Relates to intervention in chronically underperforming school districts, directs the development of a plan for school districts in academic or fiscal at-risk status and provides for the appointment of an education oversight board in cases where a district is found to be chronically underperforming.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6687
IN SENATE
March 9, 2012
___________
Introduced by Sen. FLANAGAN -- (at request of the State Education
Department) -- 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 intervention in chron-
ically underperforming school districts
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 211-f
2 to read as follows:
3 § 211-f. Intervention in chronically underperforming school districts.
4 1. Stage one academic and/or fiscal at-risk status.
5 a. The commissioner shall identify as being in stage one academic
6 and/or fiscal at-risk status a school district: (i) that has been a
7 district requiring academic progress pursuant to paragraph seven of
8 subdivision (p) of section 100.2 of title eight of the New York state
9 codes, rules and regulations for at least three school years and/or has
10 one or more schools identified as a persistently lowest-achieving school
11 or a school under registration review; and/or (ii) in which the board of
12 education has failed to exercise appropriate fiscal management of the
13 school district by failing to take actions necessary to keep the school
14 district budget in balance and/or maintain an appropriate fund balance
15 for a period of at least two school years; provided that, in the case of
16 a school district that meets the criteria for stage one academic and/or
17 fiscal at-risk status and has been designated as a district requiring
18 academic progress for eight or more years and has nine or more schools
19 identified as persistently lowest-achieving schools or schools under
20 registration review, the commissioner may immediately identify such
21 district as being in stage two academic and/or fiscal intervention
22 status pursuant to subdivision two of this section.
23 b. Within ninety days of identification as being in stage one academic
24 and/or fiscal at-risk status, a school district shall develop a plan or
25 include in any existing state approved plan specific, measurable goals
26 designed to remove the district from stage one academic and/or fiscal
27 at-risk status. For districts identified as being in stage one academic
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11971-01-1
S. 6687 2
1 and/or fiscal at-risk status, such goals must include, where applicable,
2 but need not be limited to: (i) a plan for making adequate yearly
3 progress on all applicable criteria and/or indicators in subdivision (p)
4 of section 100.2 of title eight of the New York state codes, rules and
5 regulations or otherwise meeting the requirements of the state account-
6 ability system; (ii) specific education improvement targets to be
7 attained in each of the school years covered by the plan; (iii) a
8 description of the technical assistance and specific staff development
9 to be provided and sustained in support of the plan; (iv) plans to main-
10 tain balanced revenues and expenditures and an appropriate fund balance;
11 and (v) such other goals as may be prescribed by the commissioner. The
12 district shall submit such plan to the commissioner for approval. The
13 district's plan shall be developed with the assistance of a joint school
14 intervention team appointed by the commissioner pursuant to paragraph b
15 of subdivision two of section two hundred eleven-b of this article and
16 its implementation must be supported by targeted technical assistance
17 and professional development, consistent with article fourteen of the
18 civil service law, from an external provider approved by the commission-
19 er at an expense to be borne by the district. The reasonable and neces-
20 sary expenses incurred in the performance of the joint school inter-
21 vention team's duties shall be a charge upon the school district.
22 c. The commissioner shall remove a district from stage one academic
23 and/or fiscal at-risk status if the district meets and maintains its
24 plan goals for three consecutive school years. If the district fails to
25 meet and maintain its plan goals for three consecutive school years, the
26 commissioner shall identify such district as being in stage two academic
27 and/or fiscal intervention status, provided that the commissioner may,
28 at any time during stage one academic and/or fiscal at-risk status,
29 identify a district as being in stage two academic and/or fiscal inter-
30 vention status where such district is found to be in noncompliance with
31 its plan or is unwilling or unable to make substantial progress towards
32 accomplishing its plan goals.
33 2. Stage two academic and/or fiscal intervention status. a. Upon
34 identification of a school district as being in stage two academic
35 intervention status, the commissioner may appoint a distinguished educa-
36 tor pursuant to section two hundred eleven-c of this article and/or,
37 where the district is identified as being in stage two fiscal inter-
38 vention status, a fiscal administrator to monitor and assist the
39 district in meeting its plan goals. The reasonable and necessary
40 expenses incurred in the performance of the duties of the distinguished
41 educator and/or fiscal administrator shall be a charge upon the school
42 district.
43 b. Upon appointment, the distinguished educator shall have the power
44 and duty to: (i) review and monitor the district's implementation of and
45 compliance with its plan; (ii) conduct an intensive review of district
46 and school systems, structures, operations and facilities; (iii) assess
47 the district's capacity to promote and support teaching and learning
48 within all schools in the district; (iv) work with district staff,
49 administration and the board of education to review data, analyze
50 district and school structures, plan for improvement, assist in target-
51 ing district priorities; (v) facilitate increased student performance
52 across the district; (vi) recommend administrative and operational
53 improvements to strengthen systems; and (vii) recommend modifications to
54 the district's plan which may include such other measures as he or she
55 deems appropriate to assist the district's progress toward meeting its
56 plan goals.
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1 c. Upon appointment, the fiscal administrator shall have the power and
2 duty to: (i) review and monitor the district's implementation of and
3 compliance with its plan; (ii) notwithstanding any other provision of
4 law, rule or regulation to the contrary, approve any proposed contract
5 or other obligation having a projected cost of fifty thousand dollars or
6 more; and (iii) recommend to the board of education such measures as he
7 or she deems appropriate to assist the district's progress toward meet-
8 ing its plan goals, including making recommendations concerning strate-
9 gies to achieve cost reductions and other fiscal efficiencies and all
10 estimates of district revenues to ensure the accuracy of such revenue
11 estimates, and making findings regarding whether the authorization by
12 the board of education of items of expenditure, continuation of budget
13 appropriations by the board of education and/or budgeting of future
14 appropriations by the board of education are consistent with the
15 requirements of a balanced budget, an appropriate unreserved fund
16 balance in accordance with section thirteen hundred eighteen of the real
17 property tax law and the district's plan goals.
