STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8929
IN ASSEMBLY
February 28, 2014
___________
Introduced by M. of A. NOLAN, SILVER, GLICK, MORELLE, ABINANTI,
BUCHWALD, FAHY, JAFFEE, PAULIN, RYAN, SCHIMEL, BENEDETTO, BRAUNSTEIN,
JACOBS, MAGNARELLI, MILLMAN, ORTIZ, PERRY, ROBINSON, ROSENTHAL,
RUSSELL, SCARBOROUGH, SCHIMMINGER, SEPULVEDA, STECK, STIRPE, THIELE --
Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ABBATE, BRENNAN, BRINDISI, BRONSON,
CAHILL, CLARK, COOK, CRESPO, DAVILA, DenDEKKER, DINOWITZ, ENGLEBRIGHT,
FARRELL, HEASTIE, HENNESSEY, HEVESI, HOOPER, KIM, LAVINE, LENTOL,
LUPARDO, MAGEE, MARKEY, MAYER, McDONALD, MOYA, O'DONNELL, OTIS,
PICHARDO, RODRIGUEZ, SANTABARBARA, SKARTADOS, SKOUFIS, SWEENEY,
TITONE, WEINSTEIN, WEISENBERG, ZEBROWSKI -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to reforms in common core
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 3012-c of the education law is amended by adding a
2 new subdivision 2-a to read as follows:
3 2-a. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the
4 contrary, for the two thousand thirteen--two thousand fourteen and two
5 thousand fourteen--two thousand fifteen school years, a classroom teach-
6 er's or building principal's (i) state assessments and other comparable
7 measures subcomponent score or (ii) locally selected measures of student
8 achievement subcomponent score shall not be considered when calculating
9 such teacher's or principal's composite effectiveness score if such
10 subcomponent score or scores were based in whole or in part on a state
11 administered standardized English language arts and/or math assessments
12 aligned to the common core learning standards adopted by the board of
13 regents; provided that in such cases, the composite effectiveness score
14 of such teacher or principal shall be calculated by dividing such teach-
15 er's or principal's subcomponent score or scores that are not excluded
16 by this subdivision by the maximum number of allowable points consistent
17 with this subdivision and multiplying such figure by one hundred.
18 § 2. In order to effectuate the provisions of section one of this act,
19 the commissioner of education is hereby authorized and directed to apply
20 for and obtain any federal approvals or waivers he or she deems neces-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14087-14-4
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1 sary including, but not limited to, waivers to the Elementary and
2 Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the No Child Left Behind
3 Act of 2001.
4 § 3. Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding four new
5 subdivisions 44, 45, 46 and 47 to read as follows:
6 44. The commissioner shall provide that no school district shall make
7 any student promotion or placement decisions based solely or primarily
8 on student performance on the state administered standardized English
9 language arts and mathematics assessments for grades three through
10 eight. However, school districts may consider student performance on
11 such state assessments when making student promotion or placement deci-
12 sions provided that the school district use multiple measures in addi-
13 tion to such assessments. In addition, the commissioner shall require
14 every school district to annually notify the parents and persons in
15 parental relation to the students attending such district of the
16 district's grade promotion and placement policy along with an explana-
17 tion of how such policy was developed. Such notification may be provided
18 on the school district's website, if one exists, or as part of an exist-
19 ing informational document that is provided to parents and persons in
20 parental relation.
21 45. The commissioner shall provide that no school district or board of
22 cooperative educational services may report, place, or include on a
23 student's permanent record or transcript any student score on a state
24 administered standardized English language arts and mathematics assess-
25 ment for grades three through eight. In addition, he or she shall
26 provide that no school district may submit, for any purpose, student
27 scores on such assessments as part of an official transcript to any
28 entity except to the department or to parents or persons in parental
29 relation to the student.
30 46. The commissioner shall take actions to reduce field tests for
31 students taking the state administered standardized English language
32 arts and mathematics assessments for grades three through eight and take
33 actions to provide and make available to classroom teachers and school
34 districts significantly more sample test questions of such assessments;
35 such actions shall include, but not be limited to, the procurement,
36 production, or printing of at a minimum twenty different test forms for
37 each such assessment.
38 47. The commissioner shall, in order to assist school districts and
39 boards of cooperative educational services in developing a common core
40 training program for teachers and principals pursuant to section three
41 thousand thirty-six of this chapter, develop professional development
42 tools, resources and materials that school districts, boards of cooper-
43 ative educational services, teachers and principals may utilize. Such
44 tools, resources and materials shall be developed in consultation with
45 teachers, principals and other stakeholders who the commissioner deems
46 necessary and shall be developed in a manner that will assist teachers
47 and principals in advancing their professional development and teaching
48 skills related to the common core learning standards adopted by the
49 board of regents. In addition, such tools, resources and materials shall
50 be developed by the department for every mandatory subject and grade
51 level for which the board of regents has adopted the common core learn-
52 ing standards and shall be available by July first, two thousand four-
53 teen.
