STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2173
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 22, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BARRON, BLAKE, DAVILA, PERRY, SIMON, STECK, COOK,
PICHARDO, TAYLOR, RIVERA, PRETLOW, DE LA ROSA, TITUS, DICKENS, WRIGHT,
VANEL, BICHOTTE, JOYNER, SOLAGES, ARROYO, WOERNER, THIELE, FERNANDEZ,
MOSLEY, GOTTFRIED, EPSTEIN, WILLIAMS -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to admission to the
specialized high schools in the city of New York
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 2590-h of the
2 education law, as amended by chapter 345 of the laws of 2009, is amended
3 to read as follows:
4 (b) all specialized [senior] high schools. The [special] specialized
5 high schools shall include the [present] schools known as[:]
6 The Bronx High School of Science, Stuyvesant High School, Brooklyn
7 Technical High School, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music [and
8 the Arts in the borough of Manhattan] & Art and Performing Arts, and
9 such [further] additional schools [which the city board may designate]
10 as may be designated by the chancellor from time to time. The [special]
11 specialized high schools shall be permitted to maintain a discovery
12 program in accordance with the law in effect on the date preceding the
13 effective date of this section; provided that the requirement that a
14 student who is considered for the discovery program attend and pass a
15 preparatory program administered by the specialized high school, demon-
16 strating thereby his or her ability to successfully cope with the
17 specialized high school program, shall refer to a program that can take
18 place during the school year or the summer; admissions to the [special]
19 specialized high schools shall be conducted in accordance with [the law
20 in effect on the date preceding the effective date of this] section
21 twenty-five hundred ninety-h-l of this article;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00037-01-9
A. 2173 2
1 § 2. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 2590-h of the education
2 law, as amended by chapter 720 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read
3 as follows:
4 (b) all specialized [senior] high schools. The [special] specialized
5 high schools shall include the [present] schools known as[:]
6 The Bronx High School of Science, Stuyvesant High School, Brooklyn
7 Technical High School, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music [and
8 the Arts in the borough of Manhattan] & Art and Performing Arts, and
9 such [further] additional schools [which the city board may designate]
10 as may be designated by the chancellor from time to time. The [special]
11 specialized high schools shall be permitted to maintain a discovery
12 program in accordance with the law in effect on the date preceding the
13 effective date of this section; provided that the requirement that a
14 student who is considered for the discovery program attend and pass a
15 preparatory program administered by the specialized high school, demon-
16 strating thereby his or her ability to successfully cope with the
17 specialized high school program, shall refer to a program that can take
18 place during the school year or the summer; admissions to the [special]
19 specialized high schools shall be conducted in accordance with [the law
20 in effect on the date preceding the effective date of this] section
21 twenty-five hundred ninety-h-1 of this article;
22 § 3. The education law is amended by adding a new section 2590-h-1 to
23 read as follows:
24 § 2590-h-1. Admissions to the specialized high schools. 1. Admissions
25 to the specialized high schools shall be conducted in accordance with
26 this section, provided that students may also be admitted to the
27 specialized high schools for the two thousand twenty--two thousand twen-
28 ty-one and the two thousand twenty-one--two thousand twenty-two school
29 years pursuant to the discovery program as set forth in section twenty-
30 five hundred ninety-h of this article.
31 2. For the admissions process conducted during the two thousand nine-
32 teen--two thousand twenty school year to determine admissions to the
33 specialized high schools for the two thousand twenty--two thousand twen-
34 ty-one school year, students who meet the criteria set forth in this
35 subdivision shall be offered admission to the specialized high schools
36 in the following order:
37 (a) students attending public schools located in the city of New York
38 who are in the top three percent of their eighth grade class, as calcu-
39 lated based on multiple measures of student achievement pursuant to
40 subdivision five of this section, and who achieve a composite score
41 above or at the cut-off composite score for the school such students
42 have committed themselves to attend, pursuant to subdivision five of
43 this section, provided that such students shall also rank in the top
44 quarter of public school students in the eighth grade citywide based on
45 such multiple measures of student achievement, and provided further that
46 openings shall be reserved for such students at each specialized high
47 school as set forth in subdivision seven of this section;
48 (b) students in the city of New York who take a competitive, objective
49 and scholastic achievement examination in the eighth grade and achieve a
50 score above or at the cut-off score for the openings that remain in the
51 school for which such students have taken the examination; and
52 (c) students in the city of New York who take a competitive, objective
53 and scholastic examination in the ninth grade and achieve a score above
54 or at the cut-off score for the openings that remain in the school for
55 which such students have taken the examination.
