STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1700
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 11, 2011
___________
Introduced by Sen. SAMPSON -- 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 establishing a pilot
program for overage, under-credit students to prepare these students
for post secondary education or training 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 and
2 declares it necessary to increase the graduation rate in this state,
3 particularly New York City, Yonkers, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse,
4 where the drop-out rate is exceptionally high particularly with minority
5 and limited English proficient students. To do so, the legislature finds
6 it necessary to create a research-based pilot program to assist overage,
7 under-credit students, who are typically at risk of not graduating,
8 obtain a high school diploma or general equivalency diploma (GED), and
9 to prepare these students for post-secondary education or training. The
10 legislature recognizes that a variety of individual, familial, and
11 community-based factors may contribute to a student's failure to gradu-
12 ate, including, but not limited to, the student's poor academic perform-
13 ance or attendance, parents' academic history, alcohol and/or substance
14 abuse in the home, upbringing in a single parent household or teen
15 parent household, neglect and/or abuse in the home, insufficient
16 parental interest or involvement in students' academic performance, or
17 otherwise, limited English proficiency in the home, limited access to
18 health care, or limited economic means, poverty or parental unemploy-
19 ment.
20 The pilot program will examine the relationship between the aforemen-
21 tioned risk factors and the students' academic progress as well as the
22 influence of the program's academic and after school support services on
23 the student's academic progress, post-secondary education or training,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05907-01-1
S. 1700 2
1 and employability. The pilot program is expected to engage one thousand
2 two hundred eligible students in academic and after-school services. The
3 pilot program will provide assistance and support to selected students
4 to assist them to obtain a high school diploma or GED and to prepare
5 them for post-secondary education or training. The program will further
6 provide assistance and support to the students for two years after the
7 students' attainment of such a diploma. This research-based pilot
8 program will provide a comprehensive look at the needs of and adverse
9 influences on overage, under-credit students and provide a fundamental
10 plan for remediation.
11 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new article 100 to read
12 as follows:
13 ARTICLE 100
14 OVERAGE AND UNDER-CREDIT STUDENTS
15 Section 4950. Definitions.
16 4951. Pilot program for overage, under-credit students; estab-
17 lished.
18 4952. Student eligibility.
19 4953. Purpose of program.
20 4954. Reports and evaluation of the pilot program.
21 4955. Program costs.
22 § 4950. Definitions. The following term shall have the following mean-
23 ing when used in this article: "overage, under-credit student" shall
24 mean a student who is at least two years behind standard progress rela-
25 tive to the expected age and credit accumulation for earning a diploma.
26 § 4951. Pilot program for overage, under-credit students; established.
27 1. There is hereby established under the exercise of authority and
28 control of the commissioner a research-based pilot program named and
29 referred to as the pilot program for overage, under-credit students.
30 This research-based pilot program shall serve one thousand two hundred
31 students who are eligible for the program under section forty-nine
32 hundred fifty-two of this article. Six hundred of these students shall
33 be enrolled in the New York City school district and one hundred fifty
34 students shall be enrolled in each of the following school districts:
35 Yonkers, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse.
36 2. The purpose of the pilot program shall be to assist overage,
37 under-credit students attain a high school diploma or general equivalen-
38 cy diploma (GED), effectively prepare for and transition into post-sec-
39 ondary education or training, and/or obtain employment or other such
40 meaningful post-secondary opportunities. The pilot program shall provide
41 assistance and support to such students for two years succeeding each
42 student's attainment of such a diploma.
43 3. The pilot program shall examine the needs of overage, under-credit
44 students and analyze the factors which cause or contribute to the
45 students' failure to graduate or which adversely influence their academ-
46 ic progress. The pilot program shall further analyze the effect of the
47 pilot program on the student's academic progress, completion of post-
48 secondary courses or training, and the students' employability.
