Creates the parent empowerment pilot program which permits the parents of pupils attending a persistently lowest-achieving school to choose an education intervention model.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7569--C
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 10, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PEOPLES-STOKES, GANTT -- read once and referred
to the Committee on Education -- committee discharged, bill amended,
ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee --
recommitted to the Committee on Education in accordance with Assembly
Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- again
reported from said committee with amendments, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to permitting the parents
of students attending a persistently lowest-achieving school to choose
an education intervention model; and providing for the repeal of such
provisions upon expiration thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby finds that the
2 current state of our education system in New York state is not providing
3 all its students with access to the best possible education, thus inhib-
4 iting their ability to become fully participating members of society.
5 New York state was recently ranked 35th in the country in their progress
6 on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, otherwise referred
7 to as the Nation's Report Card, a national test instituted every other
8 year to students in every state. The gaps in achievement between
9 students based on race and geographic location are staggering and unac-
10 ceptable. In 2011, White students in New York state were almost twice as
11 likely as their African-American and Hispanic counterparts to meet basic
12 standards in reading and writing. According to the state education
13 department, in 2011 only 47% of public high school students in the city
14 of Buffalo and the city of Rochester graduated, a reduction from a 53%
15 graduation rate in 2009.
16 Although there have been steps taken on the state level to correct and
17 reverse these alarming trends and gaps in achievement, the speed with
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11084-11-2
A. 7569--C 2
1 which they are implemented is insufficient, and the varying needs of
2 districts cannot be met by one universal approach. The legislature
3 believes that to ensure the successful rehabilitation of our lowest
4 performing schools, we must engage and encourage the involvement of the
5 parents in the process. Allowing parents to assert control over how
6 persistently lowest achieving schools are revitalized will instill a
7 sense of ownership over the approach implemented, and help ensure their
8 continued involvement in the process. When considering how to best
9 address their individual situation, parents will have to become organ-
10 ized and informed about the different challenges the school faces.
11 Parental involvement is the only aspect of education reform that the
12 state and the local educational authorities have little to no control
13 over, yet it is a requirement for many programs and grants designed to
14 assist in these much needed reforms.
15 Therefore, this legislation will provide a pilot program that allows
16 parents, in a portion the state identified as having persistently lowest
17 achieving schools, to collectively come together and provide direction
18 on how to correct and ensure the adequate education of their children.
19 § 2. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as the
20 "parent empowerment pilot program".
21 § 3. The education law is amended by adding a new section 3613 to read
22 as follows:
23 § 3613. Parent empowerment pilot program. 1. For the purposes of this
24 section, the following terms shall mean:
25 a. "Persistently lowest-achieving school" means a public school that
26 has failed to make annual year progress for four years in a row or more
27 as identified by the commissioner.
28 b. "Intervention model" means federal education intervention models,
29 which include the turnaround model, restart model, transformation model
30 or closure model.
31 c. "Turnaround model" means that a school must replace the principal
32 and rehire no more than fifty percent of the school's staff, adopt a new
33 governance structure, provide job-embedded professional development,
34 offer staff financial and career-advancement incentives, implement a
35 research-based, aligned instructional program, extend learning and
36 teacher planning time, create a community-orientation, and provide oper-
37 ating flexibility.
38 d. "Restart model" means that a school closes and reopens under a
39 charter school operator, a charter management organization (CMO) or an
40 education partnership organization that has been selected through a
41 rigorous review process. A restart model must enroll, within the grades
42 it serves, any former student who wishes to attend.
43 e. "Transformation model" means that a school must replace the princi-
44 pal, provide job-embedded professional development, implement a rigorous
45 teacher-evaluation and reward system, offer financial and career
46 advancement incentives, implement comprehensive instructional reform,
47 extend learning- and teacher-planning time, create a community-orienta-
48 tion, and provide operating flexibility and sustained support.
49 f. "Closure model" means that the school is closed and its students
50 are enrolled in other, higher-achieving schools.
51 g. "School district" means a local education authority with jurisdic-
52 tion over a subject school.
53 h. "Final disposition" means a decision by a school district with
54 regard to a petition seeking the implementation of an intervention model
55 at a subject school under their jurisdiction.
