§ 1204. New York state center for rural schools established. 1.
Subject to the availability of funds appropriated, allocated or
otherwise supplied from any other public or private source, the New York
state center for rural schools is hereby established in order to provide
a state-level focus and forum for conducting and disseminating specific
research and for developing policy recommendations targeted toward the
improvement of the effectiveness and efficiency of educational services
delivery and opportunities in rural New York. Such center shall be
established within the college of agriculture and life sciences at
Cornell University, and function cooperatively with the rural education
advisory committee established pursuant to the provisions of this
article.

2. The center, in cooperation with the committee, shall:

(a) Promote awareness of special educational needs and conditions in
rural areas;

(b) Promote assessment and analysis of such factors and variables
impacting the quality of rural education as:

(i) Existing statutory and regulatory measures;

(ii) Current levels of federal, state and local support, in relation
to the financial capacity of school districts to maintain required
educational services;

(iii) Academic and occupational-training opportunities and program
offerings, including those which may serve the physically challenged;

(iv) Access to state of the art technology in instruction, including
telecommunications equipment and microcomputers;

(v) Academic and occupational training performance testing and
standards;

(vi) Staffing, including salary levels, recruitment and retention
incentives, and advanced training prospects;

(vii) Career guidance, counseling and placement services;

(viii) Capacity of school districts to engage in strategic and
long-range planning;

(ix) Physical condition of existing facilities, inventories and
infrastructure;

(x) Transportation, including services rendered pursuant to chapter
five hundred ninety-eight of the laws of nineteen hundred eighty-nine;
chapter eight hundred ninety-five of the laws of nineteen hundred
eighty-six as amended;

(xi) Geographic sparsity and isolation, particularly in terms of
travel distances for pupils and access to community resources;

(xii) Availability and integration of community support services; and

(xiii) Alternatives to reorganization for necessarily small school
districts;

(c) Maintain an informational repository/clearinghouse of data and
research results including innovative and cost-effective approaches in
rural education, and disseminate research findings, information,
materials and best practices;

(d) Encourage cost-effective, integrated services that address special
needs and conditions in rural areas through joint efforts among private
and public institutions and agencies, including but not limited to
colleges, community action agencies, social services agencies, health
agencies, employment and training agencies;

(e) Promote training and technical assistance for rural school
district officials and employees in the use of cost-effective
instructional and administrative practices;

(f) Foster demonstration projects and development of alternative
models to enhance the delivery of academic and occupational-training
services and programs specific to rural areas;

(g) Identify opportunities to advance equity in access and quality of
educational and job skills training for residents of rural areas,
including such special target or "at risk" populations as:

(1) illiterate adults,

(2) single mothers,

(3) individuals in poverty,

(4) substance abusers, and

(5) youthful offenders;

(h) Have the authority to accept and receive any grants, awards or
other funds or appropriations as may be made available to the center and
committee to effect the purposes of this article.