Bill Text: NY S04538 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides schools the option to operate one hundred eighty days of instruction or the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-01-03 - REFERRED TO EDUCATION [S04538 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S04538-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4538 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 16, 2017 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HELMING -- (at request of the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when print- ed to be committed to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the required number of days school is in session and providing schools the option to operate one hundred eighty days of instruction or the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature finds and declares 2 that a number of schools nationwide have implemented a flexible school 3 week schedule while still maintaining the statutorily required amount of 4 instructional time. This type of flexibility has resulted in savings on 5 such items as energy, transportation and substitute teacher costs, along 6 with better attendance, less time lost to extracurricular activities, 7 more opportunities for teacher training and appointments, and longer 8 class periods for instructional time. Many of the districts in other 9 states which have already implemented flexible school schedules tend to 10 be smaller and rural with long transportation routes to and from 11 schools, and with no other option to save costs other than to close 12 schools or layoff staff. Given the fiscal crisis facing New York as well 13 as rising fuel, energy, and transportation costs, a flexible school week 14 schedule based on the equivalent hours of pupil instruction may offer 15 schools operational flexibility without jeopardizing the amount of 16 instructional time required by law. 17 New York state is without legal authority to operate less than one 18 hundred eighty days of instruction without forfeiting state aid. The 19 lack of operational flexibility in school districts, in particular 20 regard to instructional days, is a problem largely unaddressed in state 21 statute or regulation. A well-planned alternative school week schedule EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01534-01-7S. 4538 2 1 can be cost-effective, and can provide flexibility for those school 2 districts in fiscal crisis, while maintaining a quality education. 3 Therefore, the legislature finds that enactment of this legislation is 4 necessary and appropriate to make certain that school boards, after 5 thorough review and public comment, have the discretion and authority to 6 provide local school districts with operational flexibility to modify 7 the number of instructional days per year, while maintaining the quality 8 of education at the particular school or schools requesting a flexible 9 school week schedule. 10 § 2. Section 551 of the education law, as added by chapter 414 of the 11 laws of 1972, is amended to read as follows: 12 § 551. Apportionment. 1. In order to meet proper health, welfare and 13 safety standards in qualifying schools for the benefit of the pupils 14 enrolled therein, there shall be apportioned health, welfare and safety 15 grants by the commissioner to each qualifying school for the school 16 years beginning on and after July first, nineteen hundred seventy-one, 17 an amount equal to the product of thirty dollars multiplied by the aver- 18 age daily or equivalent hourly attendance of pupils receiving instruc- 19 tion in such school, to be applied for costs of maintenance and repair. 20 Such apportionment shall be increased by ten dollars multiplied by the 21 average daily or equivalent hourly attendance of pupils receiving 22 instruction in a school building constructed prior to nineteen hundred 23 forty-seven. In no event shall the per pupil annual allowance computed 24 under this section exceed fifty per centum of the average per pupil cost 25 of equivalent maintenance and repair in the public schools of the state 26 on a state-wide basis, as determined by the commissioner, and in no 27 event shall the apportionment to a qualifying school exceed the amount 28 of expenditures for maintenance and repair of such school as reported 29 pursuant to section five hundred fifty-two of this article. 30 2. The apportionment pursuant to this section shall be reduced by one 31 one hundred eightieth for each day less than one hundred eighty days 32 that such school was actually in total session in the base year, or a 33 school failing to comply with the equivalent number of hours of pupil 34 instruction shall forfeit from its apportionment an amount determined by 35 applying a ratio of the number of hours the school was in noncompliance 36 in relation to the required minimum equivalent number of hours of pupil 37 instruction, except that the commissioner may disregard such reduction 38 up to five days or the equivalent number of hours if he finds that the 39 school was not in session for one hundred eighty days or the equivalent 40 number of hours of pupil instruction because of extraordinary adverse 41 weather conditions, impairment of heating facilities, insufficiency of 42 water supply, shortage of fuel or the destruction of a school building, 43 and if the commissioner further finds that such school cannot make up 44 such days or the equivalent number of hours of instruction during the 45 school year. No such reduction shall be made, however, for any day on 46 which such school was in session for the purpose of administering the 47 regents examinations or the regents scholarship examinations, or any 48 day, not to exceed three days, or the equivalent number of hours when 49 such school was not in session because of a conference of teachers 50 called by the principal of the school. 