S. 5653 2
the commission shall be considered public officers for purposes of
section 17 of the public officers law.
(d) The commission shall begin to act forty-five days after this act
shall have become a law. A quorum shall consist of a majority of the
members of the commission entitled to vote on the matter under consider-
ation. Approval of any matter shall require the affirmative vote of a
majority of the members voting thereon.
(e) The statewide members of the commission shall adopt by-laws for
the management and regulation of its affairs.
§ 2. Appointments to commission. The legislative leaders and the
governor shall submit their appointments to the board of regents, and
the board of regents shall make appointments, no later than forty-five
days after this act becomes a law. If any such appointment is not made
by such date, the person or board responsible for making the appointment
pursuant to subdivision (b) of section one of this act may make the
appointment after that date, but the vacant appointment shall not count
for calculation of a quorum until it is filled. Vacancies in the commis-
sion shall be filled in the same manner as the member whose vacancy is
being filled was appointed.
§ 3. Commission staff and agency liaison. (a) The commissioner of
education shall designate such employees of the state education depart-
ment as are reasonably necessary to provide support services to the
commission. The commission, acting by the chair of the commission, may
employ additional staff and consultants, who shall be paid from amounts
available to the commission for that purpose.
(b) The commissioner of education shall appoint one or more represen-
tatives of the department of education to serve as liaison between such
department and the commission. All state agencies, public authorities
and public benefit corporations shall provide such assistance as may be
reasonably requested by the chair of the commission.
§ 4. Factors and information for consideration. (a) The commissioner
of education shall submit to the commission, no later than ninety days
after this act becomes a law, a list of factors to be considered in its
deliberations, which shall include but not be limited to: (i) geography,
including physical proximity and the size of the current school
districts and boards of cooperative educational services in each region
of the state; (ii) demographics, including student enrollment trends and
the composition and nature of communities in the current school
districts and boards of cooperative educational services in each region
of the state; (iii) economics, including existing collaborations to be
preserved or enhanced and opportunities to deliver commodities and
services through boards of cooperative educational services or other
entities; (iv) transportation and the potential for regional transporta-
tion services; (v) special education and the potential for regional
special education services; (vi) population density; and (vii) other
unique circumstances including the need to preserve existing or develop-
ing relationships, meet the needs of students, maximize educational
opportunities for students, assure local control, maintain the character
of community schools and ensure equitable access to rigorous programs
for all students.
(b) The commissioner of education may submit additional relevant
factors to be considered in the deliberations of the commission. The
commission may also adopt additional factors to be considered in its
deliberations.
§ 5. Deliberations of commission. The deliberations, meetings and
other proceedings of the commission and any committee thereof shall be
S. 5653 3
governed by article 7 of the public officers law. Any one or more
members of a committee may participate in a meeting of such committee by
means of a conference telephone, conference video or similar communi-
cations equipment allowing all persons participating in the meeting to
hear each other at the same time. Participation by such means shall
constitute presence in person at a meeting. At any meetings of the
commission conducted by means of a conference telephone, conference
video or similar communications equipment, other than executive
sessions, the public shall be given an opportunity to listen. If a meet-
ing other than an executive session is to be conducted by means of a
conference telephone, conference video or similar communications equip-
ment, the public notice for the meeting shall inform the public that
such equipment will be used, and identify the means by which the public
may listen to such meeting.
§ 6. Regional input. (a) There shall be eight regional members of the
commission for each region established pursuant to this section. For
each region, two regional members shall be appointed by the governor,
two regional members shall be appointed by the temporary president of
the senate, two regional members shall be appointed by the speaker of
the assembly, and two regional members shall be appointed by the board
of regents. Regional members shall be considered to be members of the
commission for purposes of this act, provided that:
(i) Regional members shall vote and be counted for quorum purposes
only when the commission is acting on recommendations relating solely to
the regional members' respective region; and
(ii) Regional members shall not be considered to be members of the
commission for purposes of participation in commission meetings, except
where items relating specifically to that member's region are on the
agenda of a commission meeting.
