Brooks Affirm Exh 4 - NYLS Legislative History

8/6/2019 Brooks Affirm Exh 4 - NYLS Legislative History

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ILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK OS/26/20111SCEF DOC. NO. 57-4

INDEX NO. 104300/RECEIVED NYSCEF: OS/26/NYLS

LEG ISLATIVEHISTORY Copyrighted as a compilation by New York Legislative Service, Inc.

2010CHAPTER 10125 PAGES

CHARTER SCHOOLSAlso Available from NYLS:Senate Debate Transcripts: 24 pages.Assembly Debate Transcripts: 70 pages.Material on Prior Legislation

Terms and ConditionsThis legislative history has been compiled by New York Legislative Service, Inc. In the absence of the officialGovernor's Bill Jacket, we have accumulated any relevant material that we can find such as memoranda, CommitteeReports, Commission Reports, Senate and Assembly debate transcripts, public hearing transcripts, and newsclippings. It may be specifically tailored to a section of the Statute which you requested, and may also be updatedfrom time to time.Legislative histories purchased on behalf of your client may not be copied for archiving in your library, norfor distribution. This compiled legislative history may not be loaned or copied, nor submitted for inclusionon a union list for loan or copy.New York Legislative Service is a completely self-supporting, not-for-profit organization which operates as a serviceto the community. Essentially, our expert services are provided at cost, and we keep our fees as low as possible.These document fees are based upon a one-time usage by our clients and are our main source of income. Thankyou for supporting our organization and helping us to maintain our services!

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A113tO Rules (Nolan) Same as S 7990 OPPENHEIMERGovernor Program # 269Education LawTITLE ....Relates to the establishment, organization, and administration of charter schools

OS/28110 referred to educationOS/28/10 reported referred to rulesOS/28110 reportedOS/28/10 rules report ca1.59OS/28/10 ordered to third reading rules ca1.59OS/28/10 message of necessity - 3 day messageOS/28/10 passed assemblyOS/28/10 delivered to senateOS/28110 REFERRED TO RULESOS/28/10 SUBSTITUTED FOR S7990OS/28/10 3RD READING CAL.665OS/28110 MESSAGE OF NECESSITY - 3 DAY MESSAGEOS/28/10 PASSED SENATEOS/28/10 RETURNED TO ASSEMBLYOS/28/10 delivered to governorOS/28/10 signed chap.tOt


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A11310 Rules (Silver) Same as S 7990 OPPENHEIMER05128/10 A11310 AssemblyVote Yes: 93 No: 42ER Abbate Yes Alessi No Alfano Yes AmedoreYes Arroyo Yes Aubry ER Bacalles Yes BallNo Barclay ER Barra No Barron Yes BenedettoYes Benjamin Yes Bing Yes Boyland Yes BoyleNo Brennan Yes Brodsky Yes Brook-Krasny ER BurlingNo Butler Yes Cahill No Calhoun Yes CamaraYes Canestrari Yes Carrozza Yes Castelli Yes CastroER Christensen Yes Clark Yes Colton No ConteER Cook Yes Corwin Yes Crespo No CrouchYes Cusick Yes Cymbrowitz Yes DelMonte Yes DenDekkerYes Destito No Dinowitz No Duprey Yes EnglebrightER Errigo Yes Espaillat Yes Farrell Yes FieldsNo Finch Yes Fitzpatrick Yes Gabryszak Yes GalefER Gantt Yes Gianaris Yes Gibson Yes GiglioNo Glick No Gordon Yes Gottfried No Gunther AYes Hawley No Hayes ER Heastie Yes HevesiYes Hikind Yes Hooper Yes Hoyt Yes Hyer-SpencerYes Jacobs No Jaffee Yes Jeffries Yes JohnYes Jordan Yes Kavanagh Yes Kellner No KolbNo Koon Yes Lancman No Latimer Yes LavineYes Lentol No Lifton Yes LopezP ER Lopez VYes Lupardo ER Magee Yes Magnarelli No MaiselYes Markey Yes Mayersohn Yes McDonough No McEnenyYes McKevitt Yes Meng No Miller J Yes MillerMYes Millman No Molinaro No Montesano Yes MorelleYes Murray Yes Nolan No Oaks Yes O'DonnellNo O'Mara No Ortiz No Parment Yes PaulinYes Peoples-Stokes Yes Perry Yes Pheffer Yes PowellNo Pretlow Yes Quinn No Rabbitt No RaiaNo Ramos No Reilich No Reilly No Rivera JER RiveraN ER Rivera P No Robinson Yes RosenthalNo Russell No Saladino Yes Sayward Yes ScarboroughYes Schimel Yes Schimminger Yes Schroeder No ScozzafavaYes Skartados Yes Spano Yes Stirpe Yes SweeneyYes Tedisco No Thiele Yes Titone Yes TitusYes Tobacco Yes Towns No Townsend ER WeinsteinYes Weisenberg Yes Weprin Yes Wright Yes Zebrowski KYes Mr. Speaker

Wl{ l < NOfL"1 l ~0? o t J - e J o a r e .