51 § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 1704 of the education law, as amended by 52 chapter 543 of the laws of 1971, is amended to read as follows: 53 2. Except as otherwise provided by law, no board of education or 54 community board in the city school district of the city of New York 55 shall provide for a school year consisting of fewer than one hundredS. 4538 3 1 eighty days of school or the equivalent number of hours of pupil 2 instruction. 3 § 4. Paragraphs a and c of subdivision 2 of section 2117 of the educa- 4 tion law, as added by chapter 744 of the laws of 1952, are amended to 5 read as follows: 6 a. The whole time school has been maintained in their district during 7 the year ending on June thirtieth previous to the date of such report, 8 and stating what portion of the time such school has been taught by 9 qualified teachers, and the whole number of days, or the equivalent 10 number of hours of pupil instruction, including holidays, in which the 11 school was taught by qualified teachers. 12 c. The number of children taught in the district during such year by 13 qualified teachers, and the aggregate days' or equivalent hours' attend- 14 ance of all such children. 15 § 5. The first undesignated paragraph of section 3107 of the education 16 law, as amended by chapter 784 of the laws of 1961, is amended to read 17 as follows: 18 In cities having a population of one million or more, employees of the 19 board of education who are members of the New York city teachers' 20 retirement system shall be granted sick leave due to personal illness. 21 Such sick leave shall be on the basis of at least ten days for each year 22 of service, cumulative to a maximum of two hundred days. Members shall 23 upon application be granted a retirement leave of absence with full pay 24 consisting of one-half of their accumulated unused sick leave, up to a 25 maximum of one school term or the equivalent number of school days or 26 the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction. 27 § 6. Paragraph a of subdivision 4 of section 3204 of the education law 28 is amended to read as follows: 29 a. A full time day school or class, except as otherwise prescribed, 30 shall be in session for not less than one hundred ninety days each year, 31 or the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction, inclusive of 32 legal holidays that occur during the term of said school and exclusive 33 of Saturdays. 34 § 7. Paragraphs d, k and l of subdivision 1 of section 3602 of the 35 education law, as amended by section 11 of part B of chapter 57 of the 36 laws of 2007, are amended to read as follows: 37 d. "Average daily attendance" shall mean the total number of attend- 38 ance days or the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction of 39 pupils in a public school of a school district in kindergarten through 40 grade twelve, or equivalent ungraded programs, plus the total number of 41 instruction days or the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction 42 for such pupils receiving homebound instruction including pupils receiv- 43 ing instruction through a two-way telephone communication system, 44 divided by the number of days or equivalent hours the district school 45 was in session as provided in this section. The attendance of pupils 46 with disabilities attending under the provisions of paragraph c of 47 subdivision two of section forty-four hundred one of this chapter shall 48 be added to average daily or equivalent hourly attendance. 49 (1) Equivalent attendance shall mean the quotient of the total number 50 of student hours of instruction in programs in a public school of a 51 school district or a board of cooperative educational services leading 52 to a high school diploma or a high school equivalency diploma as defined 53 in regulations of the commissioner for pupils under the age of twenty- 54 one not on a regular day school register of the district, divided by one 55 thousand. Average daily or equivalent hourly attendance shall include 56 the equivalent attendance of the school district. For the purposes ofS. 4538 4 1 secondary school weighting, such equivalent attendance shall be consid- 2 ered as average daily or equivalent hourly attendance in grades seven 3 through twelve. 