Source: http://www.counsel.nysed.gov/Decisions/volume59/d17734
Timestamp: 2020-06-01 09:38:50
Document Index: 656518123

Matched Legal Cases: ['§2853', '§2853', '§2853', '§2853', '§276', '§276', '§276', '§2853', '§2853', '§310', '§2853', '§2853', '§7803', '§2853', '§2853', '§2853', '§2853', '§2853', '§2853', '§2853', '§2853', '§2853', '§2853', '§2853', '§2853', '§276', '§276', '§3602', '§2853', '§2853', '§2851']

Decision No. 17,734 | Office of Counsel
Decision No. 17,734
Appeal of DEMOCRACY PREPARATORY CHARTER SCHOOL[1] from action of the New York City Department of Education regarding school utilization.
Zachary W. Carter, Corporation Counsel, attorney for respondent, Christopher Ferreira, Esq., of counsel
ELIA., Commissioner.--Petitioner, Democracy Preparatory Charter School (“the school”), challenges the New York City Department of Education’s (“DOE” or “respondent”) failure to offer it a co-location site in a public school building or space in a privately-owned or other publicly-owned facility at DOE’s expense and at no cost to the school, as required by Education Law §2853(3)(e). The appeal must be sustained.
Petitioner is authorized by the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York (“SUNY”) to serve students in kindergarten through grade 12.[2] Its initial charter was issued in December 2005. Petitioner currently serves students in grades 6 through 12. In February 2013, respondent’s Chancellor (“Chancellor”) - petitioner’s charter entity at the time - approved a revision to petitioner’s charter, authorizing petitioner to expand to serve students in kindergarten through grade 5. In May 2015, petitioner’s charter was renewed for a term up through and including June 30, 2020. According to petitioner, it will expand to serve students in kindergarten and grade 1 in the 2020-2021 school year, grade 2 in the 2021-2022 school year, grade 3 in the 2022-2023 school year, and grade 4 in the 2023-2024 school year.[3]
On June 14, 2019, a written request for co-location was submitted for petitioner’s kindergarten through grade 5, pursuant to Education Law §2853(3)(e), using DOE’s online “Portal.”[4] By letter dated June 17, 2019, DOE acknowledged the request for space, but stated that it would “not be extending an offer of space at this time.” This appeal ensued.
Petitioner asserts that DOE failed to provide it space, in violation of Education Law §2853(3)(e). As relief, it seeks an order directing DOE to pay rental assistance for its kindergarten through grade 4[5] in accordance with Education Law §2853(3)(e)(5).
Preliminarily, I will address a procedural issue. Petitioner objects to respondent’s late answer. An answer in a charter school co-location appeal must be served within ten business days of service of the petition (8 NYCRR §276.11[e][1]). If an answer is not served and filed in accordance with the provisions of the Commissioner’s regulations, the statements contained in the petition will be deemed to be true statements, and a decision will be rendered thereon by the Commissioner (8 NYCRR §276.11[c][2]). A late answer may be considered in the discretion of the Commissioner upon consideration of the proffered reason for the delay (8 NYCRR §276.11[e][1]). The petition was served upon respondent on July 16, 2019. Respondent was required to serve its answer by July 30, 2019, but did not do so until July 31, 2019. Respondent has proffered no reason for its failure to timely serve its answer. Accordingly, I have not considered respondent’s late answer and the factual allegations set forth in the petition will be deemed to be true statements (Appeal of R.S., 57 Ed Dept Rep, Decision No. 17,238; Appeal of Dream Charter School, 55 id., Decision No. 16,906; Appeal of Reese, et al., 49 id. 328, Decision No. 16,044). Consequently, I also have not considered petitioner’s reply to respondent’s late answer.
I note that this appeal was commenced pursuant to Education Law §2853(3)(e), which was added by Part BB of Chapter 56 of the Laws of 2014. Education Law §2853(3)(e)(3) provides that a charter school in the City School District of the City of New York shall have the option of appealing the “city school district’s offer or failure to offer a co-location site through ... an expedited appeal to the commissioner” pursuant to Education Law §310 and the procedures prescribed in Education Law §2853(3)(a-5). Pursuant to Education Law §2853(3)(e)(3), in any such appeal, the standard of review shall be the standard prescribed in Civil Practice Law and Rules (“CPLR”) §7803.
Petitioner asserts that DOE failed to offer it a co-location site in a public school building or space in a privately-owned or other publicly-owned facility for its kindergarten through grade 4, at no cost to the school, in violation of Education Law §2853(3)(e). Education Law §2853(3)(e) provides that, in the City School District of the City of New York, charter schools that require additional space due to an expansion of grade level approved by their charter entity for the 2014-2015 school year or thereafter, and request co-location in a public school building, shall be provided access to facilities. The statute also requires that, within the later of five months after a charter school’s written request for co-location and 30 days after the charter school’s charter is approved by the charter entity, the city school district shall offer the charter school either a co-location site in a public school building approved by the board of education as provided by law at no cost to the charter school, or space in a privately-owned or other publicly-owned facility at the expense of the city school district and at no cost to the charter school (Education Law §2853[3][e][1]).