54 § 4. In order to implement the provisions of subdivision 46 of section
55 305 of the education law, as added by section three of this act, relat-
56 ing to reducing field tests for students and providing more sample tests
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1 for teachers and school districts, the commissioner of education shall
2 use a portion of the $348,323,000 grant funds received from the United
3 States Secretary of Education under the state fiscal stabilization fund
4 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
5 § 5. Paragraph k of subdivision 2 of section 3012-c of the education
6 law, as added by chapter 21 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as
7 follows:
8 k. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation to
9 the contrary, by July first, two thousand twelve, the governing body of
10 each school district and board of cooperative educational services shall
11 adopt a plan, on a form prescribed by the commissioner, for the annual
12 professional performance review of all of its classroom teachers and
13 building principals in accordance with the requirements of this section
14 and the regulations of the commissioner, and shall submit such plan to
15 the commissioner for approval. The plan may be an annual or multi-year
16 plan, for the annual professional performance review of all of its
17 classroom teachers and building principals. The commissioner shall
18 approve or reject the plan by September first, two thousand twelve, or
19 as soon as practicable thereafter. The commissioner shall reject any
20 annual professional performance review plans that provide for the admin-
21 istration of standardized state assessments, or vendor or third party
22 developed assessments or other comparable standardized assessments to
23 students in grades kindergarten through second grade that are not being
24 used for diagnostic purposes or are otherwise required to be adminis-
25 tered by federal law. The commissioner may also reject a plan that does
26 not rigorously adhere to the provisions of this section and the regu-
27 lations of the commissioner. Should any plan be rejected, the commis-
28 sioner shall describe each deficiency in the submitted plan and direct
29 that each such deficiency be resolved through collective bargaining to
30 the extent required under article fourteen of the civil service law. If
31 any material changes are made to the plan, the school district or board
32 of cooperative educational services must submit the material changes, on
33 a form prescribed by the commissioner, to the commissioner for approval.
34 To the extent that by July first, two thousand twelve, or by July first
35 of any subsequent year, if all the terms of the plan have not been
36 finalized as a result of unresolved collective bargaining negotiations,
37 the entire plan shall be submitted to the commissioner upon resolution
38 of all of its terms, consistent with article fourteen of the civil
39 service law.
40 § 6. Subdivision 2 of section 3012-c of the education law is amended
41 by adding a new paragraph k-1 to read as follows:
42 k-1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the
43 contrary, no annual professional performance plan shall provide for the
44 administration of standardized state assessments or third party assess-
45 ments, to students in kindergarten through grade two that are not being
46 used for diagnostic purposes or are required to be administered by
47 federal law; except that nothing in this subdivision shall preclude the
48 use of school-wide measures using either state assessments or department
49 approved assessments that are administered to students in higher grades
50 in the school, if otherwise allowed under this section or the regu-
51 lations of the commissioner. For purposes of this section, the only
52 allowable assessments to be administered to students in kindergarten
53 through grade two shall be locally developed assessments or assessments
54 used for diagnostic purposes or that are otherwise required to be admin-
55 istered by federal law. For purposes of this section, "locally developed
56 assessments" shall mean district, BOCES or regionally developed assess-
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1 ments that are rigorous and comparable across classrooms and may include
2 locally developed performance assessments.
3 § 7. The opening paragraph of subparagraph 2 of paragraph f of subdi-
4 vision 2 of section 3012-c of the education law, as amended by chapter
5 21 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
6 One or more of the following types of locally selected measures of
7 student achievement or growth may be used for the evaluation of class-
8 room teachers, provided that no such measures shall include scores from
9 students in kindergarten through second grade on state assessments or
10 other department approved standardized student assessments, except
11 scores on locally developed assessments as defined in paragraph k-1 of
12 this subdivision:
13 § 8. The opening paragraph of subparagraph 2 of paragraph g of subdi-
14 vision 2 of section 3012-c of the education law, as amended by chapter
15 21 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
16 One or more of the following types of locally selected measures of
17 student achievement or growth may be used for the evaluation of class-
18 room teachers, provided that no such measures shall include scores from
19 students in kindergarten through second grade on state assessments or
20 other standardized student assessments, except scores on locally devel-
21 oped assessments as defined in paragraph k-1 of this subdivision:
22 § 9. Subdivision 15 of section 3602-e of the education law, as amended
23 by section 19 of part B of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007, is amended to
24 read as follows:
25 15. The commissioner shall also provide for a system for evaluation
26 and assessment of the prekindergarten programs which have been imple-
27 mented to determine the short and long-term success, outcomes and
28 effects of the programs based on relevant and measurable performance
29 standards. The commissioner shall prohibit the administration of state
30 administered standardized student assessments in universal, school
31 district sponsored or school district-run prekindergarten programs, and
32 such prekindergarten programs shall not administer any vendor or third
33 party developed standardized student assessments, or other comparable
34 standardized student assessments to students enrolled in such prekinder-
35 garten that are not being used for a diagnostic purpose.
36 § 10. Subdivision 2 of section 3012-c of the education law is amended
37 by adding a new paragraph k-2 to read as follows:
38 k-2. (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the
39 contrary, if material changes are submitted for an approved plan pursu-
40 ant to paragraph k of this subdivision that solely relate to the elimi-
41 nation of unnecessary student assessments, the commissioner shall expe-
42 dite his or her review of such material changes and solely review those
43 sections of the plan that relate to the eliminated student assessments
44 to ensure compliance with this section and the regulations of the
45 commissioner, provided that the governing body of such school district
46 or board of cooperative educational services provide a written explana-
47 tion of the material changes submitted for approval, on a form
48 prescribed by the commissioner, and certify that no other material
49 changes have been made to any other sections of the currently approved
50 plan.
51 (2) The commissioner shall provide guidance and advice to every school
52 district and board of cooperative educational services in order to
53 assist school districts and boards of cooperative educational services
54 to reduce and eliminate traditional standardized student assessments
55 that are not necessary to comply with this section. Such guidance and
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1 advice shall be provided no later than July first, two thousand four-
2 teen.
3 § 11. The education law is amended by adding a new section 3036 to
4 read as follows:
5 § 3036. Common core training program. School districts and boards of
6 cooperative educational services shall consider the adoption and imple-
7 mentation of a common core training program for teachers and principals.
8 Such program may be part of a school district's or board of cooperative
9 educational services' professional development plan. Such program shall
10 be developed in consultation with teachers, principals, and the depart-
11 ment; such program shall be designed to, and include measures and
12 actions to, assist teachers and principals with professional development
13 and teaching skills related to the common core learning standards
14 adopted by the board of regents.
15 § 12. 1. Prior to July 1, 2015, the commissioner of education and the
16 state education department are hereby prohibited from providing any
17 personally identifiable information or de-identifiable student informa-
18 tion to any third party vendor pursuant to any contract or memorandum of
19 understanding for the purpose of collecting, storing and/or organizing
20 student data or information in order to provide access to such data or
21 information to third party vendors operating data dashboard solutions.
22 2. Definitions. As used in this section the following terms shall have
23 the following meanings:
24 a. "Third party vendor" shall mean any person or entity other than a
25 school district, board of cooperative educational services (BOCES),
26 institutions providing higher education as such term is defined in
27 subdivision 8 of section 2 of the education law or the state education
28 department.
29 b. "Data dashboard solutions" shall mean third-party electronic data
30 system or hosted software application or applications designed to
31 provide educators, students and their families with timely and relevant
32 student data and information that support instruction and student learn-
33 ing and is part of an educational data portal, which the state education
34 department, BOCES, school districts, students and/or their families
35 participate in.
36 c. "Personally identifiable information" shall have the same meaning
37 as such term is defined in section 99.3 of title 34 of the code of
38 federal regulations implementing the Family Education Rights and Privacy
39 Act, as such federal law and regulations are from time to time amended.
40 d. "De-identifiable student information" shall mean a collection of
41 data or information that has been altered with the goal of making the
42 student or students associated with such data or information permanently
43 unknowable.
44 § 13. The education law is amended by adding a new section 2-c to read
45 as follows:
46 § 2-c. Release of personally identifiable information. 1. Defi-
47 nitions. As used in this section the following terms shall have the
48 following meanings:
49 a. "Personally identifiable information" shall have the same meaning
50 as such term is defined in section 99.3 of title 34 of the code of
51 federal regulations implementing the Family Education Rights and Privacy
52 Act, as such federal law and regulations are from time to time amended.
53 b. "Biometric record" shall have the same meaning as such term is
54 defined in section 99.3 of title 34 of the code of federal regulations
55 implementing the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, as such feder-
56 al law and regulations are from time to time amended.
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1 c. "School" shall mean any public elementary or secondary school,
2 board of cooperative educational services, charter school, special act
3 school district, public school kindergarten program, universal pre-kin-
4 dergarten programs authorized pursuant to section thirty-six hundred
5 two-e of this chapter, publicly funded pre-kindergarten programs,
6 approved preschool special education programs pursuant to section
7 forty-four hundred ten of this chapter, approved private school for the
8 education of students with disabilities and a state supported school
9 subject to the provisions of article eighty-seven or eighty-eight of
10 this chapter.
