Bill Text: NY S04493 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Grants the commissioner of education the power to identify schools for additional support and assistance and establish performance targets for such schools.
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-1)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-05 - REFERRED TO EDUCATION [S04493 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-S04493-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4493 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 5, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. SKOUFIS, BAILEY, BRISPORT, BROUK, COONEY, HARCKHAM, HINCHEY, MATTERA, MAY, RAMOS, RIVERA -- read twice and ordered print- ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing school registration and support and assistance for designated schools; and to repeal certain sections of the education law relating thereto The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Sections 211-a, 211-b, and 211-f of the education law are 2 REPEALED and a new section 211-a is added to read as follows: 3 § 211-a. School registration and support and assistance for designated 4 schools. 1. Registration of public schools. All public schools in the 5 state shall be registered by the board of regents, provided, however, 6 that charter schools shall not be subject to registration pursuant to 7 this section, but shall be held accountable for meeting or exceeding the 8 student performance standards and student assessment requirements appli- 9 cable to other public schools in accordance with the provisions of arti- 10 cle fifty-six of this chapter. Once registered, a school district shall 11 not close, merge, split, change the grade configuration, or substantial- 12 ly change the enrollment of the registered school without the prior 13 consent of the commissioner. The commissioner shall deny or require 14 modifications to a request only where approving the request shall have a 15 demonstrable and substantial negative impact on the learning environment 16 for students. 17 2. Annual determination of school need for support and assistance. The 18 commissioner shall determine annually whether each public school is in 19 need of additional support and assistance based on multiple measures, 20 including academic and non-academic measures, as determined by the 21 commissioner. 22 3. Identification of schools for additional support and assistance. If 23 based on the annual determination, pursuant to subdivision two of this EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD08469-01-5S. 4493 2 1 section, the commissioner determines that a school would benefit from 2 additional support and assistance based on academic performance and 3 other measures, the commissioner may designate the school for additional 4 support and assistance. Each school identified under this subdivision 5 shall develop an improvement plan to address the identified academic 6 performance and other measures. Such plan shall be developed in consul- 7 tation with a community engagement team appointed in accordance with 8 subdivision thirteen of this section, in such form and in accordance 9 with such format as may be prescribed by the commissioner, and approved 10 by the board of education or chancellor, in a school district in a city 11 of one million or more inhabitants, by such date as the commissioner may 12 establish. 13 4. Identification of schools for intensive support and assistance. If 14 based on the annual determination, pursuant to subdivision two of this 15 section, a school is among those in the state as determined by the 16 commissioner that would most benefit from intensive support and assist- 17 ance, the commissioner may designate the school for intensive support 18 and assistance. Each school identified under this subdivision shall 19 develop an improvement plan to address the identified academic perform- 20 ance and other measures. Such plan shall be developed in consultation 21 with a community engagement team appointed in accordance with subdivi- 22 sion thirteen of this section, in such form and in accordance with such 23 format as may be prescribed by the commissioner, and approved by the 24 board or education or chancellor, in a school district in a city of one 25 million or more inhabitants, by such date as the commissioner may estab- 26 lish. 27 5. Alignment of federal and state accountability requirements. To the 28 greatest extent practicable, the commissioner shall align the process 29 for identification of schools for additional support and assistance and 30 intensive support and assistance and the actions that are required to be 31 taken as a result of such identifications with the state's plan approved 32 by the United States secretary of education for meeting the requirements 33 of section one thousand one hundred eleven of the elementary and second- 34 ary education act of nineteen hundred sixty-five, as amended, and the 35 federal regulations implementing such statute. 36 6. Demonstrable improvement targets for selected intensive support and 37 assistance schools. The commissioner shall assign school demonstrable 38 improvement targets to a school that: 39 a. is determined by the commissioner to be farthest from state stand- 40 ards upon the school's initial identification for intensive support and 41 assistance. 