NY State Senate Bill 2021-S3087

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee New York City Education Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 05, 2022	referred to new york city education
Jan 27, 2021	referred to new york city education

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2021-S3087 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate New York City Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §2590-h, Ed L
Versions Introduced in 2019-2020 Legislative Session:: S8847

2021-S3087 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to admission to the specialized high schools in the city of New York; removes the discovery program admission process.

2021-S3087 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S3087

SPONSOR: SALAZAR
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to admission to the
specialized high schools in the city of New York

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill repeals the 1971 Hecht-Calandra Act, which required - as a
matter of state law - that the specialized high schools in New York City
utilize the Specialized High School Admissions Test ("SHSAT") as the
sole criterion for admission.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 sets out legislative findings to support the necessity of
repealing the Hecht-Calandra Act, primarily that, as a result of the
reliance on the SHSAT, the student population at NYC's specialized high
schools do not reflect the diversity of the City's population, and, in

fact, has resulted in the gross under-representation of Black and Latinx
students.

Section 2 amends paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 2590-h of the
education law to eliminate the requirement of state law that admissions
to the specialized high schools in New York City be determined based on
the laws that were in effect prior to the enactment of Hecht-Calandra,
i.e., that the test continues to be the sole criterion for admission.

Section 3 same as section 2, but references another provision to ensure
that there is conformity with eliminating the state law requirement that
the test be utilized.

Section 4 sets out that the act shall take effect on January 1, 2022.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Since the enactment of the Hecht-Calandra Act in 1971, the New York City
school district has not been able to make decisions about admissions to
its specialized high schools. Instead, because of the Hecht-Calandra
Act, the city school district has been required to base admission deci-
sions to its specialized high schools on only one criterion for admis-
sion - a student's performance on a single standardized exam. The
historical background to the enactment of the Hecht-Calandra law makes
clear that the underlying purpose was to make it more difficult to
change the specialized high school admissions process - as it would be
enshrined in state law - and, by doing so, help to maintain or increase
the racially disparate enrollment in these schools, particularly in
regard to Black and Latinx students. As a result of the use of this
criterion, known as the specialized high school admissions test (SHSAT),
the student population of the specialized high schools does not reflect
the diversity of the city's population. Whereas the overall percentage
of Black and Latinx students in the city's public schools is approxi-
mately sixty-seven percent, Black and Latinx students only represent
nine percent of the population of the specialized schools. This dispari-
ty hurts Black and Latinx students and it also harms the students who
attend the specialized high schools, who do not reap the intellectual,
emotional and social benefits from learning in a more diverse environ-
ment. Furthermore, the city school district is alone in its reliance on
a single metric to make admission decisions. Universities across the
country consider multiple factors when selecting their incoming student
body; selective institutions do not rely on the results of a single
exam.  It is time for the city school district to follow suit and for
admissions to no longer be based on the procedures prescribed in the
Hecht-Calandra Act.

This legislation will allow the city school district to develop its own
admissions criteria for specialized high schools, as it develops admis-
sions criteria for other schools within the district, and ensures that
high-performing and talented students across all five boroughs have the
opportunity to attend its specialized high schools.  This bill removes
the state mandate as to how the city of New York will determine admis-
sions to the city's specialized high schools. No other school district
in the state has such requirements imposed as a matter of state law. It
is time to repeal this 1971 law that was intended to further school
segregation in NYC and which has, in fact, served that purpose.

Additional background and resources in support of this bill can be found
at  
HTTPS://WWW.TEENSTAKECHARGE.COM/REPEAL

 
RACIAL JUSTICE IMPACT:  This legislation would alleviate racial
disparities in the city school district by allowing schools to develop
their own admissions criteria for specialized high schools.  This would
promote diversity in New York City specialized schools as well as create
an inclusive environment that values education regardless of one's back-
ground.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

SENATE
S.8847 of 2020
07/29/20     REFERRED TO RULES

ASSEMBLY
A.10731 of 2020
07/08/20     referred to education

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
January 1, 2022.