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A11310 Rules (Silver) Same as S 7990 OPPENHEIMER05128/10 A1l310 Senate Vote Aye: 45 Nay: 14Aye Adams Aye Addabbo Aye Alesi Aye AubertineAye Bonacic Aye Breslin Aye DeFrancisco Aye DiazAye Dilan Aye Duane Aye Espada Nay FarleyNay Flanagan Aye Foley Aye Fuschillo Nay GoldenNay Griffo Aye Hannon Aye Hassell- Thompson Aye HuntleyAye JohnsonC Nay Johnson 0 Aye Klein Aye KruegerAye Kruger Aye Lanza Nay Larkin Nay LaValleAye Leibell Nay Libous Aye Little Aye MarcellinoNay Maziarz Nay McDonald Aye Montgomery Exc MorahanNay Nozzolio Aye Onorato Aye Oppenheimer Nay PadavanAye Parker Aye Peralta Aye Perkins Aye RanzenhoferAye Robach Nay Saland Aye Sampson Aye SavinoAye Schneiderman Aye Serrano Exc Seward Aye SkelosAye Smith Aye Squadron Aye Stachowski Aye StaviskyAye Stewart-Cousins Aye Thompson Aye Va1esky Aye VolkerExc Winner Nay Young

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P R O G R A M B I L L I:2 6 9GOVERNOR'S PROGRAM BILL

2010

MEMORANDUMAN ACT to amendthe education law in. relation to charter schools

Purpose:'. To provide for the issuance of additional charters through a new ,competitive request for proposals process developed by the board of regents andthe board of trustees of the state university qf New York and to establish

enhanced transparency and accountabilitymeasures for the operation andmanagement of charter schools. "Summary ,ofProvisions:

This legislation provides for the establishment of a new process to issuecharters. The board-of regents and the board of trustees of the state university ofNew York (SUNY Trustees) are each authorized to develop a request forproposals process for 260 new charters that provides for thoughtful review ofcharter appllcations and ensures that growth in charter schools is targeted,'planned, and. geared toward high-performance standards. One hundred thirty ofthe new charters would be issued on' the' recommendation of the SUNY Trustees,of which no more than 57 may be for charter schools located in New York City.Of the. additional 130 charters issued by the board of regents, no more than 57may be for charter schools to be located in NeW York City. ,The first request forproposals pursuant to this process will be issued by August 1,2010 for amaximum of 32 charters for each the board of regents and the SUNY trustees.The board of regents and the SUNY trustees must issue a new request forproposals on January 1, 2011, for 33 charters each, on January 1, 2012 for 32charters each, and on January 1, 2013 for 33 charters each.

. ,.

.Charter schools. will have to meet enrollment and retention targets ofstudents. with disabilities, English 'language learners (ELLs), and students eligible,for the free and reduced price lunch program (FRPLs) and undergo a rigorouspublic 'review process, A repeated failure to meet enrollment and retention 'targets could be grounds for revocation of a.charter. .

'The board of regents and the SUNY Trustees must develop a scoringrubric to grant priority to applications that best demonstrate several objectives,fncluding increasing student achievement and decreasing student achievementgaps, increasing high school graduation rates and focusing on serving specifichigh school student populations, focusing on the academic achievement ofmiddle school students, ~tilizing high quality assessments, using local

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instructional systems, partnering with low performing public schools to share besteducational practices; demonstrating the management and leadershiptechniques to operate a thriving, financially viable charter school, anddemonstrating the support of the school district in which the proposed charterschool will be located.New procedures are enacted for co-locations of charter schools in publicschool buildings in New York City. The chancellor would be required to develop. a building usage plan for each co-located charter school, which would includeinformation such as the actual allocation and sharing of classroom andadministrative space, aproposal for the collaborative usage of shared resources,building safety, and communication and collaborative decision-making strategies ..An expedited appeal may be made regarding the determination to locate or co-locate a charter school in a public school building and the implementation of andcompliance with the building usage plan.. In addition, capital improvements orfacility upgrades in excess of $5,000 made to a co-located charter school willrequire a matching capital improvement in the co-located non-charter public'

schools.In addition to establishing .a new standardized charter issuance process,certain changes to the management and operation of charter schools will apply tocharters issued pursuant to the request for proposals process, such asprohibiting for-profit corporations or entities from applying for, managing oroperating any new charter schools, requiring State Education Department (SED)approval of plans and specifications and compliance with SED facility health,sanitary, and safety requirements. In addition, the term of charters issued will be.comprised of up to five instructional years. . .

Several new measures are 'enacted to ensure greater accountability andtransparency. Charter schools will be subject to audits of the state comptroller,and any'comptroller audits must be included in the charter school's annualreport. In addition, the charter school annual report, which currently includesacademic data, financial statements, and the charter school report card, mustbemade more widely and publicly available. A new component is added to the.annual report, requiring information on the charter school's efforts taken during .the current year, and a plan for subsequent years, to meet or exceed enrollmentand retention targets of students witrydisabilities, ELLs, and ,FRPLs. The boardof regent's annual report is also expanded to require a list of charter schools thatclosed in the previous year and the reasons for the closure. The board ofregents is.also required to annually review and make available to school districtsthe best practices employed by charter schools. .

