STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7257 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 21, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to charter schools The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative intent. New York's charter school law was 2 enacted 14 years ago in an effort to create new learning opportunities 3 for all students, to encourage different and innovative teaching methods 4 and to provide parents and students with expanded choice within the 5 public schools. Fourteen years provides the state with enough informa- 6 tion to make judgments about changes that are needed in the law to 7 ensure the public knows how their tax dollars are being spent and to 8 ensure public schools serving the majority of students have the 9 resources needed to provide a quality education to all students. This 10 legislation is intended to clarify the transparency and accountability 11 of charter schools and provide fiscal relief to the school districts 12 where charter schools are located. 13 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 2851 of the education law, as amended by 14 chapter 101 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows: 15 1. An application to establish a charter school may be submitted by 16 teachers, parents, school administrators, community residents or any 17 combination thereof. Such application may be filed in conjunction with 18 a college, university, museum, educational institution, not-for-profit 19 corporation exempt from taxation under paragraph 3 of subsection (c) of 20 section 501 of the internal revenue code [or for-profit business or 21 corporate entity authorized to do business in New York state. Provided 22 however, for-profit business or corporate entities shall not be eligible 23 to submit an application to establish a charter school pursuant to 24 subdivision nine-a of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-two of this 25 article, or operate or manage a charter school for a charter issued 26 pursuant to subdivision nine-a of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-two EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD10426-01-5
A. 7257 2 1 of this article. For charter schools established in conjunction with a 2 for-profit business or corporate entity, the charter shall specify the 3 extent of the entity's participation in the management and operation of 4 the school], and provided that under no circumstances shall an applica- 5 tion to establish a charter school or approval to operate a charter 6 school be granted to a for-profit business or corporate entity author- 7 ized to do business in this state nor in any manner whatsoever shall 8 they have an involvement in the management and operation of a charter 9 school. The application shall include the amount of any management fee 10 to be paid to any not-for-profit corporation working in conjunction with 11 the applicants. Salaries of the employees of such not-for-profit corpo- 12 ration may not exceed the salaries for comparable positions in the 13 school district of location. 14 § 3. Paragraphs (d), (h), (p) and (v) of subdivision 2 of section 2851 15 of the education law, paragraphs (d) and (h) as added by chapter 4 of 16 the laws of 1998 and paragraphs (p) and (v) as amended by chapter 101 of 17 the laws of 2010, are amended to read as follows: 18 (d) Admission policies and procedures for the school, which shall be 19 consistent with the requirements of subdivision two of section twenty- 20 eight hundred fifty-four of this article. For charter renewals, such 21 policies and procedures shall include plans for ensuring the student 22 enrollment of the charter school includes a comparable percentage of 23 students on free lunch, students with disabilities and English language 24 learners as the school district in which the charter school is located. 25 (h) The rules and procedures by which students may be disciplined, 26 including but not limited to expulsion or suspension from the school, 27 which shall be consistent with the requirements of due process and with 28 federal laws and regulations governing the placement of students with 29 disabilities. Such rules and procedures shall include the provision of 30 educational services to any student on long term suspension or expul- 31 sion. 32 (p) The term of the proposed charter, which shall not exceed five 33 years during which instruction is provided to pupils; provided however, 34 in the case of charters issued pursuant to subdivision nine-a of section 35 twenty-eight hundred fifty-two of this article the term of such proposed 36 charter shall not exceed five years in which instruction is provided to 37 pupils plus the period commencing with the effective date of the charter 38 and ending with the opening of the school for instruction. 39 (v) A code of ethics for the charter school, setting forth for the 40 guidance of its trustees, officers and employees the standards of 41 conduct expected of them including standards with respect to disclosure 42 of conflicts of interest regarding any matter brought before the board 43 of trustees. Such code of ethics shall be in compliance with section 44 eight hundred six of the general municipal law. 45 § 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 of section 2851 of the education 46 law, as added by chapter 4 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as 47 follows: 48 (a) A report of the progress of the charter school in achieving the 49 educational objectives set forth in the charter. Such report shall 50 include disaggregated student performance data for all student 51 subgroups. 52 § 5. Paragraphs (d) and (e) of subdivision 2 of section 2852 of the 53 education law, as amended by section 4-a of part A of chapter 56 of the 54 laws of 2023, are amended and two new paragraphs (f) and (g) are added 55 to read as follows:
