Bill Text: NY S08503 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Relates to admission to a special high school in the city of New York.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-06-06 - PRINT NUMBER 8503A [S08503 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S08503-Amended.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         8503--A
                    IN SENATE
                                       May 9, 2018
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Education  --  committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee
        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;
    22    § 2. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 2590-h of the education
    23  law, as amended by chapter 720 of the laws of 1996, is amended  to  read
    24  as follows:
    25    (b)  all  specialized [senior] high schools. The [special] specialized
    26  high schools shall include the [present] schools known as[:]
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00247-05-8

        S. 8503--A                          2
     1    The Bronx High School of Science,  Stuyvesant  High  School,  Brooklyn
     2  Technical  High  School, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music [and
     3  the Arts in the borough of Manhattan] & Art  and  Performing  Arts,  and
     4  such  [further]  additional schools [which the city board may designate]
     5  as  may be designated by the chancellor from time to time. The [special]
     6  specialized high schools shall be  permitted  to  maintain  a  discovery
     7  program  in  accordance with the law in effect on the date preceding the
     8  effective date of this section; provided that  the  requirement  that  a
     9  student  who  is  considered for the discovery program attend and pass a
    10  preparatory program administered by the specialized high school,  demon-
    11  strating  thereby  his  or  her  ability  to  successfully cope with the
    12  specialized high school program, shall refer to a program that can  take
    13  place  during the school year or the summer; admissions to the [special]
    14  specialized high schools shall be conducted in accordance with [the  law
    15  in  effect  on  the  date  preceding the effective date of this] section
    16  twenty-five hundred ninety-h-1 of this article;
    17    § 3. The education law is amended by adding a new section 2590-h-1  to
    18  read as follows:
    19    § 2590-h-1. Admissions to the specialized high schools.  1. Admissions
    20  to  the  specialized  high schools shall be conducted in accordance with
    21  this section, provided  that  students  may  also  be  admitted  to  the
    22  specialized  high  schools  for  the two thousand nineteen--two thousand
    23  twenty and the two thousand twenty--two thousand twenty-one school years
    24  pursuant to the discovery program as set forth  in  section  twenty-five
    25  hundred ninety-h of this article.
    26    2.  For the admissions process conducted during the two thousand eigh-
    27  teen--two thousand nineteen school year to determine admissions  to  the
    28  specialized  high  schools  for  the two thousand nineteen--two thousand
    29  twenty school year, students who meet the criteria  set  forth  in  this
    30  subdivision  shall  be offered admission to the specialized high schools
    31  in the following order:
    32    (a) students attending public schools located in the city of New  York
    33  who  are in the top three percent of their eighth grade class, as calcu-
    34  lated based on multiple measures  of  student  achievement  pursuant  to
    35  subdivision  five  of  this  section,  and who achieve a composite score
    36  above or at the cut-off composite score for  the  school  such  students
    37  have  committed  themselves  to  attend, pursuant to subdivision five of
    38  this section, provided that such students shall also  rank  in  the  top
    39  quarter  of public school students in the eighth grade citywide based on
    40  such multiple measures of student achievement, and provided further that
    41  openings shall be reserved for such students at  each  specialized  high
    42  school as set forth in subdivision seven of this section;
    43    (b) students in the city of New York who take a competitive, objective
    44  and scholastic achievement examination in the eighth grade and achieve a
    45  score  above or at the cut-off score for the openings that remain in the
    46  school for which such students have taken the examination; and
    47    (c) students in the city of New York who take a competitive, objective
    48  and scholastic examination in the ninth grade and achieve a score  above
    49  or  at  the cut-off score for the openings that remain in the school for
    50  which such students have taken the examination.
    51    3. For the admissions process conducted during the two thousand  nine-
    52  teen--two  thousand  twenty  school  year to determine admissions to the
    53  specialized high schools for the two thousand twenty--two thousand twen-
    54  ty-one school year, students who meet the criteria  set  forth  in  this
    55  subdivision  shall  be offered admission to the specialized high schools
    56  in the following order:

