STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8503--A
IN SENATE
May 9, 2018
___________
Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Education -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to admission to the
specialized high schools in the city of New York
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 2590-h of the
2 education law, as amended by chapter 345 of the laws of 2009, is amended
3 to read as follows:
4 (b) all specialized [senior] high schools. The [special] specialized
5 high schools shall include the [present] schools known as[:]
6 The Bronx High School of Science, Stuyvesant High School, Brooklyn
7 Technical High School, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music [and
8 the Arts in the borough of Manhattan] & Art and Performing Arts, and
9 such [further] additional schools [which the city board may designate]
10 as may be designated by the chancellor from time to time. The [special]
11 specialized high schools shall be permitted to maintain a discovery
12 program in accordance with the law in effect on the date preceding the
13 effective date of this section; provided that the requirement that a
14 student who is considered for the discovery program attend and pass a
15 preparatory program administered by the specialized high school, demon-
16 strating thereby his or her ability to successfully cope with the
17 specialized high school program, shall refer to a program that can take
18 place during the school year or the summer; admissions to the [special]
19 specialized high schools shall be conducted in accordance with [the law
20 in effect on the date preceding the effective date of this] section
21 twenty-five hundred ninety-h-l of this article;
22 § 2. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 2590-h of the education
23 law, as amended by chapter 720 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read
24 as follows:
25 (b) all specialized [senior] high schools. The [special] specialized
26 high schools shall include the [present] schools known as[:]
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00247-05-8
S. 8503--A 2
1 The Bronx High School of Science, Stuyvesant High School, Brooklyn
2 Technical High School, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music [and
3 the Arts in the borough of Manhattan] & Art and Performing Arts, and
4 such [further] additional schools [which the city board may designate]
5 as may be designated by the chancellor from time to time. The [special]
6 specialized high schools shall be permitted to maintain a discovery
7 program in accordance with the law in effect on the date preceding the
8 effective date of this section; provided that the requirement that a
9 student who is considered for the discovery program attend and pass a
10 preparatory program administered by the specialized high school, demon-
11 strating thereby his or her ability to successfully cope with the
12 specialized high school program, shall refer to a program that can take
13 place during the school year or the summer; admissions to the [special]
14 specialized high schools shall be conducted in accordance with [the law
15 in effect on the date preceding the effective date of this] section
16 twenty-five hundred ninety-h-1 of this article;
17 § 3. The education law is amended by adding a new section 2590-h-1 to
18 read as follows:
19 § 2590-h-1. Admissions to the specialized high schools. 1. Admissions
20 to the specialized high schools shall be conducted in accordance with
21 this section, provided that students may also be admitted to the
22 specialized high schools for the two thousand nineteen--two thousand
23 twenty and the two thousand twenty--two thousand twenty-one school years
24 pursuant to the discovery program as set forth in section twenty-five
25 hundred ninety-h of this article.
26 2. For the admissions process conducted during the two thousand eigh-
27 teen--two thousand nineteen school year to determine admissions to the
28 specialized high schools for the two thousand nineteen--two thousand
29 twenty school year, students who meet the criteria set forth in this
30 subdivision shall be offered admission to the specialized high schools
31 in the following order:
32 (a) students attending public schools located in the city of New York
33 who are in the top three percent of their eighth grade class, as calcu-
34 lated based on multiple measures of student achievement pursuant to
35 subdivision five of this section, and who achieve a composite score
36 above or at the cut-off composite score for the school such students
37 have committed themselves to attend, pursuant to subdivision five of
38 this section, provided that such students shall also rank in the top
39 quarter of public school students in the eighth grade citywide based on
40 such multiple measures of student achievement, and provided further that
41 openings shall be reserved for such students at each specialized high
42 school as set forth in subdivision seven of this section;
43 (b) students in the city of New York who take a competitive, objective
44 and scholastic achievement examination in the eighth grade and achieve a
45 score above or at the cut-off score for the openings that remain in the
46 school for which such students have taken the examination; and
47 (c) students in the city of New York who take a competitive, objective
48 and scholastic examination in the ninth grade and achieve a score above
49 or at the cut-off score for the openings that remain in the school for
50 which such students have taken the examination.
