Report of Regents P-12 Education Committee to The Board of Regents

Your P-12 Education Committee held its scheduled meeting on April 12, 2021.  All members were present.

ACTION ITEMS

Proposed Amendment to Section 155.17 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to District-wide School Safety Plans [P-12 (A) 1]

Your Committee recommends that section 155.17 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education be amended, as submitted, effective April 13, 2021, as an emergency action upon the finding by the Board of Regents that such action is necessary for the preservation of the public health and general welfare in order to immediately implement the requirements of Chapter 168 of the Laws of 2020, as amended by Chapter 30 of the Laws of 2021, which requires school districts to include protocols for responding to a declared state disaster emergency involving a communicable disease in their district-wide safety plans.

The motion passed unanimously.

Proposed Amendment to Section 135.4 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to High School Students’ Eligibility to Participate in Interscholastic Competition Until the Conclusion of the Interscholastic Athletic Spring Season [P-12 (A) 2]

Your Committee recommends that section 135.4 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education be amended, as submitted, effective April 13, 2021, as an emergency action upon a finding by the Board of Regents that such action is necessary for the preservation of the general welfare to ensure that eligible students are able to complete their interscholastic athletic spring season during the year in which they graduate.

The motion passed unanimously.

Renewal Recommendations for Charter Schools Authorized by the Board of Regents [P-12 (A) 3]

Your Committee recommends that the Board of Regents finds that the Compass Charter School: (1) meets the requirements set out in Article 56 of the Education Law, and all other applicable laws, rules and regulations; (2) the applicant can demonstrate the ability to operate the school in an educationally and fiscally sound manner; (3) granting the application is likely to improve student learning and achievement and materially further the purposes set out in subdivision two of Section twenty-eight hundred fifty of this article; and (4) granting the application would have a significant educational benefit to the students expected to attend the charter school, and the Board of Regents therefore approves the renewal application of the Compass Charter School and that a renewal charter be issued, and that its provisional charter be extended for a term up through and including June 30, 2024.

Your Committee recommends that the Board of Regents finds that the Global Concepts Charter School: (1) meets the requirements set out in Article 56 of the Education Law, and all other applicable laws, rules and regulations; (2) the applicant can demonstrate the ability to operate the school in an educationally and fiscally sound manner; (3) granting the application is likely to improve student learning and achievement and materially further the purposes set out in subdivision two of Section twenty-eight hundred fifty of this article; and (4) granting the application would have a significant educational benefit to the students expected to attend the charter school, and the Board of Regents therefore approves the renewal application of the Global Concepts Charter School and that a renewal charter be issued, and that its provisional charter be extended for a term up through and including June 30, 2026.

Your Committee recommends that the Growing Up Green Charter School II: (1) meets the requirements set out in Article 56 of the Education Law, and all other applicable laws, rules and regulations; (2) the applicant can demonstrate the ability to operate the school in an educationally and fiscally sound manner; (3) granting the application is likely to improve student learning and achievement and materially further the purposes set out in subdivision two of Section twenty-eight hundred fifty of this article; and (4) granting the application would have a significant educational benefit to the students expected to attend the charter school, and the Board of Regents therefore approves the renewal application of the Growing Up Green Charter School II and that a renewal charter be issued, and that its provisional charter be extended for a term up through and including June 30, 2025.

Your Committee recommends that the Harriet Tubman Charter School: (1) meets the requirements set out in Article 56 of the Education Law, and all other applicable laws, rules and regulations; (2) the applicant can demonstrate the ability to operate the school in an educationally and fiscally sound manner; (3) granting the application is likely to improve student learning and achievement and materially further the purposes set out in subdivision two of Section twenty-eight hundred fifty of this article; and (4) granting the application would have a significant educational benefit to the students expected to attend the charter school, and the Board of Regents therefore approves the renewal application of the Harriet Tubman Charter School and that a renewal charter be issued, and that its provisional charter be extended for a term up through and including June 30, 2024.