2021-S3087 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   3087
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 27, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  SALAZAR, BRISPORT, HOYLMAN, JACKSON, SEPULVEDA --
   read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to
   the Committee on New York City Education
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  education  law, in relation to admission to the
   specialized high schools in the city of New York

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Legislative findings. Since the enactment of the Hecht-Ca-
 landra Act in 1971, the New York city school district has not been  able
 to  make  decisions  about  admissions  to its specialized high schools.
 Instead, as a result of the Hecht-Calandra Act, the city school district
 has been required to base admission decisions to  its  specialized  high
 schools on only one criterion for admission - a student's performance on
 a  single  standardized  exam. As a result of the use of this criterion,
 known as the  specialized  high  school  admissions  test  (SHSAT),  the
 student  population of the specialized high schools does not reflect the
 diversity of the City's population. Whereas the  overall  percentage  of
 Black  and Latino students in the city's public schools is approximately
 sixty-seven percent, Black  and  Latino  students  only  represent  nine
 percent  of  the  population  of the specialized schools. This disparity
 hurts Black and Latino students and  it  also  harms  the  students  who
 attend  the  specialized high schools, who do not reap the intellectual,
 emotional and social benefits from learning in a more  diverse  environ-
 ment.  Furthermore, the city school district is alone in its reliance on
 a  single  metric  to  make admission decisions. Universities across the
 country consider multiple factors when selecting their incoming  student
 body;  selective  institutions  do  not  rely on the results of a single
 exam. It is time for the city school district to  follow  suit  and  for
 admissions  to  no  longer  be based on the procedures prescribed in the
 Hecht-Calandra Act. This legislation will allow the city school district
 to develop its own admissions criteria for specialized high schools,  as
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD03017-01-1

 S. 3087                             2
 
 it  develops  admissions criteria for other schools within the district,
 and ensure that high-performing and talented students  across  all  five
 boroughs have the opportunity to attend its specialized high schools.
   § 2. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 2590-h of the education
 law,  as  amended by chapter 345 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read
 as follows:
   (b) all specialized [senior] high schools. The  [special]  SPECIALIZED
 high  schools  shall include the [present] schools known as[:] The Bronx
 High School of Science, Stuyvesant High School, Brooklyn Technical  High
 School,  Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music [and the Arts in the
 borough of Manhattan] & ART AND  PERFORMING  ARTS,  and  such  [further]
 ADDITIONAL schools [which the city board may designate] AS MAY BE DESIG-
 NATED BY THE CHANCELLOR from time to time[. The special schools shall be
 permitted  to maintain a discovery program in accordance with the law in
 effect on the date preceding the effective date of this section;  admis-
 sions  to  the special schools shall be conducted in accordance with the
 law in effect on the date preceding the effective date of this section];
   § 3. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 2590-h of the education
 law, as amended by chapter 720 of the laws of 1996, is amended  to  read
 as follows:
   (b)  all  specialized [senior] high schools. The [special] SPECIALIZED
 high schools shall include the [present] schools known as[:]  The  Bronx
 High  School of Science, Stuyvesant High School, Brooklyn Technical High
 School, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music [and the Arts in  the
 borough  of  Manhattan]  &  ART  AND PERFORMING ARTS, and such [further]
 ADDITIONAL schools [which the city board may designate] AS MAY BE DESIG-
 NATED BY THE CHANCELLOR from time to time[. The special schools shall be
 permitted to maintain a discovery program in accordance with the law  in
 effect  on the date preceding the effective date of this section; admis-
 sions to the special schools shall be conducted in accordance  with  the
 law in effect on the date preceding the effective date of this section];
   §  4.  This  act  shall take effect January 1, 2023, provided that the
 amendments to paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section  2590-h  of  the
 education  law  made  by section two of this act shall be subject to the
 expiration and reversion of such section pursuant to subdivision  12  of
 section  17  of  chapter  345 of the laws of 2009, as amended, when upon
 such date the provisions of section three of this act shall take effect.

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Senate Bill S3087

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee New York City Education Committee

co-Sponsors

2021-S3087 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S3087 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S3087 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S3087 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S3087

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Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee New York City Education Committee

co-Sponsors

2021-S3087 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S3087 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S3087 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S3087 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments