be included in computing average daily attendance in such district.
    26    4. [Boards of education] Notwithstanding any law, rule  or  regulation
    27  to  the  contrary,  nonpublic  schools  shall provide transportation for
    28  pupils receiving gifted or career education [between]  provided  by  the
    29  nonpublic  school  [attended  by such pupils and the public school where
    30  such services are provided if the distance between the nonpublic  school
    31  and  the public school exceeds one-fourth of a mile, except that; boards
    32  of education shall provide transportation for pupils receiving education
    33  for students with disabilities under the provisions of this  section  in
    34  accordance  with  the  needs  of each such pupil]; and state aid for all
    35  such transportation shall be paid as  though  such  transportation  were
    36  furnished  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of article eighty-nine of this
    37  chapter, except that such aid shall be paid at the rate of [ninety]  one
    38  hundred percent of the actual cost of such transportation.
    39    6. [Boards of education] Nonpublic schools are authorized to determine
    40  by  resolution which courses of instruction shall be offered, the eligi-
    41  bility of pupils to participate in specific courses, and  the  admission
    42  of pupils. All pupils in like circumstances shall be treated similarly.
    43    10. State and local funds provided by the district of residence pursu-
    44  ant  to  this section shall supplement and in no case shall supplant the
    45  proportionate amount of federal funds required to  be  expended  by  the
    46  [school  district in which the] nonpublic school attended by the student
    47  is located pursuant to the individuals with disabilities education act.
    48    § 21. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however,  that
    49  the  amendments  to  paragraph f of subdivision 1, paragraphs a and d of
    50  subdivision 2 and subdivision 10 of section 3602-c of the education  law
    51  made  by  section twenty of this act shall not affect the repeal of such
    52  paragraphs and subdivisions, respectively, and shall be deemed  repealed
    53  therewith.