18 d. The distinguished educator and/or fiscal administrator shall submit
19 periodic reports as may be required by the commissioner on the
20 district's progress toward meeting its plan goals and may make recommen-
21 dations to the commissioner, including but not limited to: (i) that the
22 commissioner order the board of education to require training and/or
23 professional development for the board, district officers and/or staff,
24 as appropriate, consistent with article fourteen of the civil service
25 law; and/or (ii) that the commissioner order the implementation of other
26 measures as appropriate to assist the district in implementing its plan
27 and meeting its plan goals; and/or (iii) that the commissioner identify
28 the district as potentially being in stage three academic and/or fiscal
29 restructuring status.
30 e. The commissioner shall remove a district from stage two academic
31 and/or fiscal intervention status if it meets and maintains its plan
32 goals for three consecutive school years. If the district fails to meet
33 and maintain its plan goals for three consecutive school years, the
34 commissioner shall identify such district as potentially being in stage
35 three academic and/or fiscal restructuring status, provided that the
36 commissioner may at any time during stage two academic and/or fiscal
37 intervention status identify a district as potentially being in stage
38 three academic and/or fiscal restructuring status where such district is
39 found to be in noncompliance with its plan or is unwilling or unable to
40 make substantial progress towards accomplishing its plan goals.
41 3. Stage three academic and/or fiscal restructuring status: appoint-
42 ment of an education oversight board. a. Upon identification of a
43 school district as potentially being in stage three academic and/or
44 fiscal restructuring status, the commissioner shall appoint an independ-
45 ent review team to assess the reasons for the district's potential
46 academic and/or fiscal restructuring status and the prospects for
47 improvement and report to the board of regents.
48 b. In the event that the independent review team concludes that the
49 board of education's actions and/or omissions have interfered with
50 implementation of the district's plan, the board of regents may declare
51 that problems in governance are a substantial factor in the district's
52 chronic underperformance and that the district is in stage three academ-
53 ic and/or fiscal restructuring status. Upon issuance of such declara-
54 tion, the board of regents shall appoint a three member team to serve on
55 an education oversight board for the school district, which shall have
56 all the powers and duties of the board of education. Upon appointment of
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1 an education oversight board, all members of the board of education
2 shall be removed from office and no new board members may be elected or
3 appointed while the education oversight board is in place. Where the
4 independent review team so recommends and the board of regents accepts
5 such recommendation, the superintendent of schools shall vacate his or
6 her office and be deemed removed for cause and the education oversight
7 board shall appoint a new superintendent of schools.
8 c. In the event that the independent review team does not conclude
9 that the board of education's actions and/or omissions have interfered
10 with implementation of the district's plan or the board of regents does
11 not declare that problems in governance are a substantial factor in the
12 district's chronic underperformance, the district shall return to stage
13 two academic and/or fiscal intervention status until it meets and main-
14 tains its plan goals for three consecutive school years. When the
15 district returns to stage two academic and/or fiscal intervention
16 status, the distinguished educator and/or fiscal administrator may make
17 recommendations for additional measures the district must implement to
18 assist its progress toward meeting and maintaining its plan goals.
19 d. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation to
20 the contrary, where the commissioner removes at least a majority of the
21 members of a board of education pursuant to section three hundred six of
22 this title, the board of regents may declare that the district is in
23 stage three academic and/or fiscal restructuring status and appoint a
24 three member team to serve on an education oversight board for the
25 school district pursuant to this subdivision.
26 e. At least once every four years, the commissioner shall appoint an
27 independent review team to evaluate and make recommendations to the
28 board of regents on the effectiveness of the education oversight board
29 and the need, if any, to continue to have an education oversight board
30 in place. If the board of regents determines that continuation of an
31 education oversight board is necessary, they may reappoint members of
32 the oversight board or appoint a new oversight board pursuant to this
33 subdivision. If the board of regents determines that continuation of an
34 education oversight board is not necessary and that the education over-
35 sight board should be eliminated, the commissioner shall order that a
36 special election be held and when all such newly elected board members
37 take office, the appointment of the education oversight board shall
38 terminate.
39 f. At any time after the appointment of an education oversight board,
40 twenty-five qualified voters, or five percent of the number of voters
41 who voted at the last election of members of the board of education,
42 whichever is greater, may petition the commissioner for a determination
43 whether the appointment of an education oversight board should be modi-
44 fied or eliminated and whether the school district is no longer in
45 academic and/or fiscal status. The determination of the commissioner
46 shall be subject to review by the board of regents. If the board of
47 regents determines that the education oversight board should be elimi-
48 nated, the commissioner shall order that a special election be held and
49 when all such newly elected board members take office, the appointment
50 of the education oversight board shall terminate.
51 g. For purposes of this section, "school district" shall mean a
52 common, union free, central, central high school or city school
53 district, other than a city school district in a city having a popu-
54 lation of one million or more.
S. 6687 5
1 h. The commissioner is authorized to promulgate any regulations and to
2 take any other measures necessary to implement the provisions of this
3 section.
4 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
