N.Y. Educ. Law § 2590-b

* § 2590-b. Continuation of city board and establishment of community\ndistricts; establishment of the city-wide councils on special education,\nEnglish language learners, and high schools. 1. (a) The board of\neducation of the city school district of the city of New York is hereby\ncontinued. Such board of education shall consist of thirteen appointed\nmembers: one member to be appointed by each borough president of the\ncity of New York; and eight members to be appointed by the mayor of the\ncity of New York. The chancellor shall serve as an ex-officio non-voting\nmember of the city board. The city board shall elect its own chairperson\nfrom among its voting members. All thirteen appointed members shall\nserve at the pleasure of the appointing authority and shall not be\nemployed in any capacity by the city of New York, or a subdivision\nthereof, or the city board. No appointed member of the city board shall\nalso be a member, officer, or employee of any public corporation,\nauthority, or commission where the mayor of the city of New York has a\nmajority of the appointments. Each borough president's appointee shall\nbe a resident of the borough for which the borough president appointing\nhim or her was elected and shall be the parent of a child attending a\npublic school within the city school district of the city of New York.\nEach mayoral appointee shall be a resident of the city and two shall be\nparents of a child attending a public school within the city district.\nAll parent members shall be eligible to continue to serve on the city\nboard for two years following the conclusion of their child's attendance\nat a public school within the city district. Any vacancy shall be filled\nby appointment by the appropriate appointing authority within ninety\ndays of such vacancy. Notwithstanding any provision of local law, the\nmembers of the board shall not have staff, offices, or vehicles assigned\nto them or receive compensation for their services, but shall be\nreimbursed for the actual and necessary expenses incurred by them in the\nperformance of their duties.\n (b) The city board shall hold at least one regular public meeting per\nmonth. At least one regular public meeting shall be held in each borough\nof the city of New York per year; any additional meetings may be called\nat the request of the chairperson. The city board shall consider\nappropriate public accommodations when selecting a venue so as to\nmaximize participation by parents and the community.\n (c) (i) Notice of the time, place and agenda for all city board\nregular public meetings shall be publicly provided, including via the\ncity board's official internet web site, and specifically circulated to\nall community superintendents, community district education councils,\ncommunity boards, and school based management teams, at least ten\nbusiness days in advance of such meeting.\n (ii) A city board regular public meeting agenda shall be comprised of\na list and brief description of the subject matter being considered,\nidentification of all items subject to a city board vote, and the name,\noffice, address, email address and telephone number of a city district\nrepresentative, knowledgeable on the agenda, from whom any information\nmay be obtained and to whom written comments may be submitted concerning\nitems on such agenda.\n (d) The chairperson of the city board shall ensure that at every\nregular public meeting there is a sufficient period of time to allow for\npublic comment on any topic on the agenda prior to any city board vote.\n (e) Minutes of all city board regular public meetings shall be made\npublicly available, including via the city board's official internet\nwebsite, in a timely manner but no later than the subsequent regular\ncity board meeting.\n 2. (a) There shall be a community council for each community district\ncreated pursuant to this article.\n (b) The city board shall define, adjust, alter, maintain and adopt the\nboundaries of the community districts pursuant to this chapter no later\nthan February first, nineteen hundred ninety-five. There shall be no\nless than thirty nor more than thirty-seven community districts.\n (c) The city board may readjust or alter the districts in such plan\nonly once in every ten years, commencing with the year two thousand\nfour. The city board in conjunction with the chancellor and the\ncommunity council representatives, shall prepare and make public a plan\nto ensure the smooth transition of pupils and school personnel, creation\nof new boards, and allocation of school facilities and resources among\nthe districts established pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision.\nPrior to the adoption of the transition plan, the city board shall hold\none or more public hearings in each borough. The city board shall make\nthe transition plan available not less than three weeks before the first\nsuch public hearing. Upon receipt of comments, the city board, in\nconjunction with the chancellor and the community council\nrepresentatives, shall prepare a revised transition plan, if necessary\nand make such plan available to the public for comment.\n 3. (a) The redistricting advisory study group established prior to the\neffective date of this paragraph for the purpose of study and making\nrecommendations on community school district boundaries, is hereby\ncontinued and shall perform the duties required herein.\n (b) The study group shall prepare a report containing recommendations\nfor dividing the city into no more than thirty-seven community\ndistricts.