(b) For purposes of this act, there shall be six regions:
(i) Long Island, consisting of the Eastern Suffolk, Nassau and Western
Suffolk boards of cooperative educational services;
(ii) New York City;
(iii) Hudson Valley, consisting of the Dutchess, Orange-Ulster,
Putnam-Northern Westchester, Rockland, Southern Westchester, Sullivan
and Ulster boards of cooperative educational services;
(iv) Eastern, consisting of the Capital Region, Clinton-Essex-Warren-
Washington, Delaware-Chenango-Madison-Otsego, Franklin-Essex-Hamilton,
Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery, Otsego-Delaware-Schoharie-Greene, Questar
III, St. Lawrence-Lewis and Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex
boards of cooperative educational services;
(v) Central, consisting of the Broome-Tioga, Cayuga-Onondaga, Jeffer-
son-Lewis-Hamilton-Herkimer-Oneida, Herkimer-Hamilton-Fulton-Oswego,
Madison-Oneida, Oneida-Herkimer-Madison, Onondaga-Cortland-Madison,
Oswego, Schuyler, Chemung, Tioga and Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga boards of
cooperative educational services;
(vi) Western, consisting of the Cattaraugus-Allegany-Erie-Wyoming,
Erie 1, Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus, Genesee Valley, Monroe 1, Monroe
2-Orleans, Ontario-Seneca-Yates-Cayuga-Wayne, Orleans-Niagara and Great-
er Southern Tier boards of cooperative educational services.
(c) The commission shall establish a regional advisory committee for
each region. The maximum number of members of each regional advisory
committee shall be determined by the commission. Members of each
regional advisory committee shall be appointed in equal numbers by the
governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the
assembly and the board of regents. The governor, the temporary president
S. 5653 4
of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, and the board of regents
shall submit to the commission their appointments to the regional advi-
sory committees no later than ninety days after this act shall have
become a law. If any such appointment is not made by such date, the
person or board responsible for making such appointment may make the
appointment after that date, but the vacant appointment shall not count
for calculation of a quorum until such position is filled. Vacancies in
regional advisory committees shall be filled in the same manner as the
member whose vacancy is being filled was appointed. The regional advi-
sory committees shall begin to act ninety days after this act shall have
become a law.
(d) Each regional advisory committee upon consideration of demograph-
ic, geographic, educational and fiscal indicators within each board of
cooperative educational services region, shall develop recommendations
for reconfiguring such region's school districts and administrative
functions to align educational services with regional and local needs.
In carrying out its functions, a regional advisory committee shall
foster discussions among, and conduct formal public hearings with requi-
site public notice to solicit input from, local stakeholders' interests,
including but not limited to, school district administrators, district
superintendents and superintendents of schools, teachers, school board
members, parents, students, non-pedagogical school support personnel,
representatives from post-secondary institutions and other pertinent
groups and individuals. In developing its recommendations, each regional
advisory committee shall as far as practicable estimate the efficiencies
that may be derived from such school district or administrative recon-
figuration. On November 15, 2023, each regional advisory committee shall
transmit to the commission a report containing its recommendations,
which shall include specific recommendations for school district and
administrative reconfigurations. Such recommendations shall include but
not be limited to: delivery of commodities and services; pupil transpor-
tation; specialized professional development; maintenance; insurance
procurement; payroll administration; human resources and employee bene-
fit coordination; cooperative purchasing coordination; centralization of
business operations; printing services; state aid planning; textbook
purchasing and substitute teacher coordination; safety and risk manage-
ment; the units of school administration to be included in the reconfig-
ured school district; the units of school administration that will be
transferred to the board of cooperative educational services; size,
composition and apportionment of the governing body; the composition,
powers and duties of any local school committees to be created; the
disposition of real and personal school property; the disposition of
existing school indebtedness and lease-purchase; the assignment of
school personnel contracts, school collective bargaining agreements and
other school contractual obligations; the disposition of existing school
funds and existing financial obligations, including undesignated fund
balances, trust funds, reserve funds and other funds appropriated for
school purposes; a transition plan that addresses the development of a
budget for the first school year and interim personnel policies; an
estimate of the cost savings to be achieved through reconfiguration and
how costs will be reduced; recommended dates by which such actions
should occur; necessary investments, if any, that should be made in each
case to carry out the regional advisory committee's recommendations; and
the regional advisory committee's justification for its recommendations,
including the use of any factors developed pursuant to section four of
this act.
S. 5653 5
(e) The failure of any regional advisory committee to perform the
duties imposed by this section shall not affect the obligation of the
commission to perform the duties imposed by section seven of this act.
