Meeting of the Board of Regents | June 2008

SUMMARY

Issue for Decision

Should the Regents approve the staff’s recommendation concerning the proposed revision to the charter of the Community Roots Charter School (New York City)?

Reason(s) for Consideration

              Required by State statute, Education Law §2852.

Proposed Handling

This question will come before the EMSC Committee in June 2008 for action.  It will then come before the full Board for final action in June 2008.

Procedural History

The New York Charter Schools Act of 1998 requires the Board of Regents to review, in accordance with the standards set forth in Education Law §2852(2), proposed charters, renewal charters and revisions to charters and renewal charters that have been approved and submitted by other charter entities.  The Board of Regents may either approve and issue a charter, renewal charter and/or revision as proposed by the charter entity, or return the same to the charter entity for reconsideration with written comments and recommendations. 

Background Information

We received a request from the Chancellor of the city school district of the city of New York to revise the charter for the Community Roots Charter School (the “School”).  The School seeks to revise the Code of Conduct to include bullying and threatening another student as prohibited conduct which, depending on the circumstance, is subject to in-school or out-of-school suspension.  The School also seeks to revise the Code of Conduct to delineate between the procedures and due process for out-of-school suspensions that do not exceed five days and the procedures and due process for out-of-school suspensions that exceed five days.  In a suspension that does not exceed five days, the student and/or parents must first be offered the opportunity of an informal conference with the Co-directors; in a suspension that exceeds five days, the student and parent must first be offered the opportunity for a fair hearing at which the student will have the right to be represented by a lawyer, question witnesses and present evidence.

              The School is located in Community School District (CSD) 13.  The New York City Department of Education (“NYCDOE”) held a public hearing on April 7, 2008, regarding the proposed revision.  There were no comments from the public.

Staff recommends that the Board of Regents approve the proposed revision.

Recommendation

VOTED: That the Board of Regents approve the revision to the initial charter of the Community Roots Charter School as proposed by the Chancellor of the city school district of the city of New York, and the provisional charter is amended accordingly.

Reasons for Recommendations

              The proposed revision to the School’s charter, along with the other terms of the charter: (1) meet the requirements set out in Article 56 of the Education Law, and all other applicable laws, rules and regulations; (2) will permit the charter school to operate in an educationally and fiscally sound manner and  (3) are likely to improve student learning and achievement and materially further the purposes set out in subdivision two of section twenty-eight hundred fifty of Article 56 of the Education Law.

Timetable for Implementation

The Regents action for the Community Roots Charter School is effective immediately.