Bill Text: NY S08407 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Enacts the Educational Rights Transparency for New York Families Act, to establish standards for resource based educational rights of students within the state and implement a system of self assessment and reporting by schools and school districts.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-05-22 - REFERRED TO EDUCATION [S08407 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S08407-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8407

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 22, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  BAILEY -- 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  enacting  the  Educa-
          tional Rights Transparency for New York Families Act

          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 Rights Transparency for New York Families Act".
     3    §  2.  The education law is amended by adding a new article 67 to read
     4  as follows:
     5                                 ARTICLE 67
     6          EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS TRANSPARENCY FOR NEW YORK FAMILIES ACT

     7  Section 3350. Short title.
     8          3351. Standards for resource related educational rights.
     9          3352. Reporting by school employees and school boards.
    10          3353. Educational rights publication for parents and students.
    11    § 3350. Short title. This article shall be known and may be  cited  as
    12  the "Educational Rights Transparency for New York Families Act".
    13    § 3351. Standards for resource related educational rights. The commis-
    14  sioner  shall  promulgate  rules  and  regulations regarding a student's
    15  resource related educational rights, including but not limited to target
    16  goals and definitions for:
    17    (a) sufficient numbers of qualified teachers,  principals,  and  other
    18  personnel;
    19    (b) suitable and up-to-date curricula;
    20    (c)  support for students who are not meeting, or at risk of not meet-
    21  ing, any state learning standards in a core academic subject,  including
    22  English language arts, math, science and social studies;
    23    (d) adequate resources for students with disabilities and English-lan-
    24  guage learners;
    25    (e) appropriate class sizes;
    26    (f)  sufficient and up-to-date books, supplies, libraries, educational
    27  technology, and laboratories;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10149-01-9
        S. 8407                             2

     1    (g) a safe and orderly environment; and
     2    (h) adequate and accessible school buildings.
     3    § 3352. Reporting by school employees and school boards. 1.  Beginning
     4  in  the  two  thousand  twenty--two thousand twenty-one school year, the
     5  board of education or trustees, as defined in section two of this  chap-
     6  ter,  of every school district within the state, however created and the
     7  chancellor of the city school district of the city  of  New  York  shall
     8  establish  a  program  engaging teachers, support staff, parents and, at
     9  the high school level, student leaders in an annual school  level  self-
    10  assessment  of  each  school's  ability to follow and meet the rules and
    11  regulations promulgated pursuant to section thirty-three hundred  fifty-
    12  one  of  this  article. The department shall develop and issue, policies
    13  and procedures for such annual assessment.
    14    2. (a) The board of education or trustees of each school district,  or
    15  the  chancellor  of the city school district of the city of New York, as
    16  applicable, shall examine any data and make inspections to validate  the
    17  findings  of the annual school level assessments made pursuant to subdi-
    18  vision one of this section. Such examination shall include an  audit  of
    19  the  adequacy  of  a  district's  own resources and capacity to meet the
    20  needs of each school located in such district  in  regard  to  complying
    21  with  the  rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to section thirty-
    22  three hundred fifty-one of this article.
    23    (b) The findings of such examination shall be compiled into  a  report
    24  which shall be filed with the department and posted conspicuously on the
    25  website  for  the  department  and each school district. In the event an
    26  examination finds resource gaps at the school or  district  level,  such
    27  report  shall  additionally  include  proposed remedies both that can be
    28  carried out with the district's available resources and  an  explanation
    29  of resource gaps that may be remedied through additional state aid.
    30    3. (a) A school employee shall, no more than sixty days after learning
    31  of  a  school's noncompliance with the rules and regulations promulgated
    32  pursuant to section thirty-three  hundred  fifty-one  of  this  article,
    33  either through the annual assessment process pursuant to subdivision one
    34  of  this  section  or  at any other time, document such noncompliance in
    35  writing and file a report with the board of  education  or  trustees  of
    36  such  school  district  or the chancellor of the city school district of
    37  the city of New York, as applicable.
    38    (b) Within thirty days of receiving a report of noncompliance pursuant
    39  to paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the board of education or trustees
    40  of such school district or the chancellor of the city school district of
    41  the city of New York, as applicable, shall ensure that:
    42    (i) written notification is issued to the parent or  guardian  of  any
    43  student  affected by such noncompliance. Such written notification shall
    44  be provided in English and translated  as  necessary  into  the  primary
    45  language of such parent or guardian; and
    46    (ii) the board of education or trustees of such school district or the
    47  chancellor  of  the  city  school  district  of the city of New York, as
    48  applicable, submits the findings of noncompliance  to  the  department's
    49  office of accountability.
    50    4.  The  department shall review, store and organize all noncompliance
    51  reports submitted pursuant to subdivisions two and three of this section
    52  in a publicly accessible database.
    53    5. The department's office of accountability shall develop  and  issue
    54  recommendations to a board of education or trustees of a school district
    55  or  the  chancellor of the city school district of the city of New York,
    56  as applicable, of a  noncompliant  school  to  bring  such  school  into
        S. 8407                             3

     1  compliance  with  the  rules  and  regulations  promulgated  pursuant to
     2  section thirty-three hundred fifty-one of this article.
     3    §  3353.  Educational  rights publication for parents and students. 1.
     4  The department shall promulgate a parent and student  friendly  publica-
     5  tion detailing the resource related educational rights of students with-
     6  in  the  state.  Such  publication shall include, but is not limited to,
     7  information regarding a student's right to:
     8    (a) sufficient numbers of qualified teachers,  principals,  and  other
     9  personnel;
    10    (b) suitable and up-to-date curricula;
    11    (c)  support for students who are not meeting, or at risk of not meet-
    12  ing, any state learning standards in a core academic subject,  including
    13  English language arts, math, science and social studies;
    14    (d) adequate resources for students with disabilities and English-lan-
    15  guage learners;
    16    (e) appropriate class sizes;
    17    (f)  sufficient and up-to-date books, supplies, libraries, educational
    18  technology, and laboratories;
    19    (g) a safe and orderly environment; and
    20    (h) adequate and accessible school buildings.
    21    Such publication shall additionally include  a  phone  number  and  an
    22  email  address to the appropriate department office to accommodate ques-
    23  tions or complaints from parents  or  guardians  of  students  regarding
    24  resource related educational rights.
    25    2.  The  department shall conspicuously post and maintain the publica-
    26  tion required pursuant to subdivision one of this section on the website
    27  of the department and require that  every  school  district  within  the
    28  state  do  the same on their respective sites. The department shall also
    29  require every school district within the state to provide  a  parent  or
    30  guardian of a student in such district with a hard copy of such publica-
    31  tion  upon  the initial release of the publication, at the start of each
    32  academic year, to a parent or guardian of a student when such student is
    33  enrolled in a new school and to a parent or guardian upon the request of
    34  such parent or guardian. Such publication shall  be  made  available  in
    35  English  and the nine most common languages other than English spoken by
    36  parents or guardians of New York state school children as determined  by
    37  the department.
    38    §  3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2020. Effective immediately,
    39  the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or  regulation  neces-
    40  sary  for  the  implementation  of  this  act  on its effective date are
    41  authorized and directed to be made  and  completed  on  or  before  such
    42  effective date.