STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1415
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 14, 2019
___________
Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- 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 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:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00037-02-9
S. 1415 2
1 (b) all specialized [senior] high schools. The [special] specialized
2 high schools shall include the [present] schools known as[:]
3 The Bronx High School of Science, Stuyvesant High School, Brooklyn
4 Technical High School, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music [and
5 the Arts in the borough of Manhattan] & Art and Performing Arts, and
6 such [further] additional schools [which the city board may designate]
7 as may be designated by the chancellor from time to time. The [special]
8 specialized high schools shall be permitted to maintain a discovery
9 program in accordance with the law in effect on the date preceding the
10 effective date of this section; provided that the requirement that a
11 student who is considered for the discovery program attend and pass a
12 preparatory program administered by the specialized high school, demon-
13 strating thereby his or her ability to successfully cope with the
14 specialized high school program, shall refer to a program that can take
15 place during the school year or the summer; admissions to the [special]
16 specialized high schools shall be conducted in accordance with [the law
17 in effect on the date preceding the effective date of this] section
18 twenty-five hundred ninety-h-1 of this article;
19 § 3. The education law is amended by adding a new section 2590-h-1 to
20 read as follows:
21 § 2590-h-1. Admissions to the specialized high schools. 1. Admissions
22 to the specialized high schools shall be conducted in accordance with
23 this section, provided that students may also be admitted to the
24 specialized high schools for the two thousand twenty--two thousand twen-
25 ty-one and the two thousand twenty-one--two thousand twenty-two school
26 years pursuant to the discovery program as set forth in section twenty-
27 five hundred ninety-h of this article.
28 2. For the admissions process conducted during the two thousand nine-
29 teen--two thousand twenty school year to determine admissions to the
30 specialized high schools for the two thousand twenty--two thousand twen-
31 ty-one school year, students who meet the criteria set forth in this
32 subdivision shall be offered admission to the specialized high schools
33 in the following order:
34 (a) students attending public schools located in the city of New York
35 who are in the top three percent of their eighth grade class, as calcu-
36 lated based on multiple measures of student achievement pursuant to
37 subdivision five of this section, and who achieve a composite score
38 above or at the cut-off composite score for the school such students
39 have committed themselves to attend, pursuant to subdivision five of
40 this section, provided that such students shall also rank in the top
41 quarter of public school students in the eighth grade citywide based on
42 such multiple measures of student achievement, and provided further that
43 openings shall be reserved for such students at each specialized high
44 school as set forth in subdivision seven of this section;
45 (b) students in the city of New York who take a competitive, objective
46 and scholastic achievement examination in the eighth grade and achieve a
47 score above or at the cut-off score for the openings that remain in the
48 school for which such students have taken the examination; and
49 (c) students in the city of New York who take a competitive, objective
50 and scholastic examination in the ninth grade and achieve a score above
51 or at the cut-off score for the openings that remain in the school for
52 which such students have taken the examination.
53 3. For the admissions process conducted during the two thousand twen-
54 ty--two thousand twenty-one school year to determine admissions to the
55 specialized high schools for the two thousand twenty-one--two thousand
56 twenty-two school year, students who meet the criteria set forth in this
S. 1415 3
1 subdivision shall be offered admission to the specialized high schools
2 in the following order:
3 (a) students attending public schools located in the city of New York
4 who are in the top five percent of their eighth grade class, as calcu-
5 lated based on multiple measures of student achievement pursuant to
6 subdivision five of this section, and who achieve a composite score
7 above or at the cut-off composite score for the school such students
8 have committed themselves to attend pursuant to subdivision five of this
9 section, provided that such students shall also rank in the top quarter
10 of public school students in the eighth grade citywide based on such
11 multiple measures of student achievement, and provided further that
12 openings shall be reserved for such students at each specialized high
13 school as set forth in subdivision seven of this section;
14 (b) students in the city of New York who take a competitive, objective
15 and scholastic achievement examination in the eighth grade and achieve a
16 score above or at the cut-off score for the openings that remain in the
17 school for which such students have taken the examination; and
18 (c) students in the city of New York who take a competitive, objective
19 and scholastic examination in the ninth grade and achieve a score above
20 or at the cut-off score for the openings that remain in the school for
21 which such students have taken the examination.