A. 7569--C 3
1 i. "Petition" means a document used by petitioners seeking support for
2 an intervention model at a subject school consistent with the provisions
3 of this section.
4 j. "Petitioner" means a parent or other person working with parents of
5 a subject school to collect signatures in support of a petition seeking
6 to implement an intervention model at a subject school.
7 k. "Lead petitioner" means up to five parents with students enrolled
8 in a subject school who initiate and lead a petition drive seeking to
9 implement an intervention model in that subject school.
10 l. "Contact person" means an individual lead petitioner designated to
11 be the official contact person with regard to official communications
12 required under this section.
13 m. "Parent" means a parent, legal guardian, or foster parent responsi-
14 ble for education decisions for a public school student enrolled in a
15 subject school.
16 n. "Subject school" means a persistently lowest-achieving school that
17 is the subject of a petition seeking to implement an intervention model.
18 o. "Eligible student" means a student enrolled at a subject school on
19 the date when a petition seeking the implementation of an intervention
20 model is commenced.
21 2. a. Any school identified by the commissioner as persistently
22 lowest-achieving shall be eligible for participation in the parent
23 empowerment pilot program. The program shall allow parents of a subject
24 school to circulate petitions in support of an intervention model, which
25 a school district shall act upon pursuant to this section if fifty-one
26 percent or more of the parents of the students enrolled in the subject
27 school sign a petition in support of the intervention model. Such peti-
28 tion shall be prepared and submitted in accordance with subdivisions
29 three, four and five of this section. Such petition shall identify only
30 one intervention model, and all eligible parents shall be afforded the
31 opportunity to participate.
32 b. A school district must provide in writing to any person who
33 requests it total subject school enrollment data and the number of
34 signatures that would be required to implement an intervention model
35 pursuant to the standard provided in paragraph a of this subdivision.
36 c. Upon submission of a petition, the school district in which the
37 subject school is located shall be required to implement the specified
38 intervention model or an alternative intervention model pursuant to the
39 provisions of subdivision six of this section.
40 d. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a subject
41 school which is designated in accordance with this section to restart as
42 a charter school shall apply for a charter and operate in accordance
43 with article fifty-six of this chapter, provided however:
44 (i) a charter school created under this subdivision shall serve the
45 same population and grades as the previous school;
46 (ii) notwithstanding any other provision of law, all students enrolled
47 at the time the petition process commences shall be given the opportu-
48 nity to enroll in the charter school prior to the admission of other
49 students; and
50 (iii) the provisions of paragraph (b) of subdivision three and subpar-
51 agraph (i) of paragraph (b-1) of subdivision three of section 2854 of
52 this chapter shall not apply to charter schools opened pursuant to this
53 section.
54 3. a. A petition shall only contain signatures of parents of students
55 attending the subject school.
56 b. Only one parent per student may sign a petition.
A. 7569--C 4
1 c. A petition may be signed by a parent once for each of his or her
2 students attending the subject school, provided however a separate peti-
3 tion box must be completed in its entirety for each of his or her
4 students.
5 d. A petition may be circulated and presented in sections, so long as
6 each section complies with requirements set forth in this subdivision
7 and subdivision four of this section regarding the content of the peti-
8 tion.
9 e. Signature gatherers may not offer gifts, rewards, or tangible
10 incentives to parents to sign a petition. Nor shall signature gatherers
11 make any threats of coercive action, false statements or false promises
12 of benefits to parents in order to persuade them to sign a petition,
13 except that signature gatherers, school site staff or other members of
14 the public may discuss education related improvements hoped to be real-
15 ized by implementing any intervention described in these regulations.
16 Signature gatherers, students, school site staff, school district staff,
17 members of the community, and parents shall be free from harassment,
18 threats, and intimidation related to circulation of or signing a peti-
19 tion, and from being discouraged to sign or being encouraged to revoke
20 their signature on a petition. Signature gatherers shall disclose if
21 they are being paid and shall not be paid per signature.
22 f. Subject school or district resources shall not be used to impede,
23 assist or in any way influence the petition signature gathering process
24 other than as specifically provided in this section.
