Meeting of the Board of Regents | June 2009

SUMMARY

Issue for Decision

Should the Regents approve the staff’s recommendation concerning the proposed revision to the initial charter for Equality Charter School (New York City)?

Background Information

We received a request from the Chancellor of the city school district of the City of New York to revise the initial charter for Equality Charter School (“the School”).  The initial charter was approved in January 2009 to open in Community School District (CSD) 12 on September 7, 2009.  The School seeks to change its location from CSD 12 to CSD 11, because New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) offered space in an under-utilized facility in CSD 11.  The School also seeks to change the term length of the Board of Trustees; change personnel titles; adjust the size of programs based on need and temporarily eliminate music and offer art in Year 1; change the “Referral Process” section of the application (in reference to III.1.b. Recruitment for Key Personnel); revise the school calendar to fit the NYCDOE calendar for conference days and spring break; change references throughout the application from “Charter School Business Management (CSBM)” to “Financial Consultant;”  and, revise the “Purchases and Payments” section of the Policies and Procedures Manual to reflect personnel title changes.

The New York City Department of Education held a public hearing in CSD 11 on June 11, 2009 regarding the proposed revision.  The hearing was attended by approximately 75 persons.  There were few attendees with any comments on the specific revisions requested by the School, but a number of parents spoke in opposition to the School being co-located at PS 160.  This issue had previously been the subject of a facilities hearing on April 22, 2009, at which a number of parents spoke both in favor of and in opposition to the School being co-located at PS 160.

Recommendation

VOTED: That the Board of Regents approves the revision to the initial charter of the Equality 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 Recommendation

              The proposed revisions 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 Equality Charter School will be effective immediately.