51 3. For the admissions process conducted during the two thousand nine-
52 teen--two thousand twenty school year to determine admissions to the
53 specialized high schools for the two thousand twenty--two thousand twen-
54 ty-one school year, students who meet the criteria set forth in this
55 subdivision shall be offered admission to the specialized high schools
56 in the following order:
S. 8503--A 3
1 (a) students attending public schools located in the city of New York
2 who are in the top five percent of their eighth grade class, as calcu-
3 lated based on multiple measures of student achievement pursuant to
4 subdivision five of this section, and who achieve a composite score
5 above or at the cut-off composite score for the school such students
6 have committed themselves to attend pursuant to subdivision five of this
7 section, provided that such students shall also rank in the top quarter
8 of public school students in the eighth grade citywide based on such
9 multiple measures of student achievement, and provided further that
10 openings shall be reserved for such students at each specialized high
11 school as set forth in subdivision seven of this section;
12 (b) students in the city of New York who take a competitive, objective
13 and scholastic achievement examination in the eighth grade and achieve a
14 score above or at the cut-off score for the openings that remain in the
15 school for which such students have taken the examination; and
16 (c) students in the city of New York who take a competitive, objective
17 and scholastic examination in the ninth grade and achieve a score above
18 or at the cut-off score for the openings that remain in the school for
19 which such students have taken the examination.
20 4. For the admissions process conducted during the two thousand twen-
21 ty--two thousand twenty-one school year and subsequent school years to
22 determine admissions to the specialized high schools for the two thou-
23 sand twenty-one--two thousand twenty-two school year and subsequent
24 school years, students who meet the criteria set forth in this subdivi-
25 sion shall be offered admission to the specialized high schools in the
26 following order:
27 (a) students attending public schools located in the city of New York
28 who are in the top five to seven percent of their eighth grade class,
29 such percentage to be determined to allow openings to remain for admis-
30 sion pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision and as calculated
31 based on multiple measures of student achievement, determined as set
32 forth in subdivision five of this section, and who achieve a composite
33 score above or at the cut-off composite score for the school such
34 students have committed themselves to attend, determined as set forth in
35 subdivision five of this section, provided that such students shall also
36 rank in the top quarter of public school students in the eighth grade
37 citywide based on such multiple measures of student achievement, and
38 provided further that openings shall be reserved for such students at
39 each specialized high school as set forth in subdivision seven of this
40 section; and
41 (b) students in the city of New York who have a minimum grade point
42 average of 3.7, provided such students shall be admitted by a random
43 selection process for the openings that remain in each school.
44 5. The chancellor shall determine the multiple measures of student
45 achievement as referenced in this section, and the weight of each such
46 measure, provided that such measures shall include academic course
47 grades and standardized test scores. A description of such measures and
48 the weight accorded to each shall be made publicly available, including
49 on the website of the city school district. A student who is evaluated
50 based on such measures for the purposes of this subdivision shall be
51 assigned a composite score based on such weighted measures. Offers of
52 admission to the specialized high schools pursuant to paragraph (a) of
53 subdivisions two through four of this section shall be determined by
54 arranging the composite scores of all students who are assigned such
55 scores and who then commit themselves to attend a particular specialized
56 high school in descending order from the highest score and counting down
S. 8503--A 4
1 to the cut-off composite score, which shall be the composite score of
2 the last student who receives an offer of admission to such school based
3 on the number of openings available in such school pursuant to such
4 paragraph.
5 6. Offers of admission to the specialized high schools pursuant to
6 paragraphs (b) and (c) of subdivisions two and three of this section
7 shall be determined by arranging the scores of all the candidates who
8 took the competitive, objective and scholastic examination and who then
9 commit themselves to attend a particular specialized high school in
10 descending order from the highest score and counting down to the cut-off
11 score, which shall be the score of the last candidate who receives an
12 offer of admission to such school based on the number of openings avail-
13 able in such school.
14 7. The number of openings reserved at each specialized high school for
15 students who meet the criteria set forth in paragraph (a) of subdivi-
16 sions two through four of this section shall be determined by multiply-
17 ing: (a) the total number of ninth grade available openings at such
18 school; by (b) the number of students who meet the criteria set forth in
19 paragraph (a) of subdivisions two through four of this section divided
20 by the aggregate number of ninth grade available openings in all the
21 specialized high schools.
22 8. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, admission to the
23 Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts,
24 and other schools of the arts that may be established pursuant to
25 section twenty-five hundred ninety-h of this article, shall be deter-
26 mined by a student's demonstrated abilities in music or the arts as well
27 as such student's scholastic achievement.
28 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
29 the amendments to paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 2590-h of
30 the education law made by section one of this act shall be subject to
31 the expiration and reversion of such section pursuant to subdivision 12
32 of section 17 of chapter 345 of the laws of 2009, as amended when upon
33 such date the provisions of section two of this act shall take effect.