A. 7257 3 1 (d) in a school district where the total enrollment of resident 2 students attending charter schools in the base year is greater than five 3 percent of the total public school enrollment of the school district in 4 the base year [(i)] granting the application would have a significant 5 educational benefit to the students expected to attend the proposed 6 charter school [or (ii) the school district in which the charter school 7 will be located consents to such application]. For purposes of this 8 paragraph, in a city having a population of one million or more, the 9 school district shall be the community school district; [and] 10 (e) for applicants for an initial charter pursuant to paragraph (b-1) 11 of subdivision nine of this section in a school district located in a 12 city with a population of one million or more, the total enrollment of 13 students attending charter schools within the community district in 14 which the charter school will be located in the base year is less than 15 or equal to fifty-five percent of the total public school enrollment 16 attending within such community district in the base year[.]; 17 (f) the application for the charter school is approved by the board of 18 education of the school district where the charter school is to be 19 located; and 20 (g) the charter entity shall not approve an application that would 21 have the effect of increasing the racial isolation of a school district. 22 § 6. Subdivision 5-b of section 2852 of the education law, as added by 23 chapter 4 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as follows: 24 5-b. If the board of regents returns a proposed charter to the charter 25 entity pursuant to the provisions of subdivision five-a of this section, 26 such charter entity shall reconsider the proposed charter, taking into 27 consideration the comments and recommendation of the board of regents. 28 Thereafter, the charter entity shall resubmit the proposed charter to 29 the board of regents with modifications, provided that the applicant 30 consents in writing to such modifications, resubmit the proposed charter 31 to the board of regents without modifications with an explanation why 32 the modifications are not being made, or abandon the proposed charter. 33 The board of regents shall review each such resubmitted proposed charter 34 in accordance with the provisions of subdivision five-a of this 35 section[; provided, however, that it shall be the duty of the board of 36 regents to approve and issue a proposed charter resubmitted by the char- 37 ter entity described in paragraph (b) of subdivision three of section 38 twenty-eight hundred fifty-one of this article within thirty days of the 39 resubmission of such proposed charter or such proposed charter shall be 40 deemed approved and issued at the expiration of such period]. 41 § 7. Subdivision 7 of section 2852 of the education law is amended by 42 adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows: 43 (c) When a revision of a charter involves an increase in enrollment 44 which brings total enrollment in charter schools in the school district 45 of location above five percent the revision shall be denied unless the 46 school district of location approves the revision or the residents of 47 the school district approve the revision through a referendum of the 48 eligible voters to be held in conjunction with the annual budget vote. 49 For purposes of this paragraph in a city having a population of one 50 million or more the school district of location shall be the community 51 school district where the charter school is located. 52 § 8. Subdivision 10 of section 2852 of the education law, as added by 53 section 3 of part D-2 of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007, is amended to 54 read as follows: 55 10. Except in the case of a charter school formed by a school district 56 as a charter entity pursuant to paragraph (a) of subdivision three of