42 b. has remained identified for intensive support and assistance for 43 three consecutive years. 44 7. Removal of schools from designation. The commissioner shall estab- 45 lish performance targets for schools identified as in need of additional 46 support and assistance pursuant to subdivision three of this section or 47 intensive support and assistance pursuant to subdivision four of this 48 section. Schools that achieve their performance targets shall be removed 49 from their designation. 50 8. Educational support specialist. a. If a school is unable to make 51 demonstrable improvement, as determined by the commissioner, the commis- 52 sioner may appoint an educational support specialist to provide support 53 and assistance to the school and district in implementing the school's 54 improvement plan. The educational support specialist shall have: 55 (i) either:S. 4493 3 1 (A) New York state certification as a school district administrator, 2 school district leader or a substantially equivalent certification, as 3 determined by the commissioner, issued by a jurisdiction outside the 4 state; or 5 (B) a doctorate in education, doctorate in philosophy in education or 6 other comparable advanced degree and a minimum of five years working 7 directly in low performing districts or dramatically raising the 8 achievement of high needs students in moderate to high performing 9 districts; 10 (ii) experience as a principal assistant superintendent, deputy super- 11 intendent, superintendent, or comparable administrator in a school 12 district, charter school, BOCES or a nonprofit educational organization 13 within the past three years or, where applicable, within the immediately 14 preceding three years from the date of appointment as an educational 15 support specialist; 16 (iii) demonstrated an ability to successfully work with at risk popu- 17 lations in closing achievement gaps; and 18 (iv) experience in school turnaround and sustaining the academic 19 success of at risk students. 20 b. The educational support specialist shall be neither a current 21 employee of the school district nor be permitted to do other compensated 22 work for the school district without the approval of the commissioner. 23 The educational support specialist shall be appointed by and serve at 24 the pleasure of the commissioner. The commissioner shall establish the 25 rate of compensation for the educational support specialist to be paid 26 by the school district. Such compensation may not exceed the salary of 27 the school district's superintendent except in extraordinary circum- 28 stances which shall be outlined by the commissioner to the board of 29 education. The educational support specialist shall be entitled to 30 defense and indemnification by the school district to the same extent as 31 a school district employee. The contract between the educational 32 support specialist and the school district shall be subject to approval 33 by the commissioner. 34 (i) The educational support specialist shall: 35 (A) Support and assist the school in implementing an improvement plan 36 for such school working with the district administration and the commu- 37 nity engagement team. 38 (B) Annually report to the board of education or chancellor, in a 39 school district in a city of one million or more inhabitants, and to the 40 commissioner on findings and recommendations regarding the school's 41 implementation of its improvement plan. Subject to the provisions of a 42 district's collective bargaining agreements, the educational support 43 specialist may recommend that the district take the following actions 44 regarding the school and provide a rationale for why these changes will 45 assist the school in meeting demonstrable improvement targets: 46 (1) expand, alter, or replace the curriculum and program offerings; 47 (2) replace principals and assistant principals who the educational 48 support specialist determines are unable or unwilling to implement the 49 school's improvement plan; 50 (3) increase the budget, subject to the availability of funds, or 51 reallocate the uses of the existing budget of the school; 52 (4) expand the school day, or school year, or both; 53 (5) for a school that offers first grade, add pre-kindergarten and 54 full-day kindergarten classes, if the school does not already have such 55 classes; andS. 4493 4 1 (6) expand, alter, or replace the professional development program for 2 school staff, with an emphasis on strategies that involve teacher input 3 and feedback. 4 (ii) Upon receipt of any recommendations from the educational support 5 specialist, the board of education, or chancellor, in a school district 6 in a city of one million or more inhabitants working with the community 7 engagement team, shall either take such actions as are necessary to 8 implement the recommendations or provide a written explanation to the 9 commissioner of its reasons for not implementing such recommendations. 10 No recommendations may be adopted by the school district that alters the 11 collective bargaining agreement without the approval of the affected 12 collective bargaining unit. The commissioner shall review the educa- 13 tional support specialist's report and either direct the district to 14 take the actions recommended by the educational support specialist and 15 any other actions that the commissioner deems appropriate or, if the 16 written explanation provided by the district has merit, as determined by 17 the commissioner, excusing the district from such recommendations. 