\n (c) In preparation of its recommendations for dividing the city into\ncommunity districts, the study group shall ensure that the\nrecommendations provide for the most effective delivery of educational\nservices and shall be guided by the following criteria:\n (1) each community district shall: (i) be a suitable size for\nefficient policy-making and economic management; (ii) contain a\nreasonable number of pupils; (iii) be compact and contiguous, contained\nwithin county lines, and to the maximum extent possible, keep intact\ncommunities and neighborhoods; and (iv) bear a rational relationship to\ngeographic areas for which the city of New York plans and provides\nservices;\n (2) to the extent possible, keep existing lines intact;\n (3) the common and special education needs of the communities and\nschool children involved;\n (4) effective utilization of existing and planned school facilities;\n (5) minimum disruption of existing and planned elementary\nschool-junior high/middle school-high school feeder patterns;\n (6) transportation facilities;\n (7) additional administrative costs involved in the creation of such\nnew districts; and\n (8) ensure fair and effective representation of racial and language\ngroups pursuant to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended;\n (9) notwithstanding the provisions of this subparagraph and\nsubparagraphs one through eight of this paragraph: (i) the residents of\nthe county of New York in school district ten as it existed prior to the\nimplementation of this paragraph shall continue to remain in school\ndistrict ten as such district is comprised; (ii) the boundaries of\ncommunity district thirty-one shall continue to remain as they are\ncurrently comprised; and (iii) no county shall have fewer community\nschool districts than in existence on the effective date of this\nparagraph.\n (d) The study group shall hold one or more public hearings in each\nborough before final adoption of its recommendations. The study group\nshall make its recommendations available to the public for inspection\nand comment not less than one month before the first such public\nhearing. Following its consideration of the comments received on the\nrecommendations, the study group shall prepare a report containing its\nfinal recommendations. The study group shall submit its report to the\ncity board and make such report available to the public for inspection\nno later than November first, nineteen hundred ninety-four.\n (e) The city board of education shall hold public hearings in each\nborough on the recommendations submitted by the study group and may\nadopt, revise or reject in whole or in part such recommendations, or,\nmay request the study group to submit adjusted recommendations. The\nfinal recommendations shall be adopted by the city board of education no\nlater than February first, nineteen hundred ninety-five to take effect\nJuly first, nineteen hundred ninety-six, provided that such revised\nboundaries adopted by the city board pursuant to this chapter shall be\nused for purposes of community school board elections to be held on the\nfirst Tuesday in May, nineteen hundred ninety-six.\n (f) Provided, however, that the city board may make minor adjustments,\n(i) to correct errors that may occur in the district lines adopted by\nthe city board, or (ii) upon showing a change in circumstances. Any such\nlimited revisions to community school district lines may occur between\nthe effective date of this paragraph and the city board readjustment\nscheduled in the year two thousand four.\n (g) No public hearings required pursuant to this subdivision shall be\nheld during the months of July and August. All public hearings shall be\nheld at a time and place designated to maximize community and parent\nparticipation. Notice of all such public hearings shall be provided in a\ntimely manner to all print and electronic media and shall be widely\ndistributed to all interested parties, so as to maximize participation\nby parents and the community. In addition such notice shall be posted in\neach school building and district office.\n 4. a. There shall be a city-wide council on special education created\npursuant to this section. The city-wide council on special education\nshall consist of eleven voting members and one non-voting member, as\nfollows:\n (1) nine voting members who shall be parents of students with\nindividualized education programs, to be selected by parents of students\nwith individualized education programs pursuant to a representative\nprocess developed by the chancellor. Such members shall serve a two year\nterm;\n (2) two voting members appointed by the public advocate of the city of\nNew York, who shall be individuals with extensive experience and\nknowledge in the areas of educating, training or employing individuals\nwith handicapping conditions and will make a significant contribution to\nimproving special education in the city district. Such members shall\nserve a two year term; and\n (3) one non-voting member who is a high school senior with an\nindividualized education program, appointed by the administrator\ndesignated by the chancellor to supervise special education programs.\nSuch member shall serve a one year term.