22 4. For the admissions process conducted during the two thousand twen-
23 ty-one--two thousand twenty-two school year and subsequent school years
24 to determine admissions to the specialized high schools for the two
25 thousand twenty-two--two thousand twenty-three school year and subse-
26 quent school years, students who meet the criteria set forth in this
27 subdivision shall be offered admission to the specialized high schools
28 in the following order:
29 (a) students attending public schools located in the city of New York
30 who are in the top five to seven percent of their eighth grade class,
31 such percentage to be determined to allow openings to remain for admis-
32 sion pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision and as calculated
33 based on multiple measures of student achievement, determined as set
34 forth in subdivision five of this section, and who achieve a composite
35 score above or at the cut-off composite score for the school such
36 students have committed themselves to attend, determined as set forth in
37 subdivision five of this section, provided that such students shall also
38 rank in the top quarter of public school students in the eighth grade
39 citywide based on such multiple measures of student achievement, and
40 provided further that openings shall be reserved for such students at
41 each specialized high school as set forth in subdivision seven of this
42 section; and
43 (b) students in the city of New York who have a minimum grade point
44 average of 3.7, provided such students shall be admitted by a random
45 selection process for the openings that remain in each school.
46 5. The chancellor shall determine the multiple measures of student
47 achievement as referenced in this section, and the weight of each such
48 measure, provided that such measures shall include academic course
49 grades and standardized test scores. A description of such measures and
50 the weight accorded to each shall be made publicly available, including
51 on the website of the city school district. A student who is evaluated
52 based on such measures for the purposes of this subdivision shall be
53 assigned a composite score based on such weighted measures. Offers of
54 admission to the specialized high schools pursuant to paragraphs (a) of
55 subdivisions two through four of this section shall be determined by
56 arranging the composite scores of all students who are assigned such
S. 1415 4
1 scores and who then commit themselves to attend a particular specialized
2 high school in descending order from the highest score and counting down
3 to the cut-off composite score, which shall be the composite score of
4 the last student who receives an offer of admission to such school based
5 on the number of openings available in such school pursuant to such
6 paragraph.
7 6. Offers of admission to the specialized high schools pursuant to
8 paragraphs (b) and (c) of subdivisions two and three of this section
9 shall be determined by arranging the scores of all the candidates who
10 took the competitive, objective and scholastic examination and who then
11 commit themselves to attend a particular specialized high school in
12 descending order from the highest score and counting down to the cut-off
13 score, which shall be the score of the last candidate who receives an
14 offer of admission to such school based on the number of openings avail-
15 able in such school.
16 7. The number of openings reserved at each specialized high school for
17 students who meet the criteria set forth in paragraphs (a) of subdivi-
18 sions two through four of this section shall be determined by multiply-
19 ing: (a) the total number of ninth grade available openings at such
20 school; by (b) the number of students who meet the criteria set forth in
21 paragraphs (a) of subdivisions two through four of this section divided
22 by the aggregate number of ninth grade available openings in all the
23 specialized high schools.
24 8. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, admission to the
25 Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts,
26 and other schools of the arts that may be established pursuant to
27 section twenty-five hundred ninety-h of this article, shall be deter-
28 mined by a student's demonstrated abilities in music or the arts as well
29 as such student's scholastic achievement.
30 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
31 the amendments to paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 2590-h of
32 the education law made by section one of this act shall be subject to
33 the expiration and reversion of such section pursuant to subdivision 12
34 of section 17 of chapter 345 of the laws of 2009, as amended when upon
35 such date the provisions of section two of this act shall take effect.