Charter schools will be subject to the provisions of the general municipallaw regarding code of ethics, including disclosure of interest, to the same extentas all public school districts. In addition, a charter school's board oftrusteesmust establish a process for monthly board meetings held at the charter school.

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In addition, changes are made to the charter school law to provide thatapplicants may propose to establish schools to specifically servestudents who.. are in need of special assistance and support, such as students with disabilities'and English language learners.

. 'SED is required to develop a uniform application form for studentsapplying to charter schools that will have to be made available by the charterschool in the languages predominantly spoken in the community where thecharter school is located. In addition, the commissioner of education is requiredto issue regulations to ensure that the enrollment lottery is conducted 'in anequitable manner and that the time and location of the lottery is publicized in amanner that is consistent with the open meetings law. -,Existing law:

Under Article 5 , 6 of the Education Law, rules governing charter schools arespecified, including the total number of charters beinqissued, the process bywhich they are issued, the duration of such charters and various otherrequirements to establishing and operating charter schools.Statement in Support:

In 1998, the Legislature approved a comprehensive charter school law,and several modifications were made to the law in 2007. In reviewing theimpacts of this legislation, there have been instances of successes, but areas ofconcern have also been raised, This legislation 'seeks to provide for. a newcharter issuance process, and address issues of concern regarding the operation 'and management of charter schools, 'as well as enacting several new enhancedtransparency and accountability measures;

Budget Implications:

Effective Date:

This l:>illwould make New York more competitive fo r additional federalfunding available in the Race to the Top grant pursuant to the American, Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 20Q9.

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Immediately, provided that sections 6,19,21 and 23 shall take effect onJanuary 1, 2011.


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NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLYMEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATIONsubmitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(1)

BILL NUMBER: Al1310SPONSOR: Rules (Nolan)TITLE OF BILL:An act to amend the education law, in relation to charter schoolsPURPOSE:To provide for the issuance of additional charters through a new compet-itive request for proposals process developed by the board of regentsand the board of trustees of the state university of New York and toestablish enhanced transparency and accountability measures for theoperation and management of charter schools.SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:This legislation provides for the establishment of a new process toissue charters. The board of regents and the Board of Trustees of theState University of New York (SUNY Trustees) are each authorized todevelop a request for proposals process for 260 new charters thatprovides for thoughtful review of charter applications and ensures thatgrowth in charter schools is targeted, planned, and geared toward high-performance standards. One hundred thirty of the new charters would beissued on the recommendation of the SUNY Trustees, of which no more than57 may be for charter schools located in New York City. Of the addi-tional 130 charters issued by the board of regents, no more than 57 maybe for charter schools to be located in New York City. The first requestfor proposals pursuant to this process will be issued by August 1, 2010for a maximum of 32 charters for each the board of regents and the SUNYtrustees. The board of regents and the SUNY trustees must issue a newrequest for proposals on January 1, 2011, for 33 charters each, on Janu-ary 1, 2012 for 32 charters each, and on January 1, 2013 for 33 charterseach.Charter schools will have to meet enrollment and retention targets ofstudents with disabilities, English language learners (ELLs), andstudents eligible for the free and reduced price lunch program (FRPLs)and undergo a rigorous public review process. A repeated failure to meetenrollment and retention targets could be grounds for revocation of acharter.The board of regents and the SUNY Trustees must develop a scoring rubricto grant priority to applications that best demonstrate several objec-tives, including increasing student achievement and decreasing studentachievement gaps, increasing high school graduation rates and focusingon serving specific high school student populations, focusing on theacademic achievement of middle school students, utilizing high qualityassessments, using local instructional systems, partnering with lowperforming public schools to share best educational practices, demon-


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strating the management and leadership techniques to operate a thriving,financially viable charter school, and demonstrating the support of theschool district in which the proposed charter school will be located.New procedures are enacted for co-locations of charter schools in publicschool buildings in New York City. The chancellor would be required todevelop a building usage plan for each co-located charter school, whichwould include information such as the actual allocation and sharing ofclassroom and administrative space, a proposal for the collaborativeusage of shared resources, building safety, and communication and colla-borative decision-making strategies. An expedited appeal may be maderegarding the determination to locate or co-locate a charter school in apublic school building and the implementation of and compliance with thebuilding usage plan. In addition, capital improvements or facilityupgrades in excess of $5,000 made to a co-located charter school willrequire a matching capital improv~ment in the co-located non-charterpublic schools.In addition to establishing a new standardized charter issuance process,certain changes to the management and operation of charter schools willapply to charters issued pursuant to the request for proposals process,such as prohibiting for-profit corporations or entities from applyingfor, managing or operating any new charter schools, requiring StateEducation Department (SED) approval of plans and specifications andcompliance with SED facility health, sanitary, and safety requirements.In addition, the term of charters issued will be comprised of up to fiveinstructional years.Several new measures are enacted to ensure greater accountability andtransparency. Charter schools will be subject to audits of the statecomptroller, and any comptroller audits must be included in the charterschool's annual report. In addition, the charter school annual report,which currently includes academic data, financial statements, and thecharter school report card, must be made more widely and publicly avail-able. A new component is added to the annual report, requiring informa-tion on the charter school's efforts taken during the current year, anda plan for subsequent years; to meet or exceed enrollment and retentiontargets of students with disabilities, ELLs, and FRPLs. The board ofregent's annual report is also expanded to require a list of charterschools that closed in the previous year and the reasons for theclosure. The board of regents is also required to annually review andmake available to school districts the best practices employed by char-ter schools.Charter schools will be subject to the provisions of the general munici-pal law regarding code of ethics, including disclosure of interest, tothe same extent as all public school districts. In addition, a charterschool's board of trustees must establish a process for monthly boardmeetings held at the charter school.In addition, changes are made to the charter school law to provide thatapplicants may propose to establish schools to specifically servestudents who are in need of special assistance and support, such asstudents with disabilities and English language learners.SED is required to develop a uniform application form for students