11 d. "Student" shall mean any person attending a school identified in
12 paragraph c of this subdivision.
13 e. "Third party" shall mean any person or entity other than a school
14 district or board of cooperative educational services, institution of
15 higher education, school as defined in paragraph c of this subdivision
16 or the department.
17 2. A parent of a student, a person in parental relation to a student,
18 or a student eighteen years of age or older may request that such
19 student's personally identifiable information and/or such student's
20 biometric record not be disclosed to any third party. The department
21 and/or any school that receives such request shall be prohibited from
22 disclosing such information to any third party unless such disclosure is
23 required by law, pursuant to a court order or subpoena, for the purpose
24 of a state or federal audit or evaluation to authorized representatives
25 of entities identified in section 99.31 (a)(3) of title 34 of the code
26 of federal regulations implementing the Family Education Rights and
27 Privacy Act, or is necessary due to a health or safety emergency.
28 3. The department shall develop a form that shall be used for requests
29 made pursuant to subdivision two of this section. Such form shall be
30 made publicly available and shall allow such individuals the option to
31 opt-out of disclosure of personally identifiable information and biome-
32 tric records to any third party or to certain types of third parties.
33 The department is authorized to identify a list of types of third
34 parties that individuals may opt-out of disclosure of such information
35 and records and such individuals may opt-out of disclosure of such
36 information and records to any type and/or all of the listed third
37 parties. Such list developed by the department shall not require the
38 names of such third parties to be listed. Such list may identify the
39 types of services such third parties provide.
40 4. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the sharing of
41 personally identifiable information and biometric records by charter
42 schools to a not-for-profit corporation or a for-profit business or
43 corporate entity that the charter school was formed in conjunction with.
44 5. Schools and the department may not under any circumstance disclose
45 personally identifiable information or biometric records to any third
46 party unless such third party has agreed in writing to:
47 a. provide the department or the contracting school with a breach
48 remediation plan acceptable to the department or the school;
49 b. report all suspected security breaches to the department or
50 contracting school as soon as possible but not later than forty-eight
51 hours after such suspected breach was known or would have been known by
52 exercising reasonable due diligence; and
53 c. report all actual security breaches to the department or contract-
54 ing school as soon as possible, but not later than twenty-four hours
55 after such actual breach was known or would have been known by exercis-
56 ing reasonable due diligence.
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1 § 14. 1. The commissioner of education shall evaluate the effective-
2 ness of the implementation of the common core learning standards as
3 adopted by the board of regents on the education of students with disa-
4 bilities, English language learners and students with limited English
5 proficiency. Such study shall evaluate whether the support services and
6 instruction specifically created for the education of students with
7 disabilities, English language learners and students with limited
8 English proficiency are maintained with the adoption of the common core
9 learning standards. The commissioner of education shall also study
10 whether school districts are providing the testing accommodations speci-
11 fied in individualized education programs, section 504 plans pursuant to
12 the federal rehabilitation act of 1973 or any other official document
13 for a student that prescribes required testing accommodations. The
14 commissioner of education shall consult with stakeholders through the
15 commissioner of education's advisory panel for special education
16 services and English language learners stakeholders groups.
17 2. Upon completion of the study pursuant to subdivision 1 of this
18 section, the commissioner of education shall report the results of such
19 study to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speak-
20 er of the assembly, and the chairs of the senate and assembly committees
21 on education on or before December 1, 2014.
22 § 15. The commissioner of education is authorized to and shall promul-
23 gate any and all rules and regulations and take any other measures
24 necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
25 § 16. This act shall take effect immediately, provided that:
26 1. Subdivision 44 of section 305 of the education law as added by
27 section three of this act shall take effect July 1, 2014;
28 2. Section one of this act shall expire and be deemed repealed if any
29 necessary federal approvals or waivers relating to section one and
30 section two of this act have been denied provided that the commissioner
31 of education shall notify the legislative bill drafting commission upon
32 such occurrence in order that the commission may maintain an accurate
33 and timely effective data base of the official text of the laws of the
34 state of New York in furtherance of effectuating the provisions of
35 section 44 of the legislative law and section 70-b of the public offi-
36 cers law;
37 3. The provisions of sections five, six, seven and eight of this act
38 shall not apply to any annual professional performance review agreement
39 entered into pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement prior to the
40 effective date of such sections, which shall remain in effect in accord-
41 ance with paragraph l of subdivision 2 of section 3012-c of the educa-
42 tion law until a subsequent plan is agreed to by the parties and
43 approved by the commissioner of education in accordance with section
44 3012-c of the education law;
45 4. The provisions of section eleven of this act shall take effect
46 August 1, 2014; and
47 5. The provisions of section thirteen of this act shall take effect on
48 the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.