\n b. The city-wide council on special education shall have the power to:\n (1) advise and comment on any educational or instructional policy\ninvolving the provision of services for students with disabilities;\n (2) advise and comment on the process of establishing committees\nand/or subcommittees on special education in community school districts\npursuant to section forty-four hundred two of this chapter;\n (3) issue an annual report on the effectiveness of the city district\nin providing services to students with disabilities and making\nrecommendations, as appropriate, on how to improve the efficiency and\ndelivery of such services; and\n (4) hold at least one meeting per month open to the public and during\nwhich the public may discuss issues facing students with disabilities.\n c. Vacancies shall be filled for an unexpired term by the city-wide\ncouncil on special education, pursuant to a process developed by the\nchancellor that shall include consultation with parents of students with\nindividualized educational programs; provided however, that where a\nvacancy occurs in a position appointed by the public advocate, the\npublic advocate shall appoint a member to serve the remainder of the\nunexpired term.\n 5. (a) There shall be a city-wide council on English language learners\ncreated pursuant to this section. The city-wide council on English\nlanguage learners shall consist of eleven voting members and one\nnon-voting member, as follows:\n (i) nine voting members who shall be parents of students who are in a\nbilingual or English as a second language program conducted pursuant to\nsection thirty-two hundred four of this chapter, some of whom may be\nparents of students who have been in such a program within the preceding\ntwo years, to be selected by parents of students who receive such\nservices pursuant to a representative process developed by the\nchancellor. Such members shall serve a two year term;\n (ii) two voting members appointed by the public advocate of the city\nof New York, who shall be individuals with extensive experience and\nknowledge in the education of English language learners and will make a\nsignificant contribution to improving bilingual and English as a second\nlanguage programs in the city district. Such members shall serve a two\nyear term; and\n (iii) one non-voting member who is a high school senior who is or has\nbeen in a bilingual or English as a second language program, appointed\nby the administrator designated by the chancellor to supervise such\nprograms. Such member shall serve a one year term.\n (b) The city-wide council on English language learners shall have the\npower to:\n (i) advise and comment on any educational or instructional policy\ninvolving bilingual or English as a second language programs;\n (ii) issue an annual report on the effectiveness of the city district\nin providing services to English language learners and making\nrecommendations, as appropriate, on how to improve the efficiency and\ndelivery of such services; and\n (iii) hold at least one meeting per month open to the public and\nduring which the public may discuss issues facing English language\nlearners.\n (c) Vacancies shall be filled for an unexpired term by the city-wide\ncouncil on English language learners, pursuant to a process developed by\nthe chancellor that shall include consultation with parents of students\nwho receive services for English language learners; provided however,\nthat where a vacancy occurs in a position appointed by the public\nadvocate, the public advocate shall appoint a member to serve the\nremainder of the unexpired term.\n 6. (a) There shall be a city-wide council on high schools created\npursuant to this section. The city-wide council on high schools shall\nconsist of thirteen voting members and one non-voting member, as\nfollows:\n (i) ten voting members who shall be parents of students attending\npublic high schools. Two members representing each borough shall be\nselected by presidents and officers of the parents' associations or\nparent-teachers' associations in the relevant borough, pursuant to a\nprocess established by the chancellor. Such members shall serve a two\nyear term;\n (ii) one voting member who shall be a parent of a high school student\nwith an individualized education program. Such member shall be appointed\nby the city-wide council on special education, and shall serve a two\nyear term;\n (iii) one voting member who shall be a parent of a student in a\nbilingual or English as a second language program conducted in a public\nhigh school. Such member shall be appointed by the city-wide council on\nEnglish language learners, and shall serve a two year term;\n (iv) one voting member appointed by the public advocate of the city of\nNew York, who shall be a resident of the city and shall have extensive\nbusiness, trade, or education experience and knowledge who will make a\nsignificant contribution to improving education in the city district.\nSuch member shall serve for a term of two years; and\n (v) one non-voting member who is a public high school senior,\nappointed by the chancellor pursuant to a process developed by the\nchancellor. Such member shall serve a one year term.\n Officers of parents' associations or parent-teachers' associations who\nare candidates in the selection process established by the chancellor\npursuant to this subdivision shall not be eligible to cast votes in such\nselection process. The association shall elect a member to vote in the\nplace of each such officer for purposes of the selection process.\n (b) The city-wide council on high schools shall have the power to:\n (i) advise and comment on any educational or instructional policy\ninvolving high schools;\n (ii) issue an annual report on the effectiveness of the city district\nin providing services to high school students and making\nrecommendations, as appropriate, on how to improve the efficiency and\ndelivery of such services; and\n (iii) hold at least one meeting per month open to the public and\nduring which the public may discuss issues facing high schools.