A. 7257 4 1 section twenty-eight hundred fifty-one of this article, a charter school 2 formed by approval of the regents or by operation of law on or after 3 [March] January fifteenth in any school year shall not commence instruc- 4 tion until July of the second school year next following. 5 § 9. Subdivision 2 of section 2853 of the education law, as added by 6 chapter 4 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as follows: 7 2. The board of regents and charter entity shall oversee each school 8 approved by such entity, and may visit, examine into and inspect any 9 charter school, including the records of such school, under its over- 10 sight. Oversight by a charter entity and the board of regents shall be 11 sufficient to ensure that the charter school is in compliance with all 12 applicable laws, regulations and charter provisions. The department 13 shall include charter schools in any review or audit of state assessment 14 administration or scoring. 15 § 10. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 2853 of the education 16 law, as amended by chapter 101 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read 17 as follows: 18 (a) A charter school may be located in part of an existing public 19 school building, in space provided on a private work site, in a public 20 building or in any other suitable location, provided, however, a charter 21 school shall not be located in any part of an existing school building 22 when such sharing would impact the public school's ability to meet the 23 class size targets established pursuant to section two hundred eleven-d 24 of this chapter. Provided, however, before a charter school may be 25 located in part of an existing public school building, the charter enti- 26 ty shall provide notice to the parents or guardians of the students then 27 enrolled in the existing school building and shall hold a public hearing 28 for purposes of discussing the location of the charter school. A charter 29 school may own, lease or rent its space. 30 § 11. Subdivision 3 of section 2853 of the education law is amended by 31 adding two new paragraphs (f) and (g) to read as follows: 32 (f) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any capital facility, or 33 other improvements made in public school buildings or equipment with a 34 period of probable usefulness of five or more years, with public or 35 private funds, to accommodate charter schools, shall require matching or 36 comparable improvements be made for other district schools located in 37 the same building. 38 (g) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any construction or capi- 39 tal improvement made in accordance with this article shall be made in 40 accordance with and subject to the provisions of articles eight and nine 41 of the labor law. 42 § 12. Paragraphs (c) and (e) of subdivision 1 of section 2854 of the 43 education law, paragraph (c) as amended by section 10-b of part A of 44 chapter 56 of the laws of 2014 and paragraph (e) as added by chapter 4 45 of the laws of 1998, are amended to read as follows: 46 (c) A charter school shall be subject to the financial audits, the 47 audit procedures, and the audit requirements set forth in the charter, 48 and [shall] may be subject to audits of the comptroller of the city 49 school district of the city of New York for charter schools located in 50 New York city, [and] to the audits of the comptroller of the state of 51 New York for charter schools located in the rest of the state, [at his 52 or her discretion] or the charter entity, with respect to the school's 53 financial operations. Such procedures and standards shall be consistent 54 with generally accepted accounting and audit standards. Independent 55 fiscal audits shall be required at least once annually.
A. 7257 5 1 (e) A charter school shall be subject to the provisions of articles 2 six and seven of the public officers law in the same manner as public 3 school districts. 4 § 13. Subdivision 1 of section 2854 of the education law is amended by 5 adding a new paragraph (g) to read as follows: 6 (g) A charter school shall be subject to the provisions of section 7 eight hundred six of the general municipal law. 8 § 14. Subdivision 2 of section 2854 of the education law, as added by 9 chapter 4 of the laws of 1998, paragraph (a) as amended by chapter 101 10 of the laws of 2010, and paragraph (b) as amended by section 3 of 11 subpart A of part B of chapter 20 of the laws of 2015, is amended to 12 read as follows: 13 2. Admissions; enrollment; students. (a) A charter school shall be 14 nonsectarian in its programs, admission policies, employment practices, 15 and all other operations and shall not charge tuition or fees; provided 16 that a charter school may require the payment of fees on the same basis 17 and to the same extent as other public schools. A charter school shall 18 not discriminate against any student, employee or any other person on 19 the basis of ethnicity, national origin, gender, or disability or any 20 other ground that would be unlawful if done by a school. Admission of 21 students shall not be limited on the basis of intellectual ability, 22 measures of achievement or aptitude, athletic ability, disability, race, 23 creed, gender, national origin, religion, or ancestry; provided, howev- 24 er, that nothing in this article shall be construed to prevent the 25 establishment of a single-sex charter school or a charter school 26 designed to provide expanded learning opportunities for students at-risk 27 of academic failure or students with disabilities and English language 28 learners; and provided, further, that the charter school shall [demon- 29 strate good faith efforts to] attract and retain a comparable or greater 30 enrollment of students with disabilities, English language learners, and 31 students who are eligible applicants for the free and reduced price 32 lunch program when compared to the enrollment figures for such students 33 in the school district in which the charter school is located. If a 34 charter school is not successful in attracting a comparable or greater 35 enrollment of students with disabilities and limited English proficient 36 students as compared to the enrollment figures for such students in the 37 school district in which the charter school is located such charter 38 school shall provide the chartering entity with a plan for improving the 39 enrollment of such students in the following year. Failure to comply 40 with this requirement for two consecutive years shall be subject to 41 revocation in accordance with subdivision one of section twenty-eight 42 hundred fifty-five of this article. A charter shall not be issued to any 43 school that would be wholly or in part under the control or direction of 44 any religious denomination, or in which any denominational tenet or 45 doctrine would be taught. 