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applying to charter schools that will have to be made available by thecharter school in the languages predominantly spoken in the communitywhere the charter school is located. In addition, the commissioner ofeducation is required to issue regulations to ensure that the enrollmentlottery is conducted in an equitable manner and that the time andlocation of the lottery is publicized in a manner that is consistentwith the open meetings law.EXISTING LAW:Under Article 56 of the Education Law, rules governing charter schoolsare specified, including the total number of charters being issued, theprocess by which they are issued, the duration of such charters andvarious other requirements to establishing and operating charterschools.STATEMENT IN SUPPORT:In 1998, the Legislature approved a comprehensive charter school law,and several modifications were made to the law in 2007. In reviewing theimpacts of this legislation, there have been instances of successes, butareas of concern have also been raised. This legislation seeks toprovide for a new charter issuance process, and address issues ofconcern regarding the operation and management of charter schools, aswell as enacting several new enhanced transparency and accountabilitymeasures.BUDGET IMPLICATIONS:This bill would make New York more competitive for additional federalfunding available in the Race to the Top grant pursuant to the AmericanRecovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.EFFECTIVE DATE:Immediately, provided that sections 6, 19, 21 and 23 shall take effecton January 1, 2011.

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MlCAl{ C, J:,ASHER..DirectorSt~~~Leg.isl"dv~Affllirs

THECln'O~NEW'YORKOFFICe OF"I'm: MA"(OR

Cll)'UaUl'I~...Y ork , N c: wY ork 1 C a0 7

(7.1z) ~ . e s n 1 011l' W.,hluJ,tiln "y.Z\u~MbllJ1)1 , No; . ,. '1 (11r l( 1~:UO

(511)447~200

LEGlSLATlVEREFERENCETlTLE

. A. 1 1 : 3 1 0 - b y Commit te~ OD . 'R ules - a t th e request ofM . of 1 \ . . . No la n a nd th e G ov ern orS .7 990 - b y M . of'S , Oppenhe imerAN ACT to amend the education l aw .in re la tio n to c ha rte r s ch oo ls

REASONs~o~SOP~ORTThis bill responds to President Obama's call for bigh quality charter public schools as a cri t ica l component of thofe del :1 l1R ac e to th e T op competit ion. by r uc p an tfu )g f rom 2 0 0 to 460 ' the nm nb er of av a ila b le cherte rs . By lifring th ecap to 10% of all public schools in the State, the legisla t ion will enable New York to qualify for the maximumnum ber of poin ts re la ted to cha rte r scbools and th ere b y b ols te r our :R ound 2 app lica tion for up to S700 mill ion.50% of any grant received by New York wou ld go to the State EdUcation Department to i.mpl~ent progrlU)1Soutlined in the State's application, and 50% would be allocated to local scbool districts based upon Title I studentenrollment, to belpsupport efforts to improve student performance , New York State was a final ist , but not awinner, inRound 1.Independen ; resea rch has repea ted ly found lhat N ew Y ork C ity's c h aner schools dram atic a lly outperform non-cherrer schools serv ing th e sam e mix o f s tu d en ts . A rec en t study b y a . resea rch troup a t SUmford l1ni\ lcrsi ty~ whicbhad previously oalled out weaknesses in charter scboots nationwide, identified New York's group of charterschools a s a beacon. In . a January 10 ,201 0 editorial, The New York Times discussed "why charter schools in NewYork City are outperforming charters etseohere" as well as their local " t rad it iona l -school coun terpar ts . ' "NewYork City has a rigorous mechanism for licensing charters as well (1.$ strong oversight ofpcrformanc;e- The cityalso gives charter operators free space. and provides them with administrative SIJPP0i'1o that they can moree as ily g et up and running and comply with state and federal educatiar; law: This afl.virQnlMnt has been a m agnetfor strong operators that /U!;IIl! been treated almost like pariahs in other states,'The legislation would also enact significnnt reforms to increase the acc.olllltabiUtyand transparency of New York'scha rter schools and en sure that c ha rte r s ch oo ls recruit and serve spec ia l educ a tion studen ts , English la nguagelearners (ELL)~ and students in need in proportions that reflect their communities. This Iegislatiou would alsoinc rea se pa ren ta l in pu t an d transparency Rtound co-location d ee is io as a ed p ro vid e for m a tc hin g c ap itn l investmentsfoX"co-located non-charter schools.

