S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  1576

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            January 13, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  MONTGOMERY  -- 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  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 added 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;
  (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;

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD02227-01-5

              

S. 1576                             2

  (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.