25 4. a. The petition and each section of the petition shall contain the
26 following elements:
27 (i) a heading which states that it is a petition of parents to request
28 that a model intervention be implemented at the specified subject school
29 and to be submitted to a specified school district;
30 (ii) a statement that the petition seeks the signatures of the parent
31 of the students attending the subject school;
32 (iii) the name and public contact information of the contact person
33 who is to be contacted by persons interested in the petition or by the
34 school district;
35 (iv) identification of the intervention model;
36 (v) a description of the intervention model using the language set
37 forth in paragraphs c, d, e, or f of subdivision one of this section
38 without omission, to ensure full disclosure of the impact of the inter-
39 vention model;
40 (vi) the name of the subject school;
41 (vii) boxes that are consecutively numbered commencing with number 1,
42 with sufficient space for the signature of each petition signer as well
43 as his or her printed name, date, student's name, the student's date of
44 birth, and the student's current grade. The boxes may also have space
45 for the signer's address, city or unincorporated community name, and zip
46 code, or request other information, and, if so, the petition shall make
47 clear that providing such information is voluntary and cannot be made a
48 condition of signing;
49 (viii) an affirmation that the signing parent is requesting the school
50 district to implement the identified intervention model at the subject
51 school;
52 (ix) if requesting that a school district implement the restart model
53 and that the subject school be reopened under a specific charter school
54 operator, charter management organization, or education partnership
55 organization, a clear statement containing that information on the front
56 of the petition, including contact information of the charter school
A. 7569--C 5
1 operator, charter management organization or education partnership
2 organization; and
3 (x) the names of any agencies or organizations that are supporting the
4 petition, either through direct financial assistance or in-kind contrib-
5 utions of staff and volunteer support, must be prominently displayed on
6 the front page of the petition.
7 b. The department shall develop a sample petition, which shall be
8 available on the department's website. The department shall make the
9 sample petition available in the languages predominantly spoken in the
10 affected community upon request. A petitioner shall not be required to
11 use the sample petition; however, alternate petitions must contain all
12 required components pursuant to this section and regulatory require-
13 ments.
14 5. a. Completed petitions shall be submitted to the school district by
15 the lead petitioners. Lead petitioners may not submit a petition to the
16 school district until they have collected the signatures of fifty-one
17 percent or more of the subject school parents. The date of submission of
18 the petition shall be the start date for implementation of all statutory
19 and regulatory requirements established pursuant to this section.
20 b. Consistent with paragraph a of subdivision six of this section,
21 lead petitioners shall be allowed to resubmit their petition once to
22 correct errors identified by the school district, verify signatures
23 after a good faith effort is made by the school district to do so first,
24 or submit additional signatures. The start date for a resubmitted peti-
25 tion shall be the date it is resubmitted. No rolling petitions shall be
26 accepted by the school district.
27 c. At the time of petition submission the petitioners shall submit a
28 separate document that identifies the lead petitioners and the contact
29 person with their contact information. The school district shall subse-
30 quently process all official communications pursuant to this section
31 through the contact person.
32 6. a. Upon receipt of the petition, the school district may make
33 reasonable efforts to verify that the signatures on the petition can be
34 counted consistent with these regulations. A school district shall not
35 invalidate the signature of a parent of an eligible student on a minor
36 technicality, and shall assume that the parent is entitled to sign the
37 petition unless there is clear and convincing evidence to the contrary.
38 The school district shall make a good faith effort to contact parents
39 when a signature is not clearly identifiable including phone calls to
40 the parent.
41 b. If, on the date the petition is submitted, a subject school is
42 identified pursuant to paragraph a of subdivision one of this section,
43 it shall remain a subject school until final disposition of the petition
44 unless that school has ceased to be identified as being in improvement
45 status.
46 c. In connection with the petition, the school district may only
47 contact parents to verify eligible signatures on the petition. The lead
48 petitioners for the petition shall be consulted to assist in contacting
49 parents when the school district fails to reach a parent.
50 d. Upon receipt, the school district may, within forty calendar days,
51 return the petition to the contact person if the school district deter-
52 mines any of the following:
53 (i) less than fifty-one percent of the parents of students meeting the
54 requirements of paragraph a of subdivision three of this section have
55 signed the petition;
56 (ii) the school named in the petition is not a subject school; or
A. 7569--C 6
1 (iii) the petition does not substantially meet the requirements speci-
2 fied in subdivisions three and four of this section. In such a case, the
3 school district shall immediately provide the contact person written
4 notice of its reasons for returning the petition and its supporting
5 findings.
6 e. If the school district finds that sufficient signatures cannot be
7 verified, it shall immediately notify the contact person and provide the
8 contact person with the names of those parents it cannot verify. The
9 lead petitioners shall be provided sixty calendar days to assist the
10 school district in verifying the signatures. A number of methods may be
11 used, including, but not limited to, an official notarization process or
12 having the parent appear at the school or district office.
13 f. If the school district finds errors or problems with a submitted
14 petition other than the number of valid petition signatures, it shall
15 notify the contact person in writing of such errors or problems and
16 request that they be corrected or clarified prior to the final disposi-
17 tion of the petition.
18 g. If the petition is returned pursuant to paragraph d, e or f of this
19 subdivision, the same petition may be resubmitted once to the school
20 district with verified signatures or other necessary corrections,
21 provided that no substantive changes may be made to the petition. The
22 resubmission must be completed no later than sixty calendar days after
23 the return of the petition pursuant to this subdivision. Upon resubmis-
24 sion of the petition, the school district shall have twenty-five calen-
25 dar days to verify the resubmitted signatures, additional signatures or
26 corrections to the petition.
27 h. If substantive changes are made to the petition, it must be recir-
28 culated for signatures before it may be submitted to the school district
29 and it shall be deemed a new petition.
30 i. If the school district does not return the petition, the school
31 district shall have forty-five calendar days from the date the petition
32 is received to reach a final disposition. The date may be extended by an
33 additional twenty-five calendar days if the school district and the lead
34 petitioners agree to the extension in writing.
35 j. The school district shall notify the commissioner in writing within
36 fifteen calendar days of its receipt of a petition, and within five
37 calendar days of the final disposition of the petition. The notice of
38 final disposition shall state:
39 (i) that the school district will implement the model intervention in
40 the petition; or
41 (ii) the reason it cannot implement the intervention model in the
42 petition, designate which intervention model it will implement instead,
43 and how the intervention model selected by the school district will
44 ensure that the school will make adequate yearly progress.
45 k. The commissioner shall review the final disposition as submitted by
46 a school district. If the commissioner concludes that the school
47 district has not presented sufficient grounds for rejecting the recom-
48 mended intervention model in the petition, or has not provided suffi-
49 cient grounds for choosing an alternative intervention model, the
50 commissioner shall reject the school district's decision. Such rejection
51 shall be provided to the school district and the lead petitioner in
52 writing within thirty days of receipt of the final disposition from the
53 school district, including issues that the school district may address
54 in reconsidering their decision. Upon receipt of the commissioner's
55 decision to reject their final disposition, a school district shall have
56 thirty days to resubmit an amended final disposition. If the school
A. 7569--C 7
1 district does not submit an amended final disposition within the thirty
2 day period, the intervention model in the petition shall be implemented
3 by the school district. If the commissioner concludes that a re-submit-
4 ted final decision by the school district is still insufficient, the
5 commissioner shall, within thirty days, issue a final disposition after
6 consulting with the school district and the lead petitioners, and the
7 school district shall implement that intervention model on a timetable
8 specified by the commissioner.
9 7. The provisions of this section shall be applicable to cities having
10 a population of more than two hundred twenty-five thousand and less than
11 three hundred thousand.
12 8. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary
13 to implement the provisions of this section, including to ensure the
14 transition in school governance and other changes related to implementa-
15 tion of the turnaround model in a manner that results in minimal
16 disruption to the instructional environment.
17 9. By January first of the year in which this act expires, the depart-
18 ment shall submit to the office of the governor, the president of the
19 senate, the speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the senate,
20 the minority leader of the assembly, the senate standing committee on
21 education and the assembly standing committee on education a report of
22 the usage, implementation, cost and all relevant student performance
23 data for schools which participated in the parent empowerment program.
24 § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding
25 the date on which it shall have become a law, provided, however, that
26 this act shall expire and be deemed repealed ten years after the date of
27 enactment, and provided further that the commissioner of education shall
28 be immediately authorized and directed to promulgate rules and regu-
29 lations and take any and all other actions necessary to implement the
30 provisions of this act on such date.