4 (2) In computing average daily or equivalent hourly attendance, school 5 districts may, with the commissioner's approval, exclude attendance for 6 those days or equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction, on which 7 school attendance was adversely affected because of an epidemic or 8 manmade or natural disaster or act of terrorism. In computing such 9 attendance, the school district shall: (i) determine the number of reli- 10 gious holidays which fall on a school day in which school is scheduled 11 to be in session within a school year according to regulations estab- 12 lished by the commissioner, such religious holidays to be duly recog- 13 nized as such for purposes of this section by duly adopted resolution of 14 the board of education; (ii) deduct the aggregate attendance on such 15 religious holidays from the total aggregate attendance, by grade level; 16 (iii) deduct such religious holidays from the total number of days or 17 equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction of session, by grade 18 level; and (iv) compute the average daily or equivalent hourly attend- 19 ance for the school year. 20 k. "Attendance ratio" shall mean the number computed to four decimals 21 without rounding when the aggregate days or equivalent hours attendance 22 is divided by the possible aggregate attendance of all pupils in attend- 23 ance in the district, as computed for each school district by the 24 commissioner by June first of the year following the attendance year. 25 l. "Average daily membership" shall mean the possible aggregate 26 attendance of all pupils in attendance in a public school of the school 27 district in kindergarten through grade twelve, or equivalent ungraded 28 programs, including possible aggregate attendance for such pupils 29 receiving homebound instruction, including pupils receiving instruction 30 through a two-way telephone communication system, with the possible 31 aggregate attendance of such pupils in one-half day kindergartens multi- 32 plied by one-half, divided by the number of days or equivalent number of 33 hours of pupil instruction the district school was in session as 34 provided in this section. The full time equivalent enrollment of pupils 35 with disabilities attending under the provisions of paragraph c of 36 subdivision two of section forty-four hundred one of this chapter shall 37 be added to average daily or equivalent hourly membership. Average 38 daily or equivalent hourly membership shall include the equivalent 39 attendance of the school district, as computed pursuant to paragraph d 40 of this subdivision. In any instance where a pupil is a resident of 41 another state or an Indian pupil is a resident of any portion of a 42 reservation located wholly or partly within the borders of the state 43 pursuant to subdivision four of section forty-one hundred one of this 44 chapter or a pupil is living on federally owned land or property, such 45 pupil's possible aggregate attendance shall be counted as part of the 46 possible aggregate attendance of the school district in which such pupil 47 is enrolled. 48 § 8. Paragraphs a and b of subdivision 2 of section 3602 of the educa- 49 tion law, as amended by section 13 of part B of chapter 57 of the laws 50 of 2007, are amended to read as follows: 51 a. Computation of resident weighted average daily or equivalent hourly 52 attendance. For purposes of this section weighted average daily or 53 equivalent hourly attendance of a school district for any school year 54 shall be computed as follows: 55 (1) Weighted average daily or equivalent hourly attendance shall be 56 determined by using the average daily or equivalent hourly attendance ofS. 4538 5 1 public school pupils in a full-day kindergarten and grades one through 2 six as the basic unit, with the attendance of such pupils in one-half 3 day kindergartens measured at one-half of such basic unit and the 4 attendance of such pupils in grades seven through twelve measured at one 5 and one-quarter of such basic unit. The sum of all such units of 6 attendance shall be the weighted average daily or equivalent hourly 7 attendance. 8 (2) In computing such attendance, the school district shall (i) deter- 9 mine the number of religious holidays which fall on a school day in 10 which school is scheduled to be in session within a school year accord- 11 ing to regulations established by the commissioner, such religious holi- 12 days to be duly recognized as such for purposes of this section by duly 13 adopted resolution of the board of education; (ii) deduct the aggregate 14 attendance on such religious holidays from the total aggregate attend- 15 ance, by grade level; (iii) deduct such religious holidays from the 16 total number of days or equivalent number of hours of session, by grade 17 level; (iv) compute the weighted average daily or equivalent hourly 18 attendance for the school year. 19 (3) In any instance where a pupil is a resident of another state or an 20 Indian pupil is a resident of any portion of a reservation located whol- 21 ly or partly within the borders of the state pursuant to subdivision 22 four of section forty-one hundred one of this chapter or a pupil is 23 living on federally owned land or property, such pupil's attendance 24 shall be counted as part of the weighted average daily or equivalent 25 hourly attendance of the school district in which such pupil is 26 enrolled. 