I,

A cc ord ingly, th e M a yor urges th e ea rl ie st possib le fa vora ble consideration o ft bi s p ro po sa l by t h e Leg is l a tu r e .Respec t fu l ly submitted,

:M I C AH C . L ASHERDir


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STA'l'E OF NEW YORK I EXECUTIVE CHAMBERDAVID A. PATERSON I GOVERNOR

Statement from Governor David A. Paterson by New York State Office of the GovernorALBANY, NY (05/28/201 O)(readMedia)-- "I am extremely pleased that an agreement has beenreached to lift the cap on charter schools, and am confident that this legislation will greatlyincrease our competitiveness in the second round of Race to the Top. Agreement on this measuresignals recognition by all of our State's leaders that for the sake of our children, our schools andour economy, we cannot afford to let these critical education dollars slip away."Race to the Top provides an unprecedented opportunity to reform our schools and challenge aneducational status quo that is failing too many children. I would like to thank Senate ConferenceLeader John Sampson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Mayor Michael Bloomberg for notonly acknowledging the importance of passing this legislation, but the importance of ensuringour children have access to quality education. I look forward to working with the State EducationDepartment to create a competitive application that will secure these critical dollars for the futureour children. "

###Additional news available at www.ny.gov/govemor 1 High resolution images available atwww.ny.gov/govemor/mediaimages 1password: paterson 1New York State 1Executive Chamber

[email protected] 1212.681.4640 1518.474.8418
http://www.ny.gov/govemorhttp://www.ny.gov/govemor/mediaimagesmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.ny.gov/govemor/mediaimageshttp://www.ny.gov/govemor


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THE CITY OF NEW YORKOFFICE OF THE MAYORNEW YORK , N Y 10007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMay 28, 2010No. 235www.nyc.gov

STATEMENT OF MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG AND SCHOOLSCHANCELLOR JOEL I. KLEIN ON THE ASSEMBLY PASSING LEGISLATION TO

RAISE THE CAP ON CHARTER SCHOOLS"The agreement to raise the cap on charter schools in New York State from 200 to 460 is

not just great news for the 40,000 plus children currently on waiting lists - it's also good newsfor all 1.1 million New York City students. Charter schools elevate the quality of our entirepublic education system by increasing competition and challenging all of our schools to do abetter job for our kids, and that's the most important thing.

"This bill also accomplishes other important things. For one, it boosts our chances ofgetting $700 million in 'Race to the Top' federal funds. The application deadline for 'Race to theTop' is next Tuesday, and the charter cap is one reason why New York State missed out in thefirst round. With our schools facing big budget cuts this year, we simply can't afford to leavehundreds of millions of dollars for education sitting on the table.

"By working together, we preserved the key components of the nation's most successfulsystem of charter schools. Both SUNY and the Regents will have 130 charters to issue under thisagreement. We also preserved the City's role as a 'charter entity', maintaining the City's abilityto endorse charter applications for the Regents' consideration and expanding this process toSUNY. Furthermore, these charters are open to every community in the state and City, with noinsidious 'local caps'. And perhaps most important, we preserved the ability of the City to givecharter students, parents and teachers that most precious of resources in New York: space.

"Raising the cap on charter schools has been a top legislative priority for ourAdministration. In2002, New York City only had 17 charter schools. Today, we have 99 - bythis fall we'll have 125. Charter schools have been an important part of our efforts to tum arounda once broken school system and close the racial achievement gap because 90 percent of charterschool students are black and Hispanic. Last year, charter school students outperformed theirpeers in the rest of the school system by nine percentage points on the State's Reading and Mathexams.

"This legislation is the product of weeks of negotiations. Itis not a perfect bill, but it iscritically important that the Senate pass this legislation so we can submit the best possible 'Raceto the Top' application and give parents better school choices. We want to thank the Assemblyfor passing this critical legislation - particularly Speaker Shelly Silver and Education CommitteeChair Cathy Nolan."
http://www.nyc.gov/http://www.nyc.gov/


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Contact:- 30 -

Stu Loeser/Jessica Scaperotti (Mayor)David Cantor (DOE)

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(212) 788-2958(212) 374-5141


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N ew s R ele as eA s s e m b ly S p e a k e r S h e ld o n S i l v e rFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:May 28,2010

