Bill Text: NY A03711 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
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) 2024-01-03 - referred to education [A03711 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A03711-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ S. 4281 A. 3711 2023-2024 Regular Sessions SENATE - ASSEMBLY February 7, 2023 ___________ IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. WEBER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. BRABENEC -- read once and referred 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 60 to read as follows: 5 60. 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. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07532-01-3S. 4281 2 A. 3711 1 § 3. Section 912 of the education law, as amended by chapter 477 of 2 the laws of 2004, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 912. Health and welfare services to all children. [The voters and/or4trustees or board of education of every school district shall, upon5request of the authorities of a school other than public, provide] 6 Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, resident 7 children who attend [such] a nonpublic school shall be provided with 8 [any or all of the] the same health and welfare services and facilities 9 which are made available by [such] the voters and/or trustees or board 10 of education to or for children attending the public schools of the 11 district. Such services may include, but are not limited to all services 12 performed by a physician, physician assistant, dentist, dental hygien- 13 ist, registered professional nurse, nurse practitioner, school psychol- 14 ogist, school social worker or school speech therapist, and may also 15 include dental prophylaxis, vision and hearing screening examinations, 16 the taking of medical histories and the administration of health screen- 17 ing tests, the maintenance of cumulative health records and the adminis- 18 tration of emergency care programs for ill or injured students. Any such 19 services or facilities shall be so provided notwithstanding any 20 provision of any charter or other provision of law inconsistent here- 21 with. [Where children residing in one school district attend a school22other than public located in another school district, the school author-23ities of the district of residence shall contract with the school24authorities of the district where such nonpublic school is located, for25the provision of such health and welfare services and facilities to such26children by the school district where such nonpublic school is located,27for a consideration to be agreed upon between the school authorities of28such districts, subject to the approval of the qualified voters of the29district of residence when required under the provisions of this chap-30ter. Every such contract shall be in writing and in the form prescribed31by the commissioner, and before such contract is executed the same shall32be submitted for approval to the superintendent of schools having juris-33diction over such district of residence and such contract shall not34become effective until approved by such superintendent.] All costs asso- 35 ciated with this section shall be borne by the state. 36 § 4. Subdivision 3 of section 701 of the education law, as amended by 37 chapter 391 of the laws of 1989, is amended to read as follows: 38 3. In the several cities and school districts of the state, boards of 39 education, trustees or such body or officers as perform the function of 40 such boards shall have the power and duty to purchase [and to loan upon41individual request,] textbooks, to all children residing in such 42 district who are enrolled in a public school including children attend- 43 ing the public schools of the district for whom the district is eligible 44 to receive reimbursement pursuant to paragraph a of subdivision eight of 45 section thirty-two hundred two of this chapter, provided, however, that 46 such children shall not be counted by any other school district[, and to47all children residing in such district who are enrolled in a nonpublic48school. Textbooks loaned to children enrolled in said nonpublic schools49shall be textbooks which are designated for use in any public schools of50the state or are approved by any boards of education, trustees or other51school authorities. Such textbooks are to be loaned free to such chil-52dren subject to such rules and regulations as are or may be prescribed53by the board of regents and such boards of education, trustees or other54school authorities. Enrollment shall be as defined in subdivision one of55section thirty-six hundred two of this chapter].S. 4281 3 A. 3711 1 § 5. Subdivision 4 of section 701 of the education law, as amended by 2 chapter 82 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows: 3 4. No school district shall be required to purchase or otherwise 4 acquire textbooks, the cost of which shall exceed an amount equal to the 5 apportionment pursuant to subdivision six of this section plus a minimum 6 lottery grant determined pursuant to subdivision four of section nine- 7 ty-two-c of the state finance law multiplied by the number of children 8 residing in such district and so enrolled in the base year[; and no9school district shall be required to loan textbooks in excess of the10textbooks owned or acquired by such district; provided, however that all11textbooks owned or acquired by such district shall be loaned to children12residing in the district and so enrolled in public and nonpublic schools13on an equitable basis]. 14 § 6. Subdivision 8 of section 701 of the education law is REPEALED and 15 a new subdivision 8 is added to read as follows: 16 8. 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 textbooks that are made available to children 19 attending the public school of where such nonpublic school is located. 20 All costs associated with this subdivision shall be borne by the state 21 in a similar apportionment pursuant to subdivision four of this section. 