§ 7. Commission recommendations. (a) The commission, upon consider-
ation of demographic, geographic, educational and fiscal indicators
within each board of cooperative educational services region, shall
develop recommendations for reconfiguring school districts and adminis-
trative functions to align educational services with regional and local
needs. In carrying out its functions, the commission shall collaborate
with the regional advisory committees insofar as practicable to foster
discussions among, and conduct formal public hearings with requisite
public notice to solicit input and recommendations from statewide and
regional stakeholder interests including but not limited to school
district administrators, district superintendents and superintendents of
schools, teachers, school board members, parents, students, non-pedagog-
ical school support personnel, representatives from post-secondary
institutions and other pertinent groups and individuals. The commission
shall formally solicit recommendations from school district administra-
tors, district superintendents and superintendents of schools, teachers,
school board members, parents, students, non-pedagogical school support
personnel, representatives from post-secondary institutions and other
interested parties in each region of the state, and it shall take into
account such recommendations and the recommendations of the regional
advisory committees during its deliberations. In developing its recom-
mendations, the commission shall as far as practicable estimate the
efficiencies that may be derived from such school district and adminis-
trative reconfiguration, and shall consider the recommendations of the
regional advisory committees.
(b) The commission shall make recommendations relating to school
district and administrative reconfiguration, within each region. The
regional commission members shall vote as members of the commission only
when the commission is acting on recommendations relating solely to the
regional commission members' region.
(c) Such recommendations shall include but not be limited to: delivery
of commodities and services; pupil transportation; specialized profes-
sional development; maintenance; insurance procurement; payroll adminis-
tration; human resources and employee benefit coordination; cooperative
purchasing coordination; centralization of business operations; printing
services; state aid planning; textbook purchasing and substitute teacher
coordination; safety and risk management; the units of school adminis-
tration to be included in the reconfigured school district; the units of
school administration that will be transferred to the board of cooper-
ative educational services; size, composition and apportionment of the
governing body; the composition, powers and duties of any local school
committees to be created; the disposition of real and personal school
property; the disposition of existing school indebtedness and lease-pur-
chase; the assignment of school personnel contracts, school collective
bargaining agreements and other school contractual obligations; the
disposition of existing school funds and existing financial obligations,
including undesignated fund balances, trust funds, reserve funds and
other funds appropriated for school purposes; a transition plan that
addresses the development of a budget for the first school year and
interim personnel policies; an estimate of the cost savings to be
achieved through reconfiguration and how costs will be reduced; recom-
mended dates by which such actions should occur; necessary investments,
if any, that should be made in each case to carry out the commission's
S. 5653 6
recommendations; the commission's response to the recommendations of the
regional advisory committees; and the commissioner's justification for
its recommendations, including the use of the factors pursuant to
section four of this act.
(d) On or before December 1, 2023, the commission shall transmit to
the governor and the legislature a report containing its recommenda-
tions, which shall include specific recommendations for school districts
to be reconfigured and specific recommendations for administrative
services to be transferred to boards of cooperative educational
services. Upon the transmission of the report to the governor and the
legislature the commission shall be dissolved.
§ 8. Implementation of recommendations. (a) Notwithstanding any
contrary provision of law, rule or regulation related to the reconfigur-
ing of school districts and administrative services the commissioner of
education shall take all actions necessary to implement, in a reason-
able, cost-efficient manner, the recommendations of the commission
pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c) of section seven of this act. Such
school districts and boards of cooperative educational services shall
submit to the commissioner of education, at a time and in a form as
determined by the commissioner of education, an acceptable plan of
reconfiguration in accordance with applicable regulations.
(b) The provisions of subdivision (a) of this section shall not apply:
(i) unless the governor has transmitted the commission's report under
section seven of this act with his or her written approval of the recom-
mendations of the commission pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c) of
section seven of this act to the commissioner of education and transmit-
ted a message to the legislature stating his or her approval of the
report on or before December 5, 2023; and (ii) if a majority of the
members of each house of the legislature vote to adopt a concurrent
resolution rejecting the recommendations of the commission pursuant to
subdivisions (b) and (c) of section seven of this act in their entirety
by December 31, 2023, after receiving a message from the governor under
this subdivision. In no event shall the commissioner of education begin
to implement the recommendations of the commission pursuant to subdivi-
sions (b) and (c) of section seven of this act prior to December 31,
2023.
§ 9. The commission shall be authorized and entitled to receive any
grants offered pursuant to section 54 of the state finance law.
§ 10. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdi-
vision, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of
competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in
its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such
invalid provisions had not been included herein.
§ 11. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be
deemed repealed June 30, 2025.