Assembly Approves Sweeping Education Reforms toSupport New York State's Application for Race to theTop FundingAssembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Education Committee Chair Catherine Nolan todayannounced the passage of legislation to reform the state's charter school system.The legislation (A.11310) would raise the cap on charter schools from 200 to 460, helping toensure that New York State will have one of the nation's most competitive applications forfederal funding under the Race to the Top (RTTT) grant program in time for the June 1 deadline.This measure, in conjunction with a strong teacher evaluation system authorized earlier in theweek and funding for long-term assessment of student achievement, will help ensure that NewYork State receives maximum RTTT funding."These sweeping reforms will help put an end to divisive fighting over school space and give ameaningful voice in the process to traditional public school parents," said Silver (D-Manhattan)."The legislation also increases transparency by giving the State Comptroller auditing power overcharter schools, while ensuring that they enroll and retain children with special needs. Thismeasure will undoubtedly encourage the creation of more successful charter schools in NewYork State.""This bill will allow New York State to submit a competitive application for federal Race to theTop funding and increase our chances at receiving up to $700 million for our schools," saidNolan (D-Queens). "I would like to thank New York State Board of Regents Chancellor MerrylTisch, New York State Education Commissioner David Steiner and Senior DeputyCommissioner John King for their leadership, cooperation and hard work."The legislation creates a new request for proposals process for the creation of 260 new charterschools. The new system favors applications which best respond to certain Race to the Topobjectives such as increasing high school graduation rates and addressing student achievementgaps in reading/language arts and mathematics. Requests for proposals for new charter schoolswould be issued by the Board of Regents and SUNY trustees after undergoing a public reviewprocess.In addition, the legislation would:

Institute a four-year period over which the 260 new charter schools would be created; Prohibit for-profit organizations from operating or managing any new charter schools;


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Ensure that charter schools serve more children with disabilities, English languagelearners and free- and reduced-price lunch program participants; Require the chancellor to develop building usage plans for fair allocation and usage ofspace; Require matching capital improvements to the traditional public school portion of abuilding when such an improvement is made in excess of $5,000 to the co-locatedcharter school; Authorize the State Comptroller to audit charter schools at his or her discretion; and Increase accountability by new disclosure and ethics provisions.

The Assembly also passed legislation today that would provide financial support for a statelongitudinal data system to measure long-term student achievement (A.11309). Earlier thisweek, the Assembly passed legislation enhancing the statewide evaluation system for teachersand principals (A.11171).New York State Assembly


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Strengthening NY's Educational System: SenatePasses Legislation To Ensure High PerformingCharter Schools, Improve Teacher Evaluation To

Improve "Race To The Top" ScorePosted by the NYS Senate Majority Press on Friday, May 28th, 2010Working to improve New York's score in the Race to the Top, the Senate Democratic Majoritypassed legislation CS7990, S7991, S8001) to increase the charter school cap, improve teacherevaluation, and invest in date tracking systems. Combined with the increased cap and oversightof charter schools, the educational reforms passed by the Senate move New York one step closerto winning in the Race to the Top."Nothing is more important than investing in our children and our future by improving our scorefor Race to the Top. Raising the charter cap, reforming charter schools, improving teacherevaluation, and investing in tracking educational outcomes will give New York the points weneed to win," said Senate Majority Conference Leader John L. Sampson.Sampson continued, "I want to thank my friend and colleague, Senator Bill Perkins for hisvaluable insight, bold leadership of crucial charter school hearings, and absolute dedication toshaping the debate on charters to increase transparency, oversight, and educational opportunitiesfor our children. I congratulate Senator Suzi Oppenheimer, Chair of the Senate's EducationCommittee, for her role in making this important reform package possible. And I also want tothank Governor Paterson, Speaker Silver, Mayor Bloomberg, Chancellor Tisch, CommissionerSteiner, and our partners in labor and the charter movement for working together to deliver forNew York's children.""Few things incite such passion as the education of our children," Senate President Pro TemporeMalcolm A. Smith said. "Raising the charter school cap will put New York in a morecompetitive position to receive the much needed $700 million in federal Race to the Topfunding. This legislation gives us the unique opportunity to offer parents educationalopportunities for their children they might not otherwise have.""I am very pleased that we were able to reach agreement on reforms that will allow New York tosubmit a very competitive application for Race to the Top funding," said Senator SuziOppenheimer CD-Mamaroneck), lead sponsor oftoday's bills. "More importantly, it is my hopethat these reforms will spur innovation in education, address the achievement gap, and betterprepare our teachers and students for the challenges of the 21st century."

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"We took a giant step forward today toward the goal of ensuring a quality education for allstudents," Senator Bill Perkins (D-Harlem) said. "Because of the reforms we instituted, NewYork has an inside track in the Race to the Top, a race with a $700 million purse that will helppay for the education of every child in school today."Charter School Legislation Summary:CapandRFP:,. Raises the cap on charter schools from 200 to 460 to be shared between the State University

of New York (l30) and the Board of Regents (l30) through an RFP process. Applicants must meet the established emollment and retention targets of students with

disabilities and English language learners; Demonstrate a commitment to address the student achievement gap in reading/language arts

and mathematics; and Share best practices and innovations with low-performing public schools, among other RFP

requirements.