\n (c) Vacancies shall be filled for an unexpired term by the city-wide\ncouncil on high schools, pursuant to a process developed by the\nchancellor that shall include consultation with parents of students\nattending public high school; provided, however, that where a vacancy\noccurs in a position appointed by the public advocate, the public\nadvocate shall appoint a member to serve the remainder of the unexpired\nterm.\n 7. (a) Members of the city-wide councils established pursuant to this\nsection shall not be paid a salary or stipend, but shall be reimbursed\nfor all actual and necessary expenses directly related to the duties and\nresponsibilities of the city-wide council on which they serve.\n (b) Each such city-wide council may appoint a secretary, pursuant to\nthe policies of the city board, who shall perform the following\nfunctions:\n (i) prepare meeting notices, agendas and minutes;\n (ii) record and maintain accounts of proceedings and meetings; and\n (iii) prepare briefing materials and other related informational\nmaterials for such meetings.\n Each city-wide council shall be responsible for the appointment,\nsupervision, evaluation and discharge of the secretary.\n (c) No person may serve at the same time on more than one city-wide\ncouncil established pursuant to this section, nor may any person serve\nat the same time on such a city-wide council and any community district\neducation council.\n (d) A member of a city-wide council established pursuant to this\nsection shall be ineligible to be employed by any such council, any\ncommunity district education council, or the city board.\n (e) No person shall be eligible for membership on a city-wide council\nestablished pursuant to this section if he or she holds any elective\npublic office or any elective or appointed party position except that of\ndelegate or alternate delegate to a national, state, judicial or other\nparty convention, or member of a county committee.\n (f) A person who has been convicted of a felony, or has been removed\nfrom a city-wide council established pursuant to this section or\ncommunity district education council for any of the following shall be\npermanently ineligible for appointment to a city-wide council:\n (i) an act of malfeasance directly related to his or her service on\nsuch city-wide council or community district education council; or\n (ii) conviction of a crime, if such crime is directly related to his\nor her service upon such city-wide council or community district\neducation council.\n (g) In addition to the conditions enumerated in the public officers\nlaw creating a vacancy, a member of a city-wide council established\npursuant to this section who refuses or neglects to attend three\nmeetings of such city-wide council of which he or she is duly notified,\nwithout rendering in writing a good and valid excuse therefor vacates\nhis or her office by refusal to serve. Each absence and any written\nexcuse rendered shall be included within the official written minutes of\nsuch meeting. After the third unexcused absence such city-wide council\nshall declare a vacancy to the chancellor.\n * NB Effective until June 30, 2016\n * § 2590-b. Continuation of city board and establishment of community\ndistricts. 1. (a) The board of education of the city school district of\nthe city of New York is hereby continued. Such board of education shall\nconsist of seven members, a member to be appointed by each borough\npresident of the city of New York and two by the mayor. Each borough\npresident appointee shall be a resident of the borough for which the\nborough president appointing him was elected. Two members at large shall\nbe appointed by the mayor of the city of New York. Each mayoral\nappointee shall be a resident of such city. The term of office of each\nmember shall be four years, commencing the first day of July, nineteen\nhundred seventy-four and every four years thereafter. A vacancy\noccurring other than by expiration of term of a member appointed by a\nborough president shall be filled for the unexpired term by appointment\nby the appropriate borough president of a person who is a resident of\nsuch borough. The mayor shall fill vacancies for an unexpired term of\nany of his appointees. The president of the board shall be chosen by the\nmembers. Notwithstanding any provision of local law, the members of the\nboard shall receive compensation for their services as follows: $20,000\nfor the board president and $15,000 for each board member and shall be\nreimbursed for the actual and necessary expenses incurred by them in the\nperformance of their duties.\n (b) The members to be appointed by the borough presidents shall be\nappointed not earlier than April first, nineteen hundred seventy-four\nand not later than June first, nineteen hundred seventy-four and their\nsuccessors thereafter.\n The mayor of the city of New York shall appoint two members not\nearlier than April first, nineteen hundred seventy-four and not later\nthan June first, nineteen hundred seventy-four and their successors\nthereafter.\n 2. (a) There shall be a community board for each community district\ncreated pursuant to this article.\n (b) The city board shall define adjust, alter, maintain and adopt the\nboundaries of the community districts pursuant to this chapter no later\nthan February first, nineteen hundred ninety-five. There shall be no\nless than thirty nor more than thirty-seven community districts.