27 (4) Resident weighted average daily or equivalent hourly attendance 28 for purposes of determining the aid ratio of a school district for any 29 school year shall be the weighted average daily or equivalent hourly 30 attendance for the school year immediately preceding the base year, less 31 the weighted average daily or equivalent hourly attendance of nonresi- 32 dent pupils attending public schools in the district for such school 33 year, plus the weighted average daily or equivalent hourly attendance of 34 pupils resident in the district but attending public schools in another 35 district or state plus the weighted average daily or equivalent hourly 36 attendance of pupils resident in the district but attending full-time a 37 school operated by a board of cooperative educational services or a 38 county vocational education and extension board for such school year. 39 The attendance of nonresident pupils attending public school in the 40 district and resident pupils attending such schools outside of the 41 district shall be determined by applying to the number of such pupils 42 registered during the school year in each case the ratio of aggregate 43 days or equivalent hours attendance to the possible aggregate days or 44 equivalent hours attendance of all pupils in attendance in the district. 45 Indian pupils of a reservation attending public school, or pupils living 46 on the United States military reservation at West Point attending public 47 school, shall be deemed to be resident pupils of the district providing 48 such school, for purposes of this paragraph. Where a school district has 49 entered into a contract with the state university pursuant to subdivi- 50 sion two of section three hundred fifty-five of this chapter under which 51 the school district makes payments in the nature of tuition for the 52 education of certain children residing in the district, such children 53 for whom such tuition payments are made shall be deemed to be resident 54 pupils of such district for the purposes of this paragraph. 55 (5) In determining the resident weighted average daily or equivalent 56 hourly attendance of a component school district of a central highS. 4538 6 1 school district for computing the aid ratio the weighted average daily 2 or equivalent hourly attendance of high school pupils residing in such 3 component district and attending the central high school shall be 4 included. The resident weighted average daily or equivalent hourly 5 attendance of a central high school district itself shall be the sum of 6 the resident weighted average daily or equivalent hourly attendance of 7 each component school district computed as provided in the first 8 sentence of this paragraph. 9 (6) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraphs four and five of 10 this paragraph, when a school district shall experience an increase in 11 resident weighted average daily or equivalent hourly attendance during 12 the current year because of the closing in whole, or in part, of a non- 13 public school or a campus school, or a school previously operated by the 14 United States government on the United States military reservation at 15 West Point, the commissioner, in computing any aid ratio of such 16 district, shall permit the use of such additional resident weighted 17 average daily or equivalent hourly attendance for aid ratio purposes 18 during the current year and the next succeeding year, provided that such 19 additional resident weighted average daily or equivalent hourly attend- 20 ance attributable to such closing, or part thereof, shall be in excess 21 of one hundred students; provided, however, that such district which 22 qualifies for an increase in total wealth pupil units pursuant to para- 23 graph f of this subdivision, shall use the increase in resident weighted 24 average daily or equivalent hourly attendance, even if such increase in 25 resident weighted average daily or equivalent hourly attendance is less 26 than one hundred. 27 b. Computation of adjusted average daily or equivalent hourly attend- 28 ance. For purposes of this section adjusted average daily or equivalent 29 hourly attendance of a school district for any school year shall be 30 computed as follows: 31 (1) Adjusted average daily or equivalent hourly attendance shall be 32 determined by using the average daily or equivalent hourly attendance of 33 public school pupils in a full-day kindergarten and grades one through 34 twelve as the basic unit, with the attendance of such pupils in one-half 35 day kindergartens measured at one-half of such basic unit. The sum of 36 all such units of attendance shall be the adjusted average daily or 37 equivalent hourly attendance. 