46 (b) Any child who is qualified under the laws of this state for admis- 47 sion to a public school is qualified for admission to a charter school. 48 Applications for admission to a charter school shall be submitted on a 49 uniform application form created by the department and shall be made 50 available by a charter school in languages predominately spoken in the 51 community in which such charter school is located. The school shall 52 enroll each eligible student who submits a timely application by the 53 first day of April each year, unless the number of applications exceeds 54 the capacity of the grade level or building. In such cases, students 55 shall be accepted from among applicants by a random selection process, 56 provided, however, that an enrollment preference shall be provided to
A. 7257 6 1 pupils when the charter school is located within one mile of the pupils' 2 residence, pupils returning to the charter school in the second or any 3 subsequent year of operation and pupils residing in the school district 4 in which the charter school is located, and siblings of pupils already 5 enrolled in the charter school and students on free lunch, and students 6 with disabilities, and students with limited English proficiency. Pref- 7 erence may also be provided to children of employees of the charter 8 school or charter management organization, provided that such children 9 of employees may constitute no more than fifteen percent of the charter 10 school's total enrollment. The commissioner shall establish regulations 11 to require that the random selection process conducted pursuant to this 12 paragraph be performed in a transparent and equitable manner and to 13 require that the time and place of the random selection process be 14 publicized in a manner consistent with the requirements of section one 15 hundred four of the public officers law and be open to the public. For 16 the purposes of this paragraph and paragraph (a) of this subdivision, 17 the school district in which the charter school is located shall mean, 18 for the city school district of the city of New York, the community 19 district in which the charter school is located. The charter entity is 20 responsible for ensuring the selection process is conducted in accord- 21 ance with this paragraph. If the charter entity determines the process 22 is not in compliance with this paragraph, the charter entity shall 23 conduct the process. 24 (c) A charter school shall serve one or more of the grades one through 25 twelve, and shall limit admission to pupils within the grade levels 26 served. Nothing herein shall prohibit a charter school from establishing 27 a kindergarten program. 28 (d) A student may withdraw from a charter school at any time and 29 enroll in a public school. A charter school must provide a report to the 30 chartering entity each year indicating the number of students leaving 31 the charter school, the months in which the students leave the school, 32 the reason the students leave the school and the school the student is 33 currently attending. A charter school may refuse admission to any 34 student who has been expelled or suspended from a public school until 35 the period of suspension or expulsion from the public school has 36 expired, consistent with the requirements of due process. 37 § 15. Paragraphs (b-1), (c) and (c-1) of subdivision 3 of section 2854 38 of the education law, paragraph (b-1) as amended by section 6 of part 39 D-2 of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007, and paragraphs (c) and (c-1) as 40 added by chapter 4 of the laws of 1998, are amended to read as follows: 41 (b-1) The employees of a charter school [that is not a conversion from 42 an existing public school] shall [not] be deemed members of [any] the 43 existing collective bargaining unit representing employees of the school 44 district in which the charter school is located, and the charter school 45 and its employees shall [not] be subject to any existing collective 46 bargaining agreement between the school district and its employees. 47 [Provided, however, that (i) if the student enrollment of the charter 48 school on the first day on which the charter school commences student 49 instruction exceeds two hundred fifty or if the average daily student 50 enrollment of such school exceeds two hundred fifty students at any 51 point during the first two years after the charter school commences 52 student instruction, all employees of the school who are eligible for 53 representation under article fourteen of the civil service law shall be 54 deemed to be represented in a separate negotiating unit at the charter 55 school by the same employee organization, if any, that represents like 56 employees in the school district in which such charter school is
A. 7257 7 1 located; (ii) the provisions of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph may 2 be waived in up to ten charters issued on the recommendation of the 3 charter entity set forth in paragraph (b) of subdivision three of 4 section twenty-eight hundred fifty-one of this article; (iii) the 5 provisions of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall not be applicable 6 to the renewal or extension of a charter; and (iv) nothing in this 7 sentence shall be construed to subject a charter school subject to the 8 provisions of this paragraph or its employees to any collective bargain- 9 ing agreement between any public school district and its employees or to 10 make the employees of such charter school part of any negotiating unit 11 at such school district. The charter school may, in its sole discretion, 12 choose whether or not to offer the terms of any existing collective 13 bargaining to school employees.] Provided, however, that a majority of 14 the members of a negotiating unit within a charter school may modify, in 15 writing, a collective bargaining agreement for the purposes of employ- 16 ment in the charter school with the approval of the board of trustees of 17 the charter school. 18 (c) The employees of the charter school [may] shall be deemed employ- 19 ees of the local school district for the purpose of providing retirement 20 benefits, including membership in the teachers' retirement system and 21 other retirement systems open to employees of public schools. The finan- 22 cial contributions for such benefits shall be the responsibility of the 23 charter school and the school's employees. The commissioner, in consul- 24 tation with the comptroller, shall develop regulations to implement the 25 provisions of this paragraph in a manner that allows charter schools to 26 provide retirement benefits to its employees in the same manner as other 27 public school employees. 28 (c-1) Reasonable access. (i) If employees of the charter school are 29 not represented, any charter school chartered pursuant to this article 30 must afford reasonable access to any employee organization during the 31 reasonable proximate period before any representation question is raised 32 in the same manner as any public employer; or 33 (ii) If the employee organization is a challenging organization, 34 reasonable access must be provided to any organization seeking to repre- 35 sent employees beginning with a date reasonably proximate to a challenge 36 period. Reasonableness is defined, at a minimum, as access equal to that 37 provided to the incumbent organization. 38 § 16. Subdivision 1 of section 2855 of the education law, as amended 39 by chapter 101 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows: 40 1. The charter entity, or the board of regents, [may] shall terminate 41 a charter upon any of the following grounds: 42 (a) When a charter school's outcome on student assessment measures 43 adopted by the board of regents falls below the level that would allow 44 the commissioner to revoke the registration of another public school, 45 and student achievement on such measures [has not shown improvement] has 46 not met annual yearly progress over the preceding three school years; 47 (b) Serious violations of law; 48 (c) Material and substantial violation of the charter, including 49 fiscal mismanagement and failure to meet student performance targets; 50 (d) When the public employment relations board makes a determination 51 that the charter school demonstrates a practice and pattern of egregious 52 and intentional violations of subdivision one of section two hundred 53 nine-a of the civil service law involving interference with or discrimi- 54 nation against employee rights under article fourteen of the civil 55 service law; [or]
A. 7257 8 1 (e) Repeated failure to comply with the requirement to meet or exceed 2 enrollment and retention targets of students with disabilities, English 3 language learners, and students who are eligible applicants for the free 4 and reduced price lunch program pursuant to targets established by the 5 board of regents or the board of trustees of the state university of New 6 York, as applicable. Provided, however, if no grounds for terminating a 7 charter are established pursuant to this section other than pursuant to 8 this paragraph, and the charter school demonstrates that it has made 9 extensive efforts to recruit and retain such students, including 10 outreach to parents and families in the surrounding communities, widely 11 publicizing the lottery for such school, and efforts to academically 12 support such students in such charter school, then the charter entity or 13 board of regents may retain such charter[.]; or 14 (f) Failure to enroll a comparable percentage of students qualifying 15 for free lunch, students with disabilities and English language learners 16 for two consecutive years. 17 § 17. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 2856 of the education 18 law, as amended by section 4 of part YYY of chapter 59 of the laws of 19 2017, is amended and a new paragraph (a-1) is added to read as follows: 20 (a-1) For the two thousand twenty-five--two thousand twenty-six school 21 year and each school year thereafter the state shall reimburse school 22 districts for the local share of the charter school tuition payment of 23 any students attending a charter school in the June payment required by 24 section three thousand six hundred nine-a of this chapter. Such local 25 share shall be calculated by deducting from the charter school tuition 26 payment the per pupil foundation aid amount attributable to such pupil. 27 (b) The school district shall also pay directly to the charter school 28 any federal or state aid attributable to a student with a disability 29 attending charter school in proportion to the level of services for such 30 student with a disability that the charter school provides directly or 31 indirectly. Notwithstanding anything in this section to the contrary, 32 amounts payable pursuant to this subdivision from state or local funds 33 may be reduced pursuant to an agreement between the school and the char- 34 ter entity set forth in the charter. Payments made pursuant to this 35 subdivision shall be made by the school district in six substantially 36 equal installments each year beginning on the first business day of July 37 and every two months thereafter. Amounts payable under this subdivision 38 shall be determined by the commissioner. Amounts payable to a charter 39 school in its first year of operation shall be based on the projections 40 of initial-year enrollment set forth in the charter until actual enroll- 41 ment data is reported to the school district by the charter school. Such 42 actual enrollment shall be reported to the school district prior to each 43 payment following the initial July payment which shall be based on 44 projected enrollment. Such projections shall be reconciled with the 45 actual enrollment as actual enrollment data is so reported and at the 46 end of the school's first year of operation and each subsequent year 47 based on a final report of actual enrollment by the charter school, and 48 any necessary adjustments resulting from such final report shall be made 49 to payments during the school's following year of operation. 50 § 18. Subdivisions 2 and 3 of section 2857 of the education law, 51 subdivision 2 as amended and paragraph (a-1) of subdivision 3 as added 52 by chapter 101 of the laws of 2010 and subdivision 3 as amended by 53 section 7 of part D-2 of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007, are amended to 54 read as follows: 55 2. Each charter school shall submit to the charter entity and to the 56 board of regents an annual report. Such report shall be issued no later
A. 7257 9 1 than the first day of August of each year for the preceding school year 2 and provided to the school district where the charter school is located 3 for display on the school district website, and shall be made publicly 4 available by such date and shall be posted on the charter school's 5 website. The annual report shall be in such form as shall be prescribed 6 by the commissioner and shall include at least the following components: 7 (a) a charter school report card, which shall include measures of the 8 comparative academic and fiscal performance of the school, as prescribed 9 by the commissioner in regulations adopted for such purpose. Such meas- 10 ures shall include, but not be limited to, graduation rates, dropout 11 rates, performance of students on standardized tests disaggregated for 12 sub-groups, college entry rates, total spending per pupil and adminis- 13 trative spending per pupil. Such measures shall be presented in a 14 format that is easily comparable to similar public schools. In addition, 15 the charter school shall ensure that such information is easily accessi- 16 ble to the community including making it publicly available by transmit- 17 ting it to local newspapers of general circulation and making it avail- 18 able for distribution at board of trustee meetings. 19 (b) discussion of the progress made towards achievement of the goals 20 set forth in the charter. 21 (c) a certified financial statement setting forth, by appropriate 22 categories, the revenues from all sources and expenditures including the 23 salary of the school leader and any other salaries in excess of the 24 reporting requirements for public school districts contained in section 25 sixteen hundred eight of this title and contracts with consultants and 26 vendors for the preceding school year, including a copy of the most 27 recent independent fiscal audit of the school and any audit conducted by 28 the comptroller of the state of New York. 29 (d) efforts taken by the charter school in the existing school year, 30 and a plan for efforts to be taken in the succeeding school year, to 31 meet or exceed enrollment and retention targets set by the board of 32 regents or the board of trustees of the state university of New York, as 33 applicable, of students with disabilities, English language learners, 34 and students who are eligible applicants for the free and reduced price 35 lunch program established pursuant to paragraph (e) of subdivision four 36 of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-one of this article. 