\n (c) The city board may readjust or alter the districts in such plan\nonly once in every ten years, commencing with the year two thousand\nfour. The city board in conjunction with the chancellor and the\ncommunity school boards council, shall prepare and make public a plan to\nensure the smooth transition of pupils and school personnel, creation of\nnew boards, and allocation of school facilities and resources among the\ndistricts established pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision.\nPrior to the adoption of the transition plan, the city board shall hold\none or more public hearings in each borough. The city board shall make\nthe transition plan available not less than three weeks before the first\nsuch public hearing. Upon receipt of comments, the city board, in\nconjunction with the chancellor and the community school boards council,\nshall prepare a revised transition plan, if necessary and make such plan\navailable to the public for comment. A final transition plan shall be\nadopted by the city board by November fifteenth, nineteen hundred\nninety-five.\n 3. (a) The redistricting advisory study group established prior to the\neffective date of this paragraph for the purpose of study and making\nrecommendations on community school district boundaries, is hereby\ncontinued and shall perform the duties required herein.\n (b) The study group shall prepare a report containing recommendations\nfor dividing the city into no more than thirty-seven community\ndistricts.\n (c) In preparation of its recommendations for dividing the city into\ncommunity districts, the study group shall ensure that the\nrecommendations provide for the most effective delivery of educational\nservices and shall be guided by the following criteria:\n (1) each community district shall: (i) be a suitable size for\nefficient policy-making and economic management; (ii) contain a\nreasonable number of pupils; (iii) be compact and contiguous, contained\nwithin county lines, and to the maximum extent possible, keep intact\ncommunities and neighborhoods; and (iv) bear a rational relationship to\ngeographic areas for which the city of New York plans and provides\nservices;\n (2) to the extent possible, keep existing lines intact;\n (3) the common and special education needs of the communities and\nschool children involved;\n (4) effective utilization of existing and planned school facilities;\n (5) minimum disruption of existing and planned elementary\nschool-junior high/middle school-high school feeder patterns;\n (6) transportation facilities;\n (7) additional administrative costs involved in the creation of such\nnew districts; and\n (8) ensure fair and effective representation of racial and language\ngroups pursuant to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended;\n (9) notwithstanding the provisions of this subparagraph and\nsubparagraphs one through eight of this paragraph: (i) the residents of\nthe county of New York in school district ten as it existed prior to the\nimplementation of this paragraph shall continue to remain in school\ndistrict ten as such district is comprised; (ii) the boundaries of\ncommunity district thirty-one shall continue to remain as they are\ncurrently comprised; and (iii) no county shall have fewer community\nschool districts than in existence on the effective date of this\nparagraph.\n (d) The study group shall hold one or more public hearings in each\nborough before final adoption of its recommendations. The study group\nshall make its recommendations available to the public for inspection\nand comment not less than one month before the first such public\nhearing. Following its consideration of the comments received on the\nrecommendations, the study group shall prepare a report containing its\nfinal recommendations. The study group shall submit its report to the\ncity board and make such report available to the public for inspection\nno later than November first, nineteen hundred ninety-four.\n (e) The city board of education shall hold public hearings in each\nborough on the recommendations submitted by the study group and may\nadopt, revise or reject in whole or in part such recommendations, or,\nmay request the study group to submit adjusted recommendations. The\nfinal recommendations shall be adopted by the city board of education no\nlater than February first, nineteen hundred ninety-five to take effect\nJuly first, nineteen hundred ninety-six, provided that such revised\nboundaries adopted by the city board pursuant to this chapter shall be\nused for purposes of community school board elections to be held on the\nfirst Tuesday in May, nineteen hundred ninety-six.\n (f) Provided, however, that the city board may make minor adjustments,\n(i) to correct errors that may occur in the district lines adopted by\nthe city board, or (ii) upon showing a change in circumstances. Any such\nlimited revisions to community school district lines may occur between\nthe effective date of this paragraph and the city board readjustment\nscheduled in the year two thousand four.\n (g) No public hearings required pursuant to this subdivision shall be\nheld during the months of July and August. All public hearings shall be\nheld at a time and place designated to maximize community and parent\nparticipation. Notice of all such public hearings shall be provided in a\ntimely manner to all print and electronic media and shall be widely\ndistributed to all interested parties, so as to maximize participation\nby parents and the community. In addition such notice shall be posted in\neach school building and district office.\n * NB Effective June 30, 2016\n