38 (2) In computing such attendance, the school district shall (i) deter- 39 mine the number of religious holidays which fall on a school day in 40 which school is scheduled to be in session within a school year accord- 41 ing to regulations established by the commissioner, such religious holi- 42 days to be duly recognized as such for purposes of this section by duly 43 adopted resolution of the board of education; (ii) deduct the aggregate 44 attendance on such religious holidays from the total aggregate attend- 45 ance, by grade level; (iii) deduct such religious holidays from the 46 total number of days or equivalent number of hours of session, by grade 47 level; (iv) compute the adjusted average daily or equivalent hourly 48 attendance for the school year. 49 (3) In any instance where a pupil is a resident of another state or an 50 Indian pupil is a resident of any portion of a reservation located whol- 51 ly or partly within the borders of the state pursuant to subdivision 52 four of section forty-one hundred one of this chapter or a pupil is 53 living on federally owned land or property, such pupil's attendance 54 shall be counted as part of the adjusted average daily attendance of the 55 school district in which such pupil is enrolled.S. 4538 7 1 § 9. Paragraph e of subdivision 1 of section 3602-c of the education 2 law, as amended by chapter 740 of the laws of 1982, is amended to read 3 as follows: 4 e. "Average daily attendance" shall mean the total number of attend- 5 ance days or the equivalent number of hours of pupils receiving services 6 divided by the number of days or equivalent hours the public school was 7 in session for each attendance period. For each such attendance period 8 the total number of attendance days or equivalent number of hours for 9 each such pupil shall be determined by multiplying the number of days or 10 equivalent hours on which each such pupil was in attendance by the ratio 11 obtained by dividing the number of class periods of each such pupil by 12 the total number of class periods, not to exceed five, operated by the 13 public school during the school day. Only pupils residing in this state 14 shall be included in such computation. 15 § 10. Paragraph m of subdivision 12 and subdivision 16 of section 16 3602-e of the education law, paragraph m of subdivision 12 as amended by 17 section 19 of part B of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007 and subdivision 18 16 as amended by section 18 of part A of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, 19 are amended to read as follows: 20 m. a process for the waiver of the time requirements established 21 pursuant to this subdivision in order to authorize the operation of a 22 summer universal prekindergarten program limited to the months of July 23 and August, upon a finding by the commissioner that the school district 24 is unable to operate the program during the regular school session 25 because of a lack of available space pursuant to regulations of the 26 commissioner. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the 27 contrary, such process shall provide for a reduction of the aid per 28 prekindergarten pupil payable for pupils served pursuant to such waiver 29 by one one-hundred eightieth of the aid per prekindergarten pupil deter- 30 mined pursuant to paragraph a of subdivision ten [or subparagraph (i) of31paragraph b of subdivision ten-a] of this section for each day or equiv- 32 alent hour less than one hundred eighty days or the equivalent number of 33 hours that the summer program is in session. 34 16. The grant payable to a school district pursuant to this section in 35 the current year shall be reduced by one one-hundred eightieth for each 36 day less than one hundred eighty days that the universal prekindergarten 37 classes of the district were actually in session, or a district failing 38 to comply with the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction shall 39 forfeit from its total state aid allocation an amount determined by 40 applying a ratio of the number of hours the district was in noncompli- 41 ance in relation to the required minimum equivalent number of hours of 42 pupil instruction, except that the commissioner may disregard such 43 reduction for any deficiency that may be disregarded in computing total 44 foundation aid pursuant to subdivision seven or eight of section thir- 45 ty-six hundred four of this [chapter] part and in addition may disregard 46 a reduction for any deficiency that is caused by a delay in the opening 47 of public school classes due to extraordinarily adverse weather condi- 48 tions or other cause cited in such subdivision seven of section thirty- 49 six hundred four that results in cancellation of the prekindergarten 50 program or of transportation to such program. 51 § 11. Subdivisions 7 and 8 of section 3604 of the education law, 52 subdivision 7 as amended by section 3 of part B of chapter 54 of the 53 laws of 2016 and subdivision 8 as amended by chapter 260 of the laws of 54 2012, are amended and five new subdivisions 7-c, 7-d, 7-e, 7-f and 7-g 55 are added to read as follows:S. 4538 8 1 7. No district shall be entitled to any portion of such school moneys 2 on such apportionment unless the report of the trustees or board of 3 education for the preceding school year shall show that the public 4 schools were actually in session in the district and taught by a quali- 5 fied teacher or by successive qualified teachers or by qualified teach- 6 ers for not less than one hundred eighty days or the equivalent number 7 of hours of pupil instruction. The moneys payable to a school district 8 pursuant to section thirty-six hundred nine-a of this [chapter] part in 9 the current year shall be reduced by one one-hundred eightieth of the 10 district's total foundation aid for each day less than one hundred 11 eighty days that the schools of the district were actually in session, 12 or a district failing to comply with the equivalent number of hours of 13 pupil instruction shall forfeit from its total state aid allocation an 14 amount determined by applying a ratio of the number of hours the 15 district was in noncompliance in relation to the required minimum equiv- 16 alent number of hours of pupil instruction, except that the commissioner 17 may disregard such reduction, up to five days, or the equivalent number 18 of hours in the apportionment of public money, if he finds that the 19 schools of the district were not in session for one hundred eighty days 20 or the equivalent number of hours because of extraordinarily adverse 21 weather conditions, impairment of heating facilities, insufficiency of 22 water supply, shortage of fuel, lack of electricity, natural gas leak- 23 age, unacceptable levels of chemical substances, a credible threat to 24 student safety as reasonably determined by a lead school official, or 25 the destruction of a school building either in whole or in part, and if, 26 further, the commissioner finds that such district cannot make up such 27 days or equivalent hours of instruction by using for the secondary 28 grades all scheduled vacation days which occur prior to the first sched- 29 uled regents examination day in June, and for the elementary grades all 30 scheduled vacation days which occur prior to the last scheduled regents 31 examination day in June. For the purposes of this subdivision, "sched- 32 uled vacation days" shall mean days on which the schools of the district 33 are not in session and for which no prohibition exists in subdivision 34 eight of this section for them to be in session. 35 7-c. For the purposes of this section, "one hundred eighty days" means 36 one hundred eighty days of instruction or the equivalent number of hours 37 of pupil instruction per school year based on a different number of days 38 of instruction approved by the school district governing board or char- 39 ter school governing body. 40 7-d. The local school board, in its discretion, may authorize some or 41 all of its schools to modify the number of instructional days per year 42 after thorough review and public comment. Before authorizing some or 43 all of its schools to modify the number of instructional days per year, 44 the school board, shall within its review, include, but not be limited 45 to, consideration of the following: 46 a. how the school or schools will maintain a quality education; 47 b. the reason for the request; 48 c. the educational benefit to pupils; 49 d. ways to negotiate the changes with the collective bargaining unit 50 representing the employees affected by the changes; 51 e. input from employees affected by the changes but not represented by 52 a collective bargaining agreement; 53 f. the impact of an alternative school week schedule on primary grade 54 pupils; andS. 4538 9 1 g. the impact of an alternative school week schedule on working 2 parents who may be required to find child care services for their school 3 age children due to the shortened school week. 4 7-e. After review, but not limited to the considerations set forth in 5 subdivision seven-d of this section, a school board shall conduct at 6 least one public hearing, to gather public input, and to provide at 7 least thirty days notice to the public prior to such hearing. The 8 school board may authorize some or all of its schools to modify the 9 number of instructional days per year provided the total number of hours 10 of instruction per year is no less than the minimum number of instruc- 11 tional hours per year established by the commissioner's regulations for 12 that particular group of pupils. Subject to a policy developed and 13 adopted by the board of any school district, the board may provide for a 14 school term consisting of school hours. 15 7-f. A district failing to comply with the required minimum hours of 16 pupil instruction per year as established by the commissioner's regu- 17 lations, shall forfeit from its total state aid allocation an amount 18 determined by applying a ratio of the number of hours the district was 19 in noncompliance in relation to the required minimum number of hours as 20 established by the commissioner. Not later than August first, the board 21 of each district shall certify to the department the number of hours of 22 pupil instruction in the previous school year. If the district did not 23 provide at least the required minimum number of hours of pupil instruc- 24 tion as established by the commissioner, the deduction of state aid 25 shall be made in the following fiscal year from the first payment of 26 state school aid. 27 7-g. The commissioner