A. 2173 3
1 3. For the admissions process conducted during the two thousand twen-
2 ty--two thousand twenty-one school year to determine admissions to the
3 specialized high schools for the two thousand twenty-one--two thousand
4 twenty-two school year, students who meet the criteria set forth in this
5 subdivision shall be offered admission to the specialized high schools
6 in the following order:
7 (a) students attending public schools located in the city of New York
8 who are in the top five percent of their eighth grade class, as calcu-
9 lated based on multiple measures of student achievement pursuant to
10 subdivision five of this section, and who achieve a composite score
11 above or at the cut-off composite score for the school such students
12 have committed themselves to attend pursuant to subdivision five of this
13 section, provided that such students shall also rank in the top quarter
14 of public school students in the eighth grade citywide based on such
15 multiple measures of student achievement, and provided further that
16 openings shall be reserved for such students at each specialized high
17 school as set forth in subdivision seven of this section;
18 (b) students in the city of New York who take a competitive, objective
19 and scholastic achievement examination in the eighth grade and achieve a
20 score above or at the cut-off score for the openings that remain in the
21 school for which such students have taken the examination; and
22 (c) students in the city of New York who take a competitive, objective
23 and scholastic examination in the ninth grade and achieve a score above
24 or at the cut-off score for the openings that remain in the school for
25 which such students have taken the examination.
26 4. For the admissions process conducted during the two thousand twen-
27 ty-one--two thousand twenty-two school year and subsequent school years
28 to determine admissions to the specialized high schools for the two
29 thousand twenty-two--two thousand twenty-three school year and subse-
30 quent school years, students who meet the criteria set forth in this
31 subdivision shall be offered admission to the specialized high schools
32 in the following order:
33 (a) students attending public schools located in the city of New York
34 who are in the top five to seven percent of their eighth grade class,
35 such percentage to be determined to allow openings to remain for admis-
36 sion pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision and as calculated
37 based on multiple measures of student achievement, determined as set
38 forth in subdivision five of this section, and who achieve a composite
39 score above or at the cut-off composite score for the school such
40 students have committed themselves to attend, determined as set forth in
41 subdivision five of this section, provided that such students shall also
42 rank in the top quarter of public school students in the eighth grade
43 citywide based on such multiple measures of student achievement, and
44 provided further that openings shall be reserved for such students at
45 each specialized high school as set forth in subdivision seven of this
46 section; and
47 (b) students in the city of New York who have a minimum grade point
48 average of 3.7, provided such students shall be admitted by a random
49 selection process for the openings that remain in each school.
50 5. The chancellor shall determine the multiple measures of student
51 achievement as referenced in this section, and the weight of each such
52 measure, provided that such measures shall include academic course
53 grades and standardized test scores. A description of such measures and
54 the weight accorded to each shall be made publicly available, including
55 on the website of the city school district. A student who is evaluated
56 based on such measures for the purposes of this subdivision shall be
A. 2173 4
1 assigned a composite score based on such weighted measures. Offers of
2 admission to the specialized high schools pursuant to paragraph (a) of
3 subdivisions two through four of this section shall be determined by
4 arranging the composite scores of all students who are assigned such
5 scores and who then commit themselves to attend a particular specialized
6 high school in descending order from the highest score and counting down
7 to the cut-off composite score, which shall be the composite score of
8 the last student who receives an offer of admission to such school based
9 on the number of openings available in such school pursuant to such
10 paragraph.
11 6. Offers of admission to the specialized high schools pursuant to
12 paragraphs (b) and (c) of subdivisions two and three of this section
13 shall be determined by arranging the scores of all the candidates who
14 took the competitive, objective and scholastic examination and who then
15 commit themselves to attend a particular specialized high school in
16 descending order from the highest score and counting down to the cut-off
17 score, which shall be the score of the last candidate who receives an
18 offer of admission to such school based on the number of openings avail-
19 able in such school.
20 7. The number of openings reserved at each specialized high school for
21 students who meet the criteria set forth in paragraph (a) of subdivi-
22 sions two through four of this section shall be determined by multiply-
23 ing: (a) the total number of ninth grade available openings at such
24 school; by (b) the number of students who meet the criteria set forth in
25 paragraph (a) of subdivisions two through four of this section divided
26 by the aggregate number of ninth grade available openings in all the
27 specialized high schools.
28 8. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, admission to the
29 Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts,
30 and other schools of the arts that may be established pursuant to
31 section twenty-five hundred ninety-h of this article, shall be deter-
32 mined by a student's demonstrated abilities in music or the arts as well
33 as such student's scholastic achievement.
34 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
35 the amendments to paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 2590-h of
36 the education law made by section one of this act shall be subject to
37 the expiration and reversion of such section pursuant to subdivision 12
38 of section 17 of chapter 345 of the laws of 2009, as amended when upon
39 such date the provisions of section two of this act shall take effect.