Your Committee recommends that the Niagara Charter School: (1) meets the requirements set out in Article 56 of the Education Law, and all other applicable laws, rules and regulations; (2) the applicant can demonstrate the ability to operate the school in an educationally and fiscally sound manner; (3) granting the application is likely to improve student learning and achievement and materially further the purposes set out in subdivision two of Section twenty-eight hundred fifty of this article; and (4) granting the application would have a significant educational benefit to the students expected to attend the charter school, and the Board of Regents therefore approves the renewal application of the Niagara Charter School and that a renewal charter be issued, and that its provisional charter be extended for a term up through and including June 30, 2026

The motion passed.  Regents Collins and Mittler abstained from the vote for Global Concepts Charter School only.

Renewal Recommendations for Charter Schools Authorized by the New York City Department of Education Chancellor [P-12 (A) 4]

Your Committee recommends that the Board of Regents finds that the Brooklyn Scholars Charter School: (1) meets the requirements set out in Article 56 of the Education Law, and all other applicable laws, rules and regulations; (2) the applicant can demonstrate the ability to operate the school in an educationally and fiscally sound manner; (3) granting the application is likely to improve student learning and achievement and materially further the purposes set out in subdivision two of Section twenty-eight hundred fifty of this article; and (4) granting the application would have a significant educational benefit to the students expected to attend the charter school, and the Board of Regents therefore approves the renewal application of the Brooklyn Scholars Charter School and that a renewal charter be issued, and that its provisional charter be extended for a term up through and including June 30, 2025.

Your Committee recommends that the Board of Regents finds that the John V. Lindsay Wildcat Academy Charter School: (1) meets the requirements set out in Article 56 of the Education Law, and all other applicable laws, rules and regulations; (2) the applicant can demonstrate the ability to operate the school in an educationally and fiscally sound manner; (3) granting the application is likely to improve student learning and achievement and materially further the purposes set out in subdivision two of Section twenty-eight hundred fifty of this article; and (4) granting the application would have a significant educational benefit to the students expected to attend the charter school, and the Board of Regents therefore approves the renewal application of the John V. Lindsay Wildcat Academy Charter School and that a renewal charter be issued, and that its provisional charter be extended for a term up through and including June 30, 2026.

The motion passed.  Regent Collins abstained from the vote.

Charter Schools: Renewals to Charters Authorized by the Trustees of the State University of New York [P-12 (A) 5]

Your Committee recommends that the Board of Regents return the proposed charters for Icahn Charter School 2, Icahn Charter School 3, Icahn Charter School 4, Icahn Charter School 6, Icahn Charter School 7, Success Academy Charter School – Bronx 3, and Success Academy Charter School – Harlem 6 to the Trustees of the State University of New York for reconsideration, with the following comment and recommendation, “Approving the renewal of any charter school years before the expiration of the charter does not allow timely review of the school’s educational and fiscal soundness, community support, legal compliance, or means by which the school will meet or exceed enrollment and retention targets for students with disabilities, English language learners, and students who are eligible applicants for the free and reduced price lunch program. The charters should be abandoned, and the schools should be directed to resubmit their applications no earlier than one year prior to the expiration of the charter term.”

The motion passed unanimously.

MOTION FOR ACTION BY FULL BOARD

Mr. Chancellor and Colleagues:  Your P-12 Education Committee recommends, and we move, that the Board of Regents act affirmatively upon each recommendation in the written report of the Committee's deliberations at its meeting on April 12, 2021, copies of which have been distributed to each Regent.

Consent Agenda

The Board of Regents approved for permanent adoption the following consent agenda items at its April 12, 2021 meeting:

• Proposed Amendment to Section 100.5(h) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to Requirements for Awarding the New York State Seal of Biliteracy (NYSSB or “the Seal”).
• Proposed Amendment to Sections 125.1, 135.4, and 52.21 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education and Section 30-3.2 of the Rules of the Board of Regents Relating to Addressing the COVID-19 Crisis and the Reopening of Schools (COVID-19 Part VI & Reopening).
• Proposed Amendments to Sections 155.17(f) and 100.5(a) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education and Section 30-3.16 of the Rules of the Board of Regents Relating to Addressing the COVID-19 Crisis (COVID-19 Part VII).
• Proposed Amendment to Sections 100.2 and 119.6 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to the Implementation of the Crown Act.
• Proposed Amendment to Section 100.2(c) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education to Implement Erin’s Law.
• Proposed Amendment to Sections 100.2(cc), (gg) and 120.3(a) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to the Uniform Violent or Disruptive Incident Reporting System, Also Known as the School Safety and Educational Climate Report.