49 § 4952. Student eligibility. 1. Students may be eligible for the pilot
50 program established in section forty-nine hundred fifty-one of this
51 article if they are (a) enrolled in a public school within an eligible
52 school district, (b) of the age of twelve to twenty-one years, (c)
53 enrolled in any of the grades seven through twelve, or if enrolled in
54 the school district of the city of New York, enrolled in any of the
55 grades nine through twelve, and (d) identified with at least one of the
56 following risk factors, including, but need not be limited to, poor
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1 academic performance or attendance, parent's poor academic history,
2 alcohol and/or substance abuse in the home, single parent household or
3 teen parent household, neglect and/or abuse in the home, insufficient
4 parental interest or involvement in student's academic performance, or
5 otherwise, limited English proficiency in the home, limited access or no
6 access to health care, limited economic means, poverty or parental unem-
7 ployment.
8 2. An eligible school district shall apply to the department for a
9 grant award under the pilot program on an application prescribed by the
10 commissioner, which shall include the school district's comprehensive
11 plan for implementation of the pilot program, which may include, but
12 need not be limited to, the following aspects:
13 (a) list of community-based organizations to facilitate effective
14 parent-child relationships or parent-teacher relationships, such as
15 parenting classes or anger management classes;
16 (b) list of public assistance offices or organizations through which
17 to obtain public assistance benefits, including cash assistance, food
18 stamps, Medicaid or child health insurance, or earned-income tax cred-
19 its, or which to facilitate parental self-sufficiency and stability;
20 (c) adult educational programs, including those for literacy or
21 instruction in the English language or for financial self-sufficiency or
22 stability;
23 (d) post-secondary education and training resources and contacts,
24 including businesses or unions;
25 (e) workforce or labor training programs and career counseling
26 services;
27 (f) other local organizations used to encourage, facilitate, and
28 develop relationships between the pilot program and the student and
29 student's family.
30 § 4953. Purpose of program. The pilot program shall provide the
31 following services to eligible overage, under-credit students:
32 1. Support and advocacy services in the home, school and/or work envi-
33 ronment which shall be provided by one full-time advocate per every
34 thirty eligible students;
35 2. Remediation services, including tutorial services;
36 3. Mentoring services;
37 4. Academic support services, which shall be age and culturally appro-
38 priate;
39 5. Wrap-around-support services through partnership with community-
40 based organizations and the school district, including youth develop-
41 ment, job readiness training, career exploration and health and mental
42 health services;
43 6. Part-time paid, year-round employment and scholarships as incen-
44 tives to help students succeed in school and prepare for the workforce.
45 Such incentives would include funding for employer incentives for busi-
46 ness and organizations which do not traditionally hire youth;
47 7. Post-secondary education and career counseling services;
48 8. Labor and employment programs and service learning.
49 § 4954. Reports and evaluation of the pilot program. Upon the
50 completion of two years of operation, and on an annual basis thereafter,
51 the commissioner shall evaluate and assess the results of the pilot
52 program taking into consideration the following factors:
53 1. the graduation rate and percentage of students who attain a diplo-
54 ma, including a regents diploma or a general equivalency diploma (GED);
55 2. rate of admission to post-secondary education or training programs;
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1 3. academic progress in completing post-secondary education or train-
2 ing;
3 4. employability of students;
4 5. rate of employment, and rate of employment of students in New York
5 state;
6 6. reduction in turnover costs for employers participating in the
7 program;
8 7. percentage of students incarcerated during or after participation
9 in the program;
10 8. level of parental participation in the program and involvement in
11 student's academic performance or post-secondary opportunities;
12 9. parental literacy or English language proficiency;
13 10. parental improvement, including education, employment, access to
14 health care, and receipt of public assistance benefits.
15 § 4955. Program costs. Twenty-five hundred dollars per pupil per year
16 shall be allocated for advocacy, scholarships, work experience and
17 mentoring programs or services. Thirty-five hundred dollars per pupil
18 per year shall be allocated for wrap-around support services, academic
19 support, and family engagement. Aid in an amount equal to seven hundred
20 dollars per parent of each pupil shall be allocated, annually, for
21 education programs for parents to assist parents to achieve financial
22 stabilization, which shall include services to facilitate and/or provide
23 access to a full range of benefits as specified in this article.
24 Employment preparation education state aid must be generated for eligi-
25 ble parents age twenty-one and over and used as a match. Priority shall
26 be given to leveraging multiple services and funding streams. Five
27 hundred thousand dollars shall be spent for outcome evaluation by an
28 independent researcher.
29 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be
30 deemed repealed 5 years after such effective date.