22 § 7. Subdivision 3 of section 751 of the education law, as amended by 23 section 4 of part A of chapter 436 of the laws of 1997, is amended to 24 read as follows: 25 3. No school district shall be required to purchase or otherwise 26 acquire software programs, the cost of which shall exceed an amount 27 equal to the software factor multiplied by the sum of the public school 28 district enrollment [and the nonpublic school enrollment] in the base 29 year as defined in subparagraphs two and three of paragraph n of subdi- 30 vision one of section thirty-six hundred two of this chapter. 31 § 8. Subdivision 4 of section 751 of the education law, as amended by 32 section 3 of part H of chapter 83 of the laws of 2002, is amended to 33 read as follows: 34 4. The commissioner, in addition to the annual apportionment of public 35 monies pursuant to other articles of this chapter, shall apportion to 36 each school district an amount equal to the cost of the software 37 programs purchased by the district pursuant to this section in the base 38 year, but in no case shall the aid apportioned to the district exceed 39 the product of the software factor and the sum of public school district 40 enrollment, [nonpublic school enrollment,] and additional public enroll- 41 ment as defined in subparagraphs two, three, and six of paragraph n of 42 subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred two of this chapter. 43 § 9. Subdivision 1 of section 752 of the education law is REPEALED and 44 a new subdivision 1 is added to read as follows: 45 1. Children attending a nonpublic school shall be provided by the 46 nonpublic school with the same computer software that is made available 47 to children attending the public school of where such nonpublic school 48 is located. All costs associated with this subdivision shall be borne by 49 the state in a similar apportionment pursuant to subdivision four of 50 section seven hundred fifty-one of this article. 51 § 10. Subdivision 1 of section 753 of the education law, as amended by 52 section 4 of part A-1 of chapter 58 of the laws of 2011, is amended to 53 read as follows: 54 1. In addition to any other apportionment under this chapter, a school 55 district shall be eligible for an apportionment under the provisions of 56 this section for approved expenses for (i) the purchase or lease ofS. 4281 4 A. 3711 1 micro and/or mini computer equipment or terminals for instructional 2 purposes or (ii) technology equipment, as defined in paragraph c of 3 subdivision two of this section, used for instructional purposes, or 4 (iii) for the repair of such equipment and training and staff develop- 5 ment for instructional purposes as provided hereinafter, or (iv) for 6 expenses incurred on or after July first, two thousand eleven, any items 7 of expenditure that are eligible for an apportionment pursuant to 8 sections seven hundred one, seven hundred eleven and/or seven hundred 9 fifty-one of this title, where such items are designated by the school 10 district as eligible for aid pursuant to this section, provided, howev- 11 er, that if aided pursuant to this section, such expenses shall not be 12 aidable pursuant to any other section of law. Such aid shall be provided 13 pursuant to a plan developed by the district which demonstrates to the 14 satisfaction of the commissioner that the instructional computer hard- 15 ware needs of the district's public school students have been adequately 16 met [and that the school district has provided for the loan of instruc-17tional computer hardware to students legally attending nonpublic schools18pursuant to section seven hundred fifty-four of this article]. The 19 apportionment shall equal the lesser of such approved expense in the 20 base year or, the product of (i) the technology factor, (ii) the sum of 21 the public school district enrollment [and the nonpublic school enroll-22ment] in the base year as defined in subparagraphs two and three of 23 paragraph n of subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred two of this 24 chapter, and (iii) the building aid ratio, as defined in subdivision 25 four of section thirty-six hundred two of this chapter. For aid payable 26 in the two thousand seven--two thousand eight school year and thereaft- 27 er, the technology factor shall be twenty-four dollars and twenty cents. 28 A school district may use up to twenty percent of the product of (i) the 29 technology factor, (ii) the sum of the public school district enrollment 30 [and the nonpublic school enrollment] in the base year as defined in 31 subparagraphs two and three of paragraph n of subdivision one of section 32 thirty-six hundred two of this chapter, and (iii) the building aid ratio 33 for the repair of instructional computer hardware and technology equip- 34 ment and training and staff development for instructional purposes 35 pursuant to a plan submitted to the commissioner. 36 § 11. Subdivision 1 of section 754 of the education law is REPEALED 37 and a new subdivision 1 is added to read as follows: 38 1. Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, chil- 39 dren attending a nonpublic school shall be provided by the nonpublic 40 school with the same computer hardware that is made available to chil- 41 dren attending the public school of where such nonpublic school is 42 located as provided by section seven hundred fifty-three of this arti- 43 cle. All costs associated with this subdivision shall be borne by the 44 state in a similar apportionment pursuant to subdivision four of section 45 seven hundred fifty-three of this article. 46 § 12. Section 755 of the education law is REPEALED. 47 § 13. Subdivision 3 of section 711 of the education law, as amended by 48 section 7 of part B of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007, is amended to 49 read as follows: 50 3. No school district shall be required to purchase or otherwise 51 acquire school library materials, the cost of which shall exceed an 52 amount equal to the library materials factor multiplied by the sum of 53 the public school district enrollment [and the nonpublic school enroll-54ment] in the base year as defined in subparagraphs two and three of 55 paragraph n of subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred two of this 56 chapter. For aid payable in the nineteen hundred ninety-eight--nineteenS. 4281 5 A. 3711 1 hundred ninety-nine school year, the library materials factor shall be 2 four dollars. For aid payable in the two thousand seven--two thousand 3 eight school year and thereafter, the library materials factor shall be 4 six dollars and twenty-five cents. 5 § 14. Subdivision 4 of section 711 of the education law, as amended by 6 section 4 of part C of chapter 58 of the laws of 1998, is amended to 7 read as follows: 8 4. Commencing July first, nineteen hundred [ninety eight] 9 ninety-eight, the commissioner, in addition to the annual apportionment 10 of public monies pursuant to other articles of this chapter, shall 11 apportion to each school district an amount equal to the cost of the 12 school library materials purchased by the district pursuant to this 13 section in the base year, but in no case shall the aid apportioned to 14 the district exceed the product of the library materials factor and the 15 sum of public school district enrollment, [nonpublic school enrollment,] 16 and additional public enrollment as defined in subparagraphs two, three, 17 and six of paragraph n of subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred 18 two of this chapter. Aid payable pursuant to this section shall be 19 deemed final and not subject to change after April thirtieth of the 20 school year for which payment was due. 21 § 15. Section 711 of the education law is amended by adding a new 22 subdivision 5 to read as follows: 23 5. Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, chil- 24 dren attending a nonpublic school shall be provided by the nonpublic 25 school with the same school library materials that is made available to 26 children attending the public school of where such nonpublic school is 27 located. All costs associated with this subdivision shall be borne by 28 the state in a similar apportionment pursuant to subdivisions three and 29 four of this section. 30 § 16. Section 712 of the education law is REPEALED. 31 § 17. Paragraph b of subdivision 1 of section 3635 of the education 32 law is REPEALED. 33 § 18. Subdivision 2-a of section 3635 of the education law is 34 REPEALED. 35 § 19. Section 3635 of the education law is amended by adding a new 36 subdivision 9 to read as follows: 37 9. Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, chil- 38 dren attending a nonpublic school shall be provided by the nonpublic 39 school with the same sufficient transportation services that are made 40 available to children attending the public school of where such nonpub- 41 lic school is located. All costs associated with this subdivision shall 42 be borne by the state in a similar apportionment pursuant to subdivision 43 seven of section thirty-six hundred two of this article. 44 § 20. The section heading, subdivision 1, paragraphs a and d of subdi- 45 vision 2, subdivisions 3, 4, 6 and 10 of section 3602-c of the education 46 law, the section heading and subdivisions 3 and 6 as added by chapter 47 593 of the laws of 1974, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 740 of the 48 laws of 1982, paragraphs a and d of subdivision 1 and subdivision 4 as 49 amended by chapter 474 of the laws of 2004, paragraph c of subdivision 1 50 as amended by chapter 301 of the laws of 1996, paragraph f of subdivi- 51 sion 1 as added by chapter 378 of the laws of 2007, paragraphs a and d 52 of subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 378 of the laws of 2007, and 53 subdivision 10 as added by chapter 352 of the laws of 2005, are amended 54 to read as follows: 55 Apportionment of moneys to [school districts] nonpublic schools for 56 the provision of services to pupils attending nonpublic schools partic-S. 4281 6 A. 3711 1 ipating in specialized educational services. 1. Definitions. [As] 2 Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, as used in 3 this section the following terms are defined as follows: 4 a. "Services" shall mean instruction in the areas of gifted pupils, 5 career education and education for students with disabilities, and coun- 6 seling, psychological and social work services related to such instruc- 7 tion provided during the regular school year for pupils enrolled in a 8 nonpublic school [located in a school district, provided that such9instruction is given to pupils enrolled in the public schools of such10district]. 11 b. "Gifted pupils" shall mean those pupils who show evidence of high 12 performance capability and exceptional potential in areas such as gener- 13 al intellectual ability, special academic aptitude, and outstanding 14 ability in visual and performing arts. Such definition shall include 15 those children who require educational programs or services beyond those 16 normally provided by the regular school program in order to realize 17 their full potential. 18 c. "Career education" shall mean training or retraining designed to 19 prepare individuals [who are entitled to attend the public schools of20the state] without the payment of tuition pursuant to section thirty-two 21 hundred two of [the education law] this chapter for gainful employment 22 as semi-skilled or skilled workers or technicians or subprofessionals in 23 recognized occupations and in new or emerging occupations or to prepare 24 pupils for enrollment in advanced technical education programs, but 25 excluding any program to prepare pupils for employment in occupations 26 which generally are considered professional or which require a baccalau- 27 reate or higher degree; such training generally being grouped within the 28 occupational fields of agriculture, business, distributive, health, home 29 economics related, trade and technical education. 30 d. "Education for students with disabilities" shall mean special 31 educational programs designed to serve persons who meet the definition 32 of children with disabilities set forth in subdivision one of section 33 forty-four hundred one of this chapter. 34 e. "Average daily attendance" shall mean the total number of attend- 35 ance days of pupils receiving services divided by the number of days the 36 [public school] nonpublic school was in session for each attendance 37 period. For each such attendance period the total number of attendance 38 days for each such pupil shall be determined by multiplying the number 39 of days on which each such pupil was in attendance by the ratio obtained 40 by dividing the number of class periods of each such pupil by the total 41 number of class periods, not to exceed five, operated by the public 42 school during the school day. Only pupils residing in this state shall 43 be included in such computation. 44 f. "School district of location" means the school district in which 45 the nonpublic elementary or secondary school attended by the student is 46 located. 47 a. [Boards of education of all school districts of] Notwithstanding 48 any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, every certified nonpublic 49 school in the state shall furnish services to students who are residents 50 of this state and who attend nonpublic schools [located in such school51districts], upon the written request of the parent or person in parental 52 relation of any such student. Such a request for career education or 53 services to gifted students shall be filed with the [board of education54of the school district] nonpublic school in which the parent or person 55 in parental relation of the student resides on or before the first day 56 of June preceding the school year for which the request is made. In theS. 4281 7 A. 3711 1 case of education for students with disabilities, such a request shall 2 be filed with the [trustees or board of education of the school district3of location] nonpublic school on or before the first of June preceding 4 the school year for which the request is made, or by July first, two 5 thousand seven for the two thousand seven--two thousand eight school 6 year only, provided that where a student is first identified as a 7 student with a disability after the first day of June preceding the 8 school year for which the request is made, or thirty days after the 9 chapter of the laws of two thousand seven which amended this paragraph, 10 takes effect where applicable, and prior to the first day of April of 11 such current school year, such request shall be submitted within thirty 12 days after such student is first identified. For students first identi- 13 fied after March first of the current school year, any such request for 14 education for students with disabilities in the current school year that 15 is submitted on or after April first of such current school year, shall 16 be deemed a timely request for such services in the following school 17 year. 18 [d. In the case of career education and education of gifted students,19the school district of residence shall contract with the school district20in which the nonpublic school attended by the pupil is located, for the21provision of services pursuant to this section.] 22 3. [Boards of education] Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation 23 to the contrary, nonpublic schools, with the consent of the commissioner 24 of education, are authorized to [contract with] establish programs simi- 25 lar to boards of cooperative educational services to provide the 26 services required by this act. [Pupils receiving services under the27provisions of this subdivision shall be deemed public school pupils for28the purpose of determining aid pursuant to section nineteen hundred29fifty of the education law.] Any such pupil who attends a program 30 offered by a board of cooperative educational services, and who does not 31 attend classes in the schools of the district furnishing services, shall 32 not be included in computing average daily attendance in such district. 33 4. [Boards of education] Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation 34 to the contrary, nonpublic schools shall provide transportation for 35 pupils receiving gifted or career education [between] provided by the 36 nonpublic school [attended by such pupils and the public school where37such services are provided if the distance between the nonpublic school38and the public school exceeds one-fourth of a mile, except that; boards39of education shall provide transportation for pupils receiving education40for students with disabilities under the provisions of this section in41accordance with the needs of each such pupil]; and state aid for all 42 such transportation shall be paid as though such transportation were 43 furnished pursuant to the provisions of article eighty-nine of this 44 chapter, except that such aid shall be paid at the rate of [ninety] one 45 hundred percent of the actual cost of such transportation. 46 6. [Boards of education] Nonpublic schools are authorized to determine 47 by resolution which courses of instruction shall be offered, the eligi- 48 bility of pupils to participate in specific courses, and the admission 49 of pupils. All pupils in like circumstances shall be treated similarly. 50 10. State and local funds provided by the district of residence pursu- 51 ant to this section shall supplement and in no case shall supplant the 52 proportionate amount of federal funds required to be expended by the 53 [school district in which the] nonpublic school attended by the student 54 is located pursuant to the individuals with disabilities education act. 55 § 21. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 56 the amendments to paragraph f of subdivision 1, paragraphs a and d ofS. 4281 8 A. 3711 1 subdivision 2 and subdivision 10 of section 3602-c of the education law 2 made by section twenty of this act shall not affect the repeal of such 3 paragraphs and subdivisions, respectively, and shall be deemed repealed 4 therewith.