Enrollment of Students with Disabilities, ELLs, and FRPLs: Charters must meet or exceed enrollment and retention targets for students with disabilities,

ELLs, and FFPLs. Charters must demonstrate at the time of renewal how they will meet those requirements,

with repeated failure to meet those targets serving as cause for revocation of the charter. Authorizes the establishment of charter schools dedicated to serving students with disabilities

and ELLs.Oversight and Accountability: Increased oversight of charter schools applies to their financial, operational and management

programs, including the disclosure of conflicts of interest and the conducting and publicizingof monthly board of trustee meetings.

Authorization of a State Comptroller audit. Requires the enrollment lottery process comply with the open meetings law and the

submission of a uniform application created by the Commissioner in the predominantlanguage in the community in which the charter is located. Charter schools would be subject to SED approval and required to meet SED health andsafety requirements to the same extent as public schools.

The five year term for charters would be comprised of five instructional years, and parentassociations are to be established in New York City charters.

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Co-Location: Before co-location is permitted in a public school building, the Chancellor is required to

provide notice and identify buildings where any charter may be co-located, including therationale for the co-location selection.

After co-location is selected, the Chancellor must develop a publically available buildingusage plan comprised of the actual allocation and sharing of classroom and administrativespace; a proposal for the collaborative usage of shared resources; a justification of how theshared usage results in an equitable manner; and safety and security information.

Requires the creation of a shared-space committee consisting of the principals, teacherrepresentatives, and parents.

Any capital improvement or facility upgrade to a co-located charter school in excess of$5,000 requires a matching capital improvement or facility upgrade in the non-charter publicschool.

For-Profits: For-profit organizations are prohibited from applying for or operating any of the newly

authorized charter schools. Those for-profit organizations already in existence have right of renewal to continue the

management and operation of their current charter schools.

Teacher Evaluation Legislation Summary: Alters the teacher and principal evaluation system based in New York. The new system would use a four-tier annual review that is based in part on student

performance data and would have an expedited tenured teacher disciplinary hearing processfor those who consistently have the lowest scores on their evaluations.

40% of such performance evaluations would be based on student performance measures. The 40% student performance measure is divided between performance on state standardized

tests and locally-designed student performance measures, which may include studentportfolios, culminating projects, or other student work.

Data Systems Legislation Summary: Provides $20.4 million to strength New York's pre-kindergarten through higher education

student data system. Systems already in place provide the ability to track enrollment and assessment data for

students in P-12 public schools.

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This appropriation will provide the ability to match teachers with their students, to connectthe P-12 data system with the data systems of SUNY and CUNY, and to fully analyze anduse the data collected in order to improve student achievement.

Educational Partnership Organizations (EPOs): Authorizes school districts to contract with Educational Partnership Organizations (EPOs)

to assist in the turnaround of failing schools. An EPa is defined as a non-profit organization with a proven record of success in

intervening in low performing schools, as determined by the Commissioner of SED. This legislation would be helpful not only in securing additional points in the Race to the Top

application process, but also would allow school districts more options to comply with newfederal Title I regulations.

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THENEWYORKTIMES NEW YORK WEDNESDAY,MAY 26, 2010


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THE NEW YORKTIMES NEW YORK FRIDAY,MAY28,2010

D e a l Near"T o ApproveC h a r te r P la nFor Schoo ls

The legislation :would have tobe approved in the State Senateand receive the backing of Gov.David A. Paterson. This monththe Senate passed its own bill t~increase the cap on charterschools, but that version includedfewer restrictions than detrac-tors of charter schools hadpushed for.With the June 1 deadline forthe competitive federal grantmoney known as Race to the Toplooming, state education officialswere eager to ensure that boththe Senate and the governorwould sign on the deal as well.The measure being consideredby the Assembly would prohibiti any new charter school from be-I mg operated for profit, althoughit would allow those that alreadyexist to remain open.The bill would also allow thestate comptroller to audit charterschools, a move likely to draw irefrom some charter school advo-cates., In New York City, where mostcharter schools share a buildingwith a traditional public school,any major improvements madeto a charter school would alsohave to be made to the publicschool under the legislation beingconsidered by the Assembly.The charter schools could beauthorized by either the StateBoard of Regents or the StateUniversity ofNew York. But offi-cials were uncertain whether theschools chancellor, Joel I. Klein,would continue to be able to au-thorize charter schools inthe city,as he has done for the past sev-eralyears.In an effort to soothe long-standing disputes between char-ter schools and the traditionalpublic schools they share spacewith, the legislation would alsorequire schools to set up buildingcouncils to monitor conflict.But it was unclear how suchcouncils would be different fromsimilar committees already inplace at schools in New YorkCity.

B y JE NN IF ER M ED IN ANew York City officials and theState Assembly reached a tenta-tive deal late Thursday to morethan double the number of char-ter schools, a move that officialshope will give the state a betterchance at receiving $700millionin federal grant money.If . approved, the measure'would raise the number of char-ter schools by up to 260over fouryears, bringing the totalnumberin the state to 460, according toofficials who had been briefed on

the legislation but spoke on thecondition of anonymity becausethe language of the bill was stillbeing drafted. In New York City,the number of charter schoolswould be capped at just morethan 200,double the current num-ber.The deal came after days ofne-gotiations that divided charterschool advocates, and city offi-cials on one side, and the teach-ers' union and the Assembly onthe other. Several members oftheAssembly, including the speaker,Sheldon Silver, have been criticalofcharter schools, which are pub-licly financed but privately run.The final details of the legisla-tion were being worked out lateThursday, with a vote not ex-pected until early Friday morn-ing. Officials from the city and .the State Assembly declined tocomment.


