THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

TO:	The Honorable the Members of the Board of Regents
FROM:	James A. Kadamus
COMMITTEE:	EMSC-VESID
TITLE OF ITEM:	Proposed Amendment to the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to Adult Literacy Education Aid
DATE OF SUBMISSION:	July 30, 2004
PROPOSED HANDLING:	Discussion
RATIONALE FOR ITEM:	Update Regulatory Language
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 1 and 2
AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

SUMMARY:

 

Attached is a proposed amendment to section 164.2 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education.  Supporting materials for the proposed amendment are available upon request from the Secretary to the Board of Regents.

 

The purpose of the proposed amendment is to provide not-for-profit organizations with increased flexibility in offering adult literacy education programs, which are designated by the commissioner to serve persons who are receiving public assistance, who are unemployed, or who are economically or educationally disadvantaged, by deleting the 10-pupil minimum class size requirement and the requirement that adult literacy education programs meet certain frequency and duration criteria relating to Employment Preparation Education programs.  This will extend eligibility for State aid to not-for-profit adult literacy education providers serving small populations, such as in situations involving one-on-one tutoring or small groups of no more than four students, in which students receive between one to three hours of instruction per week.  The proposed amendment also deletes obsolete references to the federal Job Training Partnership Act, which was repealed by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.

 

            A Notice of Proposed Rule Making will be published in the State Register no later than August 18, 2004.  The proposed amendment will be submitted for approval in November.

 

Attachment

AMENDMENT TO REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION

            Pursuant to Education Law section 207 and section 1 of Chapter 53 of the Laws of 2003

Subdivision (d) of section 164.2 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education is amended, effective November 25, 2004, as follows:

(d)  Approval of application.  Each not-for-profit organization applying for a grant under this section will be notified by the department, within a reasonable period of time after the receipt of its application, of the commissioner's approval or disapproval of its application in accordance with this subdivision.

(1)  Program approval.  No program application shall be approved unless such application meets the requirements of subdivision (c) of this section and the proposed program meets the criteria set forth in section 168.3(b) of this Title, [provided that the minimum class size shall be 10 pupils] except that the criteria set forth in section 168.3(b)(5) and (6) shall not apply to such program.

 (2)  Priority in award of grants.  In awarding grants to not-for-profit organizations priority shall be given to those organizations [which either meet the criteria for approval to operate a basic skills program set forth in section 167.3(b) of this Title or qualify for an exemption from such criteria pursuant to section 167.4 of this Title, and] which propose to serve persons who are receiving public assistance, who are unemployed, or who are economically or educationally disadvantaged.