STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7067--A
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 1, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GOODELL -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Education -- 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 commit-
tee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to authorizing the estab-
lishment of regional high school districts in certain counties
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 article 39-A
2 to read as follows:
3 ARTICLE 39-A
4 REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOLS
5 Section 1920. Regional high school; establishment.
6 1921. Operation by board of cooperative educational services.
7 1922. Additional state aid.
8 § 1920. Regional high school; establishment. A regional high school
9 may be formed by a contract entered into by two or more school
10 districts, which are city school districts in cities having a population
11 of less than one hundred twenty-five thousand inhabitants, central
12 school districts, union free school districts and/or common school
13 districts, provided that all such school districts are wholly contained
14 within the same board of cooperative educational services supervisory
15 district, and is wholly contained within any county having between one
16 hundred thirty-four thousand nine hundred three and one hundred thirty-
17 four thousand nine hundred seven inhabitants according to the two thou-
18 sand ten decennial federal census. Except as otherwise provided in this
19 article, the provisions of this chapter as to the courses of study, the
20 qualifications and employment of teachers and other staff, and the main-
21 tenance, conduct and supervision of public schools in central school
22 districts shall apply to a regional high school. Any contract for a
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07075-04-3
A. 7067--A 2
1 regional high school shall be subject to approval by the commissioner
2 and shall not be subject to approval by the electors of the school
3 districts electing to form the regional high school, and the regional
4 high school and the contract shall meet the following requirements:
5 1. the contract shall be for a period of not less than two school
6 years and, with the approval of the commissioner, may be renewed by
7 mutual agreement of the boards of education;
8 2. the regional high school shall commence operations on the first of
9 July, and shall not cease operations before the thirtieth of June in any
10 school year;
11 3. the contract shall state whether the regional high school will be
12 operated by one of the participating school districts, hereinafter
13 referred to in this article as the "hosting school district," or by the
14 board of cooperative educational services pursuant to a contract author-
15 ized by section nineteen hundred twenty-one of this article;
16 4. the contract shall specify the manner in which the students of each
17 participating school district shall be transported to the regional high
18 school, and the cost of such transportation shall be a charge against
19 each such participating school district and be funded in the same manner
20 as transportation provided pursuant to section thirty-six hundred thir-
21 ty-five of this chapter;
22 5. such regional high school shall operate its own extra-curricular
23 activities and inter-scholastic athletics, and the students attending
24 such regional high school shall be eligible to participate in such
25 activities and athletics and shall not be eligible to participate in
26 such activities and athletics of their participating school district;
27 6. if the regional high school is operated by a hosting school
28 district, the regional high school and the contract shall meet the
29 following requirements:
30 a. the contract shall designate the site of the regional high school,
31 which shall be within the boundaries of one of the participating school
32 districts. The hosting school district shall have responsibility for the
33 operation, supervision and maintenance of the regional high school, as
34 shall be designated in the contract,
35 b. the contract shall specify that the students of each participating
36 school district shall remain as students of their respective participat-
37 ing school districts, and they shall be treated and counted as such for
38 purposes of all state aid calculations pursuant to this chapter,
39 c. the regional high school shall operate its own extra-curricular
40 activities and interscholastic athletics and the students attending such
41 regional high school shall be eligible to participate in such activities
42 and athletics and shall not be eligible to participate in such activ-
43 ities and athletics of their participating school district,
44 d. the contract shall provide that all school principals, assistant
45 principals, other supervisory personnel, teachers and other staff
46 members of the participating school districts, except the superintendent
47 of schools, whose services in the participating school districts are no
48 longer needed because of the creation of a regional high school or the
49 transference of students to an existing regional high school, shall be
50 granted employment rights in the host school district in accordance with
51 the provisions of this subdivision, and in the same manner as is
52 provided in sections three thousand fourteen-a and three thousand four-
53 teen-b of this chapter,
54 e. in any case in which a participating school district sends
55 students to a regional high school operated by a hosting school
56 district, each school principal, assistant principal, supervisory
A. 7067--A 3
1 employee, teacher and all other employees previously employed in the
2 education of such students by such participating school district prior
3 to the time that such component district sends its students to the
4 regional high school shall be considered employees of the hosting school
5 district, with the same tenure status held in such component district,
6 and in the same manner as is provided in sections three thousand four-
7 teen-a and three thousand fourteen-b of this chapter. For purposes of
8 this section, when a participating school district takes back students
9 that it sent to another district on a tuition basis and sends such
10 students to a regional high school operated pursuant to this article,
11 the hosting school district of the regional high school shall be deemed
12 to be the sending district for purposes of the rights and protections
13 provided in section three thousand fourteen-c of this chapter,
14 f. if the number of supervisory, teaching and other positions needed
15 to provide the educational services required by a regional high school
16 is less than the number of school principals, assistant principals,
17 supervisory employees, teachers and other employees eligible to be
18 considered employees of the hosting school district of such regional
19 high school as provided by paragraph e of this subdivision, the services
20 of the school principals, assistant principals, supervisory employees,
21 teachers and other employees having the least seniority in the partic-
22 ipating school districts within the tenure area of the position shall be
23 discontinued. Such school principals, assistant principals, supervisory
24 employees, teachers and other employees shall be placed on a preferred
25 eligible list of candidates for appointment to a vacancy that may there-
26 after occur in an office or position under the jurisdiction of the
27 participating school district, the "receiving district" as defined in
28 section three thousand fourteen-c of this chapter, from which a partic-
29 ipating school district has taken back students, and the hosting school
30 district of the regional high school similar to the one such school
31 principal, assistant principal, supervisory employee, teacher or other
32 employee filled in such component district. The school principals,
33 assistant principals, supervisory employees, teachers and other employ-
34 ees on such preferred lists shall be reinstated or appointed to such
35 vacancies in such corresponding or similar positions under the jurisdic-
36 tion of the participating school district or the hosting school district
37 of the regional high school in the order of their length of service in
38 such participating school district, within seven years from the date of
39 the placement of the employee on said list, and
40 g. for any such school principal, assistant principal, supervisory
41 employee, teacher or other employee as described in paragraphs d and e
42 of this subdivision, for salary, sick leave and any other purposes, the
43 length of service credited in such participating school district shall
44 be credited as employment time with the hosting school district;
45 7. the contract shall specify that the regional high school shall be
46 solely responsible for the implementation and completion of all academic
47 achievement standards for the students of participating school
48 districts; and
49 8. this section shall in no way be construed to limit the rights of
50 any of such school principals, assistant principals, supervisory employ-
51 ees, teachers or other employees described in this section granted by
52 any other provision of law.