18 9. Disagreement with preliminary determination. Prior to designating a 19 school as needing additional support and assistance pursuant to subdivi- 20 sion three of this section, intensive support and assistance pursuant to 21 subdivision four of this section, placing the school under registration 22 review pursuant to subdivision ten of this section, or making a determi- 23 nation that a school has been unable to make annual progress or demon- 24 strable improvement, the commissioner shall notify the district of their 25 preliminary determination and offer the district an opportunity to disa- 26 gree in writing before they make a final determination in regard to the 27 school. 28 10. Placement of schools under registration review. If, after three 29 school years from the commissioner assigning the school demonstrable 30 improvement targets, the commissioner determines that a school has been 31 unable to make demonstrable improvement, the commissioner shall place 32 the school's registration under review, unless the commissioner finds 33 there are extenuating or extraordinary circumstances that warrant 34 providing the school with more time to achieve such demonstrable 35 improvement targets. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this 36 section, the commissioner shall not place under registration review 37 schools within a special act school district as defined in subdivision 38 eight of section four thousand one of this chapter. 39 11. Public notification. a. Upon placing the registration of a school 40 under review pursuant to subdivision ten of this section, the commis- 41 sioner shall notify the board of education or chancellor, in a school 42 district in a city of one million or more inhabitants, that the school 43 has been placed under registration review, and that the school is at 44 risk of having its registration revoked. Upon receipt of such notifica- 45 tion, the board of education, or chancellor, in a school district in a 46 city of one million or more inhabitants, shall take appropriate action 47 to notify the general public and school community of the issuance of 48 such notification pursuant to commissioner's regulations and provide 49 information on the school district's plan to improve the school's 50 performance. 51 b. Each year that a school remains under registration review, the 52 school district shall offer parents an opportunity to enroll their chil- 53 dren in a different registered school operated by the school district in 54 which seats in the same grade as the child will attend the following 55 school year are available. Districts shall adopt such enrollment poli- 56 cies as are necessary to give priority to parents who wish to transferS. 4493 5 1 their child from a school that has been placed under registration 2 review. 3 12. Registration review team. Upon the placement of a school's regis- 4 tration under review pursuant to subdivision ten of this section, the 5 commissioner, after consultation with the school district, shall assign 6 a registration review team. The registration review team shall conduct 7 resource and program and planning audits and examine the quality of 8 curriculum, instructional plans, and teaching in the school, the learn- 9 ing opportunities and support services available to students, and the 10 organization and operations of the school. After such review the team 11 shall provide diagnostic recommendations for school improvement, which 12 may include administrative and operational improvements. The superinten- 13 dent shall consider the recommendation of the team for inclusion in the 14 school improvement plan. The superintendent shall provide annually a 15 report to the commissioner on the school's progress on the implementa- 16 tion of the improvement plan. 17 13. Community engagement team. Upon identification of a school for 18 additional support and assistance, intensive support and assistance or 19 designation of a school for registration review pursuant to subdivision 20 ten of this section, the district shall establish a community engagement 21 team, which shall include community stakeholders, including but not 22 limited to the school principal, parents and guardians, teachers and 23 other school staff and students. Membership of teachers and other 24 school staff on such team shall be based upon the recommendation of the 25 respective collective bargaining unit. Membership of such team may be 26 modified by the district at any time. Such team shall develop recommen- 27 dations for improvement of the school and shall solicit input through 28 public engagement. The community engagement team shall present its 29 recommendations periodically to the school leadership and, as applica- 30 ble, the educational support specialist. 31 14. Required actions resulting from schools placed under registration 32 review. The commissioner may require school board members to undergo 33 conflict resolution training and up to fifteen hours of professional 34 development annually to support the implementation of a school improve- 35 ment plan for any school that has been placed under registration review 36 pursuant to subdivision ten of this section. 37 15. Removal from registration review. Schools placed under registra- 38 tion review that make demonstrable improvement, as determined by the 39 commissioner, for two consecutive years, or that are removed from desig- 40 nation as intensive support and assistance schools, shall be removed 41 from registration review. 42 16. Inability to make demonstrable improvement while under registra- 43 tion review. a. If, after two full school years under registration 44 review, the commissioner determines that the school is unable to make 45 demonstrable improvement in meeting performance targets established by 46 the commissioner, the commissioner shall require the district to take 47 one of the following actions: 48 (i) Enter into a contract to have the school be managed by an educa- 49 tional partnership organization pursuant to section two hundred eleven-c 50 of this part; 51 (ii) Close or phase out the school in accordance with a plan, which 52 may include the opening of a replacement school, approved by the commis- 53 sioner. In the event that a school district seeks to open a school to 54 replace a closing or phasing out school, the commissioner may assign an 55 educational support specialist to oversee the opening of a new school. 56 The assignment of the educational support specialist may be continuedS. 4493 6 1 until the school has for two consecutive years met performance targets 2 established by the commissioner. 3 b. A school shall be removed from registration review status upon an 4 educational partnership organization, entering into a contract to oper- 5 ate the school pursuant to this subdivision but shall be designated as 6 an intensive support and assistance school and shall be given demonstra- 7 ble improvement targets. 8 c. The commissioner may provide schools more time to demonstrate 9 demonstrable improvement upon a finding that there are extraordinary or 10 extenuating circumstances that warrant such an extension, as the commis- 11 sioner determines. 12 17. Establishment of a community school. A community school model 13 shall be implemented in any school which is managed by an educational 14 partnership organization, pursuant to subdivision sixteen of this 15 section. 16 18. Revocation of registration. If a school district fails to take one 17 of the actions pursuant to paragraph a of subdivision sixteen of this 18 section, the commissioner may designate the school as an unacceptable 19 learning environment, revoke the registration of the school, and cause 20 the district to implement a plan for the education of the students who 21 attend such school. Before taking such action, the commissioner shall 22 offer the school district an opportunity to provide justification for 23 why the commissioner should not take such actions, in a timeframe 24 prescribed by the commissioner. No school district may operate a public 25 school whose registration has been revoked pursuant to this subdivision. 26 19. Collective bargaining agreements. Notwithstanding any other 27 provision of law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, all collective 28 bargaining agreements entered into after July first, two thousand twen- 29 ty-six shall be consistent with the requirements of this section, unless 30 the agreement relates to the two thousand twenty-five--two thousand 31 twenty-six school year only. Nothing in this section shall be construed 32 to abrogate any conflicting provisions of any collective bargaining 33 agreement in effect on July first, two thousand twenty-six during the 34 term of such agreement and until the entry into a successor collective 35 bargaining agreement, provided that notwithstanding any other provision 36 of law to the contrary, upon expiration of such term and the entry into 37 a successor collective bargaining agreement the provisions of this 38 section shall apply; provided however no school district shall adopt an 39 improvement plan in conflict with the district collective bargaining 40 agreement without receiving approval from the affected collective 41 bargaining unit. 42 20. Schools in receivership. All schools that were in receivership in 43 the two thousand twenty-five--two thousand twenty-six school year pursu- 44 ant to the former section two hundred eleven-f of this part and are 45 designated for intensive support and assistance in the two thousand 46 twenty-six--two thousand twenty-seven school year pursuant to subdivi- 47 sion four of this section shall be placed under registration review 48 pursuant to subdivision eight of this section. 49 21. Regulations. The commissioner shall promulgate regulations to 50 implement the provisions of this section. 51 § 2. Subdivision 3 of section 211-c of the education law, as added by 52 section 1 of part A of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007, is amended to 53 read as follows: 54 3. The commissioner may appoint a distinguished educator to a school 55 district[;S. 4493 7 1a.] when such district or a school within such district has failed to 2 achieve adequate yearly progress for four or more years[;3b. as a member of a joint school intervention team pursuant to para-4graph b of subdivision two of section two hundred eleven-b of this5part]. 6 § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding 7 the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the 8 addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary 9 for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized 10 to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