Here, DOE responded to the June 14, 2019 co-location request but did not offer petitioner a co-location site in a public school building or space in a privately-owned or other publicly-owned facility, at no cost to the school. However, in response to the request, DOE was required by Education Law §2853(3)(e)(1) to offer petitioner space in a privately-owned or publicly-owned facility at the expense of the city school district and at no cost to petitioner. As DOE has not offered any facilities at the expense of the city school district and at no cost to the school, it failed to comply with the requirements of Education Law §2853(3)(e)(1).
The record indicates that, in February 2013, petitioner was authorized by its then-charter entity to expand to serve students in kindergarten through grade 5. According to petitioner, it will expand to serve students in kindergarten and grade 1 in the 2020-2021 school year, grade 2 in the 2021-2022 school year, grade 3 in the 2022-2023 school year, and grade 4 in the 2023-2024 school year,[6] expansions for which it requires additional space. Therefore, on the record before me, I find that petitioner has established that it requires additional space due to an expansion of grade level that was approved by its charter entity for the 2014-2015 school year or thereafter. Petitioner has, thus, met all the statutory criteria and is entitled either to a co-location or to an offer of private or other publicly-owned space (see Education Law §2853[3][e]).
Accordingly, having failed to make such an offer, DOE must, pursuant to Education Law §2853(3)(e)(5) and petitioner’s request, pay petitioner, commencing with the 2020-2021 school year, and in each remaining year of any then-current charter term and any subsequent renewal term, provided that, in any such renewal term, the charter school serves the grades encompassed by the charter referenced herein, rental assistance based on student enrollment in the newly-added kindergarten through grade 4 - the grades requested by petitioner and for which relief is sought herein[7] - for which the school has been approved to provide instruction.[8] Specifically, with respect to an existing charter school whose expansion of grade level is approved by its charter entity, “if the appeal results in a determination in favor of the charter school, the city school district shall pay the charter school an amount attributable to the grade level expansion” that is calculated in accordance with the formula set forth in Education Law §2853(3)(e)(5).
Therefore, consistent with the relief sought in the petition, DOE must pay petitioner for its newly-added kindergarten and grade 1 commencing in the 2020-2021 school year, grade 2 commencing in the 2021-2022 school year, grade 3 commencing in the 2022-2023 school year, and grade 4 commencing in the 2023-2024 school year, and in each remaining year of any then-current charter term and any subsequent renewal term, provided that, in any such renewal term, the charter school serves the grades encompassed by the charter referenced herein, an amount attributable to its expansion to kindergarten through grade 4 that is calculated in accordance with the formula set forth in Education Law §2853(3)(e)(5).
In this instance, petitioner indicates that it intends to serve its students in private space. Petitioner must present DOE with evidence of the amount of the actual rental cost of an alternative privately-owned site attributable to the grade-level expansion so that DOE can determine whether such rental cost is less than the amount computed pursuant to Education Law §2853(3)(e)(5)(B).
IT IS ORDERED that respondent comply with the requirements of Education Law §2853(3)(e)(5) in accordance with this decision and pay petitioner for its newly-added grades for each remaining year of any then-current charter term and for any subsequent renewal term, provided that, in any such renewal term, the charter school serves the grades encompassed by the charter referenced herein, an amount attributable to the grade-level expansion that is calculated in accordance with the formula set forth in Education Law §2853(3)(e)(5).
[1] Although petitioner is referred to as “Democracy Prep Charter School” in the caption of the petition and in the petition itself, pursuant to §276.6 of the Commissioner’s regulations, I take administrative notice of records on file with the New York State Education Department indicating that the name of petitioner is “Democracy Preparatory Charter School.”
[2] Pursuant to §276.6 of the Commissioner’s regulations, I have taken administrative notice of the records on file with the New York State Education Department regarding this school.
[3] Although petitioner’s then-authorizer, DOE’s Chancellor, approved an expansion of petitioner’s charter which authorized it to expand to serve students in kindergarten through grade 5, petitioner has not alleged in its petition that it plans to expand to serve students in grade 5.
[4] Request for Charter School Co-location in DOE Facilities, Item 2(11).
[5] Although petitioner’s written request for co-location lists “K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5” as the grades for which it is requesting co-location space, the request for relief contained in the petition seeks rental assistance only for petitioner’s kindergarten through grade 4. Therefore, petitioner’s written request to respondent regarding co-location space for grade 5 will not be considered in this appeal (see Appeal of Academy of the City Charter School, 58 Ed Dept Rep, Decision No. 17,635).
[6] See footnotes 2 and 3.
[8] To be eligible for an apportionment pursuant to Education Law §3602(6-g) where the charter school has prevailed in an appeal to the Commissioner pursuant to Education Law §2853(3)(e), DOE must document all expenses incurred pursuant to Education Law §2853(3)(e)(5) for each such charter school for the term of the charter indicated in the Commissioner’s decision, including any renewals pursuant to Education Law §2851(4), provided that the charter school serves the grades encompassed by the charter that was the subject of the Commissioner’s decision (see New York State Education Department, Update on Facilities Assistance Guidance for NYC Charter Schools, dated November 3, 2016).