37 3. The board of regents shall report annually by December first to the 38 governor, the temporary president of the senate, and the speaker of the 39 assembly and the public the following information: 40 (a) The number, distribution, and a brief description of new charter 41 schools established during the preceding year; 42 (a-1) A list including the number of charter schools closed during the 43 preceding year, and a brief description of the reasons therefor includ- 44 ing, but not limited to, non-renewal of the charter or revocation of the 45 charter; 46 (b) The department's assessment of the current and projected program- 47 matic and fiscal impact of charter schools on the delivery of services 48 by school districts; 49 (c) The academic progress of students attending charter schools, as 50 measured against comparable public and nonpublic schools with similar 51 student population characteristics [wherever practicable]; 52 (d) A list of all actions taken by a charter entity on charter appli- 53 cation and the rationale for the renewal or revocation of any charters; 54 and
A. 7257 10 1 (e) Any other information regarding charter schools that the board of 2 regents deems necessary including information on best practices of char- 3 ter schools that improve student performance. 4 The format for this annual report shall be developed in consultation 5 with representatives of school districts and charter school officials. 6 § 19. Subparagraph (v) of paragraph a of subdivision 7 of section 1608 7 of the education law, as amended by chapter 514 of the laws of 2016, is 8 amended and a new subparagraph (vi) is added to read as follows: 9 (v) the projected amount of the unappropriated unreserved fund balance 10 that will be retained if the proposed budget is adopted, the projected 11 amount of the reserved fund balance, the projected amount of the appro- 12 priated fund balance, the percentage of the proposed budget that the 13 unappropriated unreserved fund balance represents, the actual unappro- 14 priated unreserved fund balance retained in the school district budget 15 for the preceding school year, and the percentage of the school district 16 budget for the preceding school year that the actual unappropriated 17 unreserved fund balance represents, and a schedule of reserve funds, 18 setting forth the name of each reserve fund, a description of its 19 purpose, the balance as of the close of the third quarter of the current 20 school district fiscal year and a brief statement explaining any plans 21 for the use of each such reserve fund for the ensuing fiscal year[.]; 22 and 23 (vi) the projected amount of payments to be made to charter schools in 24 the next school year. 25 § 20. Subparagraph (v) of paragraph a of subdivision 7 of section 1716 26 of the education law, as amended by chapter 514 of the laws of 2016, is 27 amended and a new subparagraph (vi) is added to read as follows: 28 (v) the projected amount of the unappropriated unreserved fund balance 29 that will be retained if the proposed budget is adopted, the projected 30 amount of the reserved fund balance, the projected amount of the appro- 31 priated fund balance, the percentage of the proposed budget that the 32 unappropriated unreserved fund balance represents, the actual unappro- 33 priated unreserved fund balance retained in the school district budget 34 for the preceding school year, a schedule of reserve funds, setting 35 forth the name of each reserve fund, a description of its purpose, the 36 balance as of the close of the third quarter of the current school 37 district fiscal year and a brief statement explaining any plans for the 38 use of each such reserve fund for the ensuing fiscal year and the 39 percentage of the school district budget for the preceding school year 40 that the actual unappropriated unreserved fund balance represents[.]; 41 and (vi) the projected amount of payments to be made to charter schools 42 in the next school year. 43 § 21. Paragraph t of subdivision 1 of section 3602 of the education 44 law is amended by adding a new closing paragraph to read as follows: 45 Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, in 46 computing approved operating expense pursuant to this paragraph for city 47 school districts of those cities having a population in excess of one 48 hundred twenty-five thousand but less than one million; an amount equal 49 to (i) the amount computed for the school district for the two thousand 50 six--two thousand seven school year pursuant to former subdivision thir- 51 ty-seven of this section as this section existed on June thirtieth, two 52 thousand seven, (ii) the state funds which such district received in the 53 two thousand six--two thousand seven school year for magnet school 54 grants to public schools, and (iii) the state funds which such district 55 received in the two thousand six--two thousand seven school year for 56 teacher support, shall be accounted for in the same way as state funds
A. 7257 11 1 received for such purpose in the two thousand six--two thousand seven 2 school year. 3 § 22. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 4 the amendments to subdivision 1 of section 2856 of the education law 5 made by section seventeen of this act shall not affect the expiration of 6 such subdivision and shall expire therewith.