S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                 1326--A

                       2013-2014 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                               (PREFILED)

                             January 9, 2013
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  MONTGOMERY  -- read twice and ordered printed, and
  when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education --  commit-
  tee  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recom-
  mitted to said committee

AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation  to  requiring  that  all
  special education students attending schools scheduled to be closed or
  to  undergo  a  significant change be assigned to new schools prior to
  the implementation of the closing or change

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Paragraphs (b) and (e) of subdivision 2-a of section 2590-h
of the education law, as amended by chapter 345 of the laws of 2009, are
amended to read as follows:
  (b)  Such  educational  impact  statement  shall include the following
information regarding the proposed school closing or significant  change
in school utilization:
  (i) the current and projected pupil enrollment of the affected school,
the prospective need for such school building, the ramifications of such
school  closing  or  significant  change  in school utilization upon the
community, initial costs and savings resulting from such school  closing
or significant change in school utilization, the potential disposability
of any closed school;
  (ii)  the impacts of the proposed school closing or significant change
in school utilization to any affected students;
  (iii) an outline of any proposed or potential use of the school build-
ing for other educational programs or administrative services;
  (iv) the effect of such school closing or significant change in school
utilization on personnel  needs,  the  costs  of  instruction,  adminis-
tration, transportation, and other support services;

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD01919-03-3
              

S. 1326--A                          2

  (v)  the  type,  age,  and physical condition of such school building,
maintenance, and energy costs, recent or planned  improvements  to  such
school building, and such building's special features;
  (vi)  the  ability of other schools in the affected community district
to accommodate pupils following the school closure or significant change
in school utilization, THE CURRENT AND  PROJECTED  PUPIL  ENROLLMENT  AT
EACH  SUCH  OTHER SCHOOL AND A LIST OF AFFECTED SPECIAL EDUCATION SCHOOL
STUDENTS SCHEDULED TO ATTEND EACH SUCH OTHER SCHOOL; and
  (vii) information regarding such school's academic performance includ-
ing whether such school has been identified as a school under  registra-
tion  review  or  has  been  identified  as  a school requiring academic
progress, a school in need of improvement, or  a  school  in  corrective
action or restructuring status.
  (e) (I) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (f) of this subdivi-
sion,  all  proposed  school  closings  or significant changes in school
utilization shall be approved by the  city  board  pursuant  to  section
twenty-five  hundred  ninety-g of this article and shall not take effect
until all the provisions of this subdivision have been satisfied and the
school year in which such city board approval was granted, has ended.
  (II) EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH (F)  OF  THIS  SUBDIVI-
SION,  NO PROPOSED SCHOOL CLOSING OR SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN SCHOOL UTILI-
ZATION SHALL TAKE EFFECT UNTIL  ALL  SPECIAL  EDUCATION  PUPILS  IN  THE
AFFECTED SCHOOL HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED TO NEW SCHOOLS WITHIN THE CITY OF NEW
YORK  AND  THE  CHANCELLOR  HAS VERIFIED THAT EACH NEW SCHOOL WITHIN THE
CITY OF NEW YORK ACCEPTING SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS FROM THE  AFFECTED
SCHOOL  CAN ACCOMMODATE SUCH PUPILS AS WELL AS AN ADDITIONAL INCREASE IN
THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PUPILS OF NO LESS THAN  TEN  PERCENT  OF  THE  TOTAL
SCHOOL PUPIL POPULATION.
  S  2. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend-
ments to subdivision 2-a of section 2590-h of the education law made  by
section  one of this act shall not affect the repeal of such subdivision
and shall be deemed repealed therewith.