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THE N EW Y ORK TIM ES NEW Y ORK S AT U RDAY , M AY 2 9,2 01 0

' "N E W Y O R K S T A T EV O T E S T O D O U B L EC H A R T E R S C H O O L S

The vote ended days ofintensenegotiations .between chatterschool advocates and city o ffi- 'cials on one side and the teach-ers' unions and the Assembly onthe other. Several members oftheLegislature, mclU


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THE N EW Y ORK TIM ES NEW YORK S AT U RDAY , M AY 2 9,2 01 0

H opin g for F edera l A id , N ew , Y ork ' VotesT o Raise Cap on Charter Schools to 460

FromPageAlhaps avert sam!of the thousandsof teacher layoffs that are ex-pected this year.In New York City, both CityHall and the teachers' union,which has opposed the growth ofcharter schools, ultimately foundenough to like in the legislation.Although more charter schoolswill be created, the bill increasedoversight ofthe schools and add-ed regulations on how they areformed and operated.In a statement, Mr. Bloomberg,an enthusiastic, supporter ofcharter schools, cautioned thatwhile "it is not a perfect bill," it"preserved the key componentsof the nation's most successfulsystem ofcharter schools." ,The bill , which Gov. David A.Paterson is expected to sign, barsthe opening of any for-profitcharter schools; opponents oftheschools say such operations canlead to abuses. Existing for-profitschools could remain open.Much of the deliberations cen-teredon creating space for char-

ter schools in New York City.Mr.Bloomberg and his schools chan-cellor, Joel LKlein, have allowed'dozens of charter schools tomove into buildings used by tra-ditional public schools, often en-raging teachers and parentsthere.A bill drafted in January to in-crease the number' of charterschools would have required theconsent of parents at traditionalschools before any charter schoolcould move in. ,That bill never came to a vote.The bill that was passed on Fri-day requires that, such sharedschools set up building councilsto allocate space and monitorconflict. But those councils wouldnot have 'Veto power over thechancellor's decisions, Any im-provements worth more than$5,000to a New York City charterschool's space would also have tobe .niade to the public school thatshares the building.

The bill also allows the statecomptroller to audit' charterschools, which charter school ad-vocates had resisted.The bill imposes, for the first.time, a limit, on the number ofcharters in New York City.And itgives the state - the Board ofRegents or the State Universityof New York, which both author-ize charters - the power to de-cide which neighborhoods ordemographics the new schoolswould serve.Under current procedures,New YorkCity officials have beeneffectively able to decide wherecharters should go, leading tocomplaints that some neighbor-hoods, like Harlem, had become

The bill increasesoversight and rulesout new for-profitoperations:

saturated with them."These sweeping reforms willhelp put an end to divisive fight-ing over school space and give ameaningful voice in the processto traditional public school par-ents," Mr. Silver saidin a state-ment. "This measure will un-doubtedly encourage the creationof more successful charterschools in New York State.'"After negotiations that lastedthrough the night, the bill passedin the Assembly by a vote of 91to43,and in the Senate by 45to 15.Teachers' unions around thecountry. and their allies in statelegislatures have fought thegrowth of charter schools -whose teachers generally are notunionized - saying they take re-sources from traditional publicschools without improving stu-dents' education.

But supporters of the schoolssay the freedom from many reg-ulations and union work ruleshas allowed charters the flexibil-ity to innovate and raise the per-formance of mostly poor, urbanstudents whose neighborhoodschools have not served themwell.The weeks leading up to thevote were filled with feverish lob-bying by teachers' unions, and bythe city and charter school advo-cates, backed by wealthy hedgefund managers, oil the other side.Not everyone was pleased withthe bill.The statewide teachers' unionsaid that the measure did not gofar enough to limit charterschools in some parts ofthe state.And Peter Murphy, the policydirector ofthe New York CharterSchools Association, called theprocess of negotiating the bill,which was written in the weehours of the morning, ,."govern-ance at its worst," and said thebill banned for-profit charterschool operators "for no soundreason." .One major criticism of charterschools is that they have not en-rolled the students who strugglethe most. The bill passed Fridaywill require them to enroll, and toretain, students who are- stilllearning English, have disabili-ties or receive free or reduced-price lunches, in "comparable"numbers to their local school dis-tricts. It was unclear how suchrules would be enforced."The idea was wliat reforms dowe need so that charters servethe neediest kids," said MichaelMulgrew, the president of the

city teachers' union, the UnitedFederation ofTeachers.

Brooks Affirm Exh 4 - NYLS Legislative History

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Transcript of Brooks Affirm Exh 4 - NYLS Legislative History