shall promulgate regulations establishing the 28 minimum number of hours of pupil instruction per year. 29 8. No school shall be in session on a Saturday or a legal holiday, 30 except general election day, Washington's birthday and Lincoln's birth- 31 day, and except that driver education classes may be conducted on a 32 Saturday. A deficiency not exceeding four days or the equivalent number 33 of hours during any school year caused by teachers' attendance upon 34 conferences held by superintendents of schools of city school districts 35 or other school districts employing superintendents of schools shall be 36 excused by the commissioner, notwithstanding any provision of law, rule 37 or regulation to the contrary, a school district may elect to schedule 38 such conference days or the equivalent number of hours in the last two 39 weeks of August, subject to collective bargaining requirements pursuant 40 to article fourteen of the civil service law, and such days or the 41 equivalent number of hours shall be counted towards the required one 42 hundred eighty days of session, provided however, that such scheduling 43 shall not alter the obligation of the school district to provide trans- 44 portation to students in non-public elementary and secondary schools or 45 charter schools. The commissioner shall excuse a deficiency not exceed- 46 ing four days or the equivalent number of hours during such school year 47 caused by teachers' attendance upon conferences held by such superinten- 48 dents, provided that at least two such conference days or the equivalent 49 number of hours during such school year shall be dedicated to staff 50 attendance upon conferences providing staff development relating to 51 implementation of the new high learning standards and assessments, as 52 adopted by the board of regents. Notwithstanding any other provision of 53 law, rule or regulation to the contrary, school districts may elect to 54 use one or more of such allowable conference days or the equivalent 55 number of hours in units of not less than one hour each to provide staff 56 development activities relating to implementation of the new high learn-S. 4538 10 1 ing standards and assessments. A district making such election may 2 provide such staff development during the regularly scheduled daily or 3 equivalent hourly session and apply such units to satisfy a deficiency 4 in the length of one or more daily or equivalent hourly sessions of 5 instruction for pupils as specified in regulations of the commissioner. 6 The commissioner shall assure that such conference days or the equiv- 7 alent number of hours include appropriate school violence prevention and 8 intervention training, and may require that up to one such conference 9 day or the equivalent number of hours be dedicated for such purpose. 10 § 12. Subdivision 2-a of section 3635 of the education law, as amended 11 by chapter 424 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows: 12 2-a. The superintendent of each city school district, in a city having 13 a population in excess of one million, shall prepare a public school 14 calendar and shall notify officials of nonpublic schools to which trans- 15 portation has been requested not later than the first day of June in 16 each year, of the days on which the public schools [will] are scheduled 17 to be in session in the following school year. Such school district 18 which provides transportation to nonpublic schools shall provide such 19 transportation for the same number of days as the public schools are 20 open but shall not provide transportation services for more than one 21 hundred eighty days. Officials of each nonpublic school to which trans- 22 portation is provided by a city school district of a city having a popu- 23 lation in excess of one million may notify such district, not later than 24 the first day of July of each school year, of a maximum of five days, 25 exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays or legal holidays upon which public 26 schools are required to be closed, on which the public schools are sche- 27 duled to be closed, except that in any year in which the first or last 28 day of Passover and Easter Sunday are separated by more than seven days, 29 such officials may notify the district of a maximum of ten days, but 30 such school district will be required to provide for transportation to 31 such nonpublic school provided that such five or ten additional days, 32 whichever is applicable, are limited to the following: the Tuesday, 33 Wednesday, Thursday and Friday after Labor Day, Rosh Hashanah, Yom 34 Kippur, the week in which public schools are closed for spring recess, 35 December twenty-fourth and the week between Christmas day and New Year's 36 day, the Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday after the observance of 37 Washington's birthday, and, in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens only, 38 Anniversary Day as designated in section twenty-five hundred eighty-six 39 of this chapter. 40 § 13. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding 41 the date on which it shall have become a law.