        S. 8503--A                          3
     1    (a) students attending public schools located in the city of New  York
     2  who  are  in the top five percent of their eighth grade class, as calcu-
     3  lated based on multiple measures  of  student  achievement  pursuant  to
     4  subdivision  five  of  this  section,  and who achieve a composite score
     5  above  or  at  the  cut-off composite score for the school such students
     6  have committed themselves to attend pursuant to subdivision five of this
     7  section, provided that such students shall also rank in the top  quarter
     8  of  public  school  students  in the eighth grade citywide based on such
     9  multiple measures of student  achievement,  and  provided  further  that
    10  openings  shall  be  reserved for such students at each specialized high
    11  school as set forth in subdivision seven of this section;
    12    (b) students in the city of New York who take a competitive, objective
    13  and scholastic achievement examination in the eighth grade and achieve a
    14  score above or at the cut-off score for the openings that remain in  the
    15  school for which such students have taken the examination; and
    16    (c) students in the city of New York who take a competitive, objective
    17  and  scholastic examination in the ninth grade and achieve a score above
    18  or at the cut-off score for the openings that remain in the  school  for
    19  which such students have taken the examination.
    20    4.  For the admissions process conducted during the two thousand twen-
    21  ty--two thousand twenty-one school year and subsequent school  years  to
    22  determine  admissions  to the specialized high schools for the two thou-
    23  sand twenty-one--two thousand  twenty-two  school  year  and  subsequent
    24  school  years, students who meet the criteria set forth in this subdivi-
    25  sion shall be offered admission to the specialized high schools  in  the
    26  following order:
    27    (a)  students attending public schools located in the city of New York
    28  who are in the top five to seven percent of their  eighth  grade  class,
    29  such  percentage to be determined to allow openings to remain for admis-
    30  sion pursuant to paragraph (b) of this  subdivision  and  as  calculated
    31  based  on  multiple  measures  of student achievement, determined as set
    32  forth in subdivision five of this section, and who achieve  a  composite
    33  score  above  or  at  the  cut-off  composite  score for the school such
    34  students have committed themselves to attend, determined as set forth in
    35  subdivision five of this section, provided that such students shall also
    36  rank in the top quarter of public school students in  the  eighth  grade
    37  citywide  based  on  such  multiple measures of student achievement, and
    38  provided further that openings shall be reserved for  such  students  at
    39  each  specialized  high school as set forth in subdivision seven of this
    40  section; and
    41    (b) students in the city of New York who have a  minimum  grade  point
    42  average  of  3.7,  provided  such students shall be admitted by a random
    43  selection process for the openings that remain in each school.
    44    5. The chancellor shall determine the  multiple  measures  of  student
    45  achievement  as  referenced in this section, and the weight of each such
    46  measure, provided that  such  measures  shall  include  academic  course
    47  grades  and standardized test scores. A description of such measures and
    48  the weight accorded to each shall be made publicly available,  including
    49  on  the  website of the city school district. A student who is evaluated
    50  based on such measures for the purposes of  this  subdivision  shall  be
    51  assigned  a  composite  score based on such weighted measures. Offers of
    52  admission to the specialized high schools pursuant to paragraph  (a)  of
    53  subdivisions  two  through  four  of this section shall be determined by
    54  arranging the composite scores of all students  who  are  assigned  such
    55  scores and who then commit themselves to attend a particular specialized
    56  high school in descending order from the highest score and counting down

        S. 8503--A                          4
     1  to  the  cut-off  composite score, which shall be the composite score of
     2  the last student who receives an offer of admission to such school based
     3  on the number of openings available in  such  school  pursuant  to  such
     4  paragraph.
     5    6.  Offers  of  admission  to the specialized high schools pursuant to
     6  paragraphs (b) and (c) of subdivisions two and  three  of  this  section
     7  shall  be  determined  by arranging the scores of all the candidates who
     8  took the competitive, objective and scholastic examination and who  then
     9  commit  themselves  to  attend  a  particular specialized high school in
    10  descending order from the highest score and counting down to the cut-off
    11  score, which shall be the score of the last candidate  who  receives  an
    12  offer of admission to such school based on the number of openings avail-
    13  able in such school.
    14    7. The number of openings reserved at each specialized high school for
    15  students  who  meet  the criteria set forth in paragraph (a) of subdivi-
    16  sions two through four of this section shall be determined by  multiply-
    17  ing:  (a)  the  total  number  of ninth grade available openings at such
    18  school; by (b) the number of students who meet the criteria set forth in
    19  paragraph (a) of subdivisions two through four of this  section  divided
    20  by  the  aggregate  number  of ninth grade available openings in all the
    21  specialized high schools.
    22    8. Notwithstanding any provision to the  contrary,  admission  to  the
    23  Fiorello  H.   LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts,
    24  and other schools of the  arts  that  may  be  established  pursuant  to
    25  section  twenty-five  hundred  ninety-h of this article, shall be deter-
    26  mined by a student's demonstrated abilities in music or the arts as well
    27  as such student's scholastic achievement.
    28    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided,  however,  that
    29  the  amendments  to  paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 2590-h of
    30  the education law made by section one of this act shall  be  subject  to
    31  the  expiration and reversion of such section pursuant to subdivision 12
    32  of section 17 of chapter 345 of the laws of 2009, as amended  when  upon
    33  such date the provisions of section two of this act shall take effect.
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