53 § 1921. Operation by board of cooperative educational services.
54 Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the boards
55 of education which are parties to an agreement to operate a regional
56 high school, with the approval of the commissioner, may contract with
A. 7067--A 4
1 the board of cooperative educational services of the supervisory
2 district in which they are located for the management and operation of
3 the regional high school. Such contract shall be for a period of not
4 less than two school years and, with the approval of the commissioner,
5 may be renewed by mutual agreement of the boards of education and the
6 board of cooperative educational services. Every such contract shall
7 provide for the commencement of operations of the regional high school
8 on the first of July, and shall only cease operations on the thirtieth
9 of June of any school year.
10 1. Upon entry into such contract, the board of cooperative educational
11 services shall take over all of the educational programs of the regional
12 high school and any and all responsibility for compliance with academic
13 achievement standards, and any employees of the regional high school or
14 of the participating school districts, as the case may be, shall become
15 employees of the board of cooperative educational services and the
16 provisions of section three thousand fourteen-a of this chapter shall
17 apply. Such employees shall be employees of the board of cooperative
18 educational services and shall not be deemed employees of the regional
19 high school or the participating school districts for any purpose. Upon
20 termination of the contract, the regional high school or the participat-
21 ing school districts, as the case may be, shall take over the educa-
22 tional programs and the employees shall become employees of the hosting
23 school district of the regional high school, and the provisions of
24 section three thousand fourteen-b of this chapter shall apply.
25 2. Notwithstanding any provisions of section nineteen hundred fifty of
26 this title or any other law to the contrary, the program and administra-
27 tive expenses attributable to the programs of the regional high school
28 shall be a charge upon the school districts participating in the
29 regional high school, and the board of cooperative educational services
30 shall portion such expenses to the school districts participating in the
31 regional high school in the manner prescribed in the contract between
32 the participating school districts and the board of cooperative educa-
33 tional services. The board of cooperative educational services shall not
34 charge any portion of the program or administrative expenses incurred
35 pursuant to this subdivision to its other component school districts.
36 Such administrative and program expenses shall not be eligible for aid
37 pursuant to subdivision five of section nineteen hundred fifty of this
38 title, but shall be eligible for aid pursuant to section thirty-six
39 hundred two of this chapter to the same extent as the expenses of any
40 other high school education program. Nothing in this subdivision shall
41 be construed to prevent the participating school districts from
42 contracting with the board of cooperative educational services for aida-
43 ble shared services in the same manner and under the same conditions as
44 any other component school district, and the cost of such aidable shared
45 services shall be eligible for aid pursuant to subdivision five of
46 section nineteen hundred fifty of this title.
47 3. During the term of a contract pursuant to this section, all schools
48 and other facilities of the participating school districts of the
49 regional high school which are used by the board of cooperative educa-
50 tional services in the operation of the regional high school shall be
51 deemed leased to the board of cooperative educational services at no
52 cost. Such schools and other facilities shall remain the property of the
53 participating school districts and any capital expenses and building
54 maintenance costs incurred with respect to such facilities shall be a
55 charge upon the participating school districts in accordance with the
56 terms of the contract. Such capital expenses and maintenance costs shall
A. 7067--A 5
1 not be eligible for aid pursuant to subdivision five of section nineteen
2 hundred fifty of this title but shall be eligible for aid pursuant to
3 section thirty-six hundred two of this chapter to the same extent as
4 such expenses of any other school district.
5 4. Students receiving instruction from the regional high school shall
6 not be deemed to be enrolled in the board of cooperative educational
7 services, except to the extent that they are participating in a shared
8 service in their enrollment and attendance which shall be included in
9 the enrollment and attendance counts of the participating school
10 districts for the purposes of state aid. High school diplomas shall be
11 issued by the participating school districts and the board of education
12 of each participating school district shall remain responsible for the
13 performance of its students in the regional high school under the state
14 accountability system as if the students of each participating district
15 where in attendance at a high school operated by the participating
16 district.
17 § 1922. Additional state aid. Notwithstanding any other provision of
18 law to the contrary, the boards of education which are parties to an
19 agreement to operate a regional high school and which do in fact operate
20 a regional high school shall be eligible for additional state aid pursu-
21 ant to subdivision fourteen of section thirty-six hundred two of this
22 chapter in the same manner and to the same extent as a school district
23 which qualifies for such aid pursuant to paragraph j of subdivision
24 fourteen of section thirty-six hundred two of this chapter.
25 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
