S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1588
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 10, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. SIMON, FORREST, EPSTEIN, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, CUNNING-
   HAM,   WALKER,  ALVAREZ,  ZACCARO,  DAVILA,  REYES,  SHIMSKY,  SIMONE,
   BURDICK, SAYEGH, ROSENTHAL, RAGA, STECK, MEEKS, ROZIC,  STERN,  LEVEN-
   BERG, KELLES -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend the education law, in relation to reimbursing charter
   schools for leasing certain facilities, and prohibiting charter school
   employee contracts from including a non-disclosure agreement;  and  to
   repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subparagraph 1 of paragraph (e) of subdivision 3 of section
 2853 of the education law, as added by section 5 of part BB  of  chapter
 56 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
   (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, within
 the  later  of  (i) five months after a charter school's written request
 for co-location and (ii) thirty days after the charter school's  charter
 is  approved  by  its  charter  entity,  the  city school district shall
 either: (A) offer at no cost to the charter school a co-location site in
 a public school building approved by the board of education as  provided
 by  law,  or  (B) offer the charter school space in a privately owned or
 other publicly owned  facility  at  the  expense  of  [the  city  school
 district and at no cost to] the charter school. THE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
 SHALL  NOT  REIMBURSE  A CHARTER SCHOOL WHICH RENTS OR LEASES SPACE IN A
 PRIVATE FACILITY. The space must be reasonable, appropriate and compara-
 ble and in the community school district to be  served  by  the  charter
 school and otherwise in reasonable proximity.
   §  2.  Subparagraphs  4  and  5  of  paragraph (e) of subdivision 3 of
 section 2853 of the education law are REPEALED  and  subparagraph  6  of
 such paragraph is renumbered subparagraph 4.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04701-01-5
 A. 1588                             2
 
              

   §  3.  Paragraph (d) of subdivision 3 of section 2853 of the education
 law, as added by chapter 101 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read  as
 follows:
   (d)  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision to the contrary, in a city
 school district in a city having a population of  one  million  or  more
 inhabitants, the chancellor must first authorize in writing any proposed
 capital  improvements  or  facility  upgrades in excess of five thousand
 dollars, regardless of the source of funding, made  to  accommodate  the
 co-location of a charter school within a public school building. For any
 such improvements or upgrades that have been approved by the chancellor,
 capital  improvements  or  facility  upgrades shall be made in an amount
 equal to the expenditure of the  charter  school  for  each  non-charter
 public  school  within  the  public  school  building.  For  any capital
 improvements or facility upgrades in excess  of  five  thousand  dollars
 that  have  been approved by the chancellor, regardless of the source of
 funding, made in a charter school that is already  co-located  within  a
 public  school  building,  matching  capital  improvements  or  facility
 upgrades shall be made in an amount equal  to  the  expenditure  of  the
 charter  school  for  each  non-charter  public school within the public
 school building within three months of such  improvements  or  upgrades.
 ANY  CAPITAL  IMPROVEMENT  REQUIRED  TO BE MADE FOR A NON-CHARTER PUBLIC
 SCHOOL PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL BE PAID FOR BY
 THE STATE.
   § 4. Subdivision 3 of section 2854 of the education law is amended  by
 adding a new paragraph (e) to read as follows:
   (E) NO CHARTER SCHOOL SHALL INCLUDE A NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT AS PART
 OF A CONTRACT WITH ANY EMPLOYEE OR AS A CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT.
   §  5. Subdivision 4 of section 2853 of the education law is amended by
 adding a new paragraph (f) to read as follows:
   (F) IN A CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT IN A  CITY  WITH  A  POPULATION  OF  ONE
 MILLION  OR  MORE, THE COMPTROLLER OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK SHALL CONDUCT
 ANNUAL AUDITS, WHICH SHALL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED  TO  ANY  MATCHING
 FUNDS SPENT ON CHARTER SCHOOLS.
   § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.