Bill Text: NY S07600 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to expanding access to advanced courses to improve educational equity beginning with notification to parents and students on the benefits and opportunities offered as well as automatic enrollment opportunities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-29 - REFERRED TO EDUCATION [S07600 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S07600-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7600 IN SENATE January 29, 2020 ___________ Introduced by Sen. LIU -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to expanding access to advanced courses to improve educational equity The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 817 to 2 read as follows: 3 § 817. Expanding access to advanced courses to improve educational 4 equity. 1. Definitions. As used in this section the following terms 5 shall have the following meanings: 6 a. "Advanced course" means as follows: (i) in middle school, any 7 course that leads to a high school level regents examination or any 8 honors, gifted, or accelerated course; and (ii) in high school, any 9 honors, gifted, accelerated, advanced placement, international baccalau- 10 reate, or dual or concurrent enrollment course or program. 11 b. "Early college and career experiences" means dual or concurrent 12 enrollment courses and programs, work-based learning opportunities, 13 apprenticeships, and courses or examinations for which a student may 14 earn college credit or an industry-recognized certification. 15 c. "Educational agency" means a school district or public elementary 16 or secondary school. 17 d. "Parent" means a parent, legal guardian, or person in parental 18 relation to a student. 19 2. Providing transparency and support for parents and students. a. 20 Starting with the two thousand twenty--two thousand twenty-one school 21 year, each educational agency shall annually provide notification to 22 parents and students of the benefits and the opportunities within the 23 educational agency of participating in advanced courses and other early 24 college and career experiences. 25 b. For students in grades five through six, such notification shall 26 include: 27 (i) a clear and understandable description of the middle and high 28 school courses students should take in order to be prepared for entry EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD14615-02-0S. 7600 2 1 and success in college, the workforce, and active citizenship, including 2 but not limited to advanced courses; 3 (ii) language advising students and parents of the benefits of partic- 4 ipating in advanced courses and other early college and career experi- 5 ences; and 6 (iii) a description of the advanced courses offered by the school 7 district in middle and high school and how to prepare for and enroll in 8 them. 9 c. For students preparing to enter grades seven through twelve, such 10 notification shall occur by January first of each school year or two 11 weeks before registration for classes for the upcoming school year, 12 whichever is earlier, and shall include: 13 (i) a clear and understandable description of the courses students 14 should take in the applicable grade span in order to be prepared for 15 entry and success in college, the workforce, and active citizenship, 16 including but not limited to advanced courses; 17 (ii) language advising students and parents of the benefits of partic- 18 ipating in advanced courses and other early college and career experi- 19 ences; 20 (iii) a description of the advanced courses and early college and 21 career experiences to be offered by the school and school district in 22 the following school year; and 23 (iv) a description of the academic and non-academic support the school 24 and school district provide to help students succeed in advanced cours- 25 es, as well as any financial assistance available to reduce or eliminate 26 any costs associated with participation in advanced courses, including 27 but not limited to related fees, supplies, and assessments. 28 d. Notification under this subdivision shall be provided in no fewer 29 than the five most commonly spoken languages in the educational agency, 30 provided that, if an educational agency has a policy to provide informa- 31 tion in more than five languages, the educational agency shall adhere to 32 such policy. 33 e. Notification under this subdivision shall be provided electron- 34 ically or by mail and be posted on the educational agency's website. 35 f. The department shall develop model notification templates for use 36 by educational agencies and shall translate such model notifications 37 into no fewer than the ten most commonly spoken languages in the state. 38 3. Automatic enrollment in advanced courses. a. Starting with the two 39 thousand twenty-one--two thousand twenty-two school year, each school 40 district shall adopt a policy providing for automatic enrollment in 41 advanced coursework. Such policy shall automatically enroll any student 42 entering grades seven through twelve who demonstrates readiness as 43 provided in this subdivision in the next level of advanced course 44 offered by the educational agency. Such policy shall include automatic 45 enrollment in advanced courses in English language arts, math, and 46 science, and may include any additional subjects as determined by the 47 educational agency. 48 b. Students shall be able to demonstrate readiness using one of multi- 49 ple measures on a list promulgated by the commissioner specifying such 50 measures. Such list shall include, but shall not be limited to, scoring 51 proficient or advanced on a statewide assessment, and shall include 52 other measures, applied to all students enrolled in the educational 53 agency, that, in the judgment of the educational agency, is an indicator 54 that a student demonstrates the ability to succeed in an advanced 55 course.S. 7600 3 1 c. The educational agency shall notify students and parents that the 2 student has demonstrated readiness for one or more advanced courses 3 pursuant to paragraph b of this subdivision. 4 d. If the number of students eligible for automatic enrollment in 5 advanced courses exceed the available number of seats in such courses, 6 the educational agency may include additional eligibility criteria for 7 students to participate in advanced courses, provided that the criteria 8 does not result in inequities or disparities in access to advanced 9 courses or programs. 10 e. An educational agency shall permit a parent of a student to remove 11 the student from an advanced course in which the student has been auto- 12 matically enrolled and to exempt the student from any automatic enroll- 13 ment in advanced courses. 14 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
