2023 New York Laws › EDN - Education › Title 1 - General Provisions › Article 7 - Commissioner of Education › 309-A - Twenty-First Century Schools Program.

§ 309-a. Twenty-first century schools program. 1. Twenty-first century
  schools   plans.   The   commissioner  is  authorized  to  designate  as
  "twenty-first century schools," schools which are implementing  approved
  plans   to  achieve  substantial  improvement  in  student  achievement.
  Applications for designation as a twenty-first  century  school  may  be
  submitted  on behalf of an individual school, a subset of schools within
  a school  district  or  all  schools  within  a  school  district.  Each
  application  for  designation  as a twenty-first century school shall be
  made in a form prescribed by the commissioner  and  shall  set  forth  a
  five-year  plan  to enable all students to achieve levels of educational
  achievement that  are  competitive  with  high  international  standards
  through   implementation  of  innovative  instructional  strategies  and
  restructuring of school management and programs. Such application  shall
  be  submitted  by  April  first  next preceding the school year in which
  operation  as  a  twenty-first  century  school  would   commence.   The
  twenty-first century school plan shall be developed through consultation
  with  teachers, administrators, parents and other interested parties and
  shall be approved by the board of education at a  public  meeting.  Such
  consultation   shall   be   conducted   in  accordance  with  plans  for
  school-based planning and shared decision making adopted  in  accordance
  with   regulations  of  the  commissioner.  A  school  designated  as  a
  twenty-first century school may revise its plan, subject to approval  by
  the  commissioner  and  subject  to  all  requirements governing initial
  development and approval of a plan. A twenty-first century  school  plan
  shall   contain  such  information  as  the  commissioner  may  require,
  including but not limited to:
a. identification of the school or schools included within the plan;
b. high, internationally  competitive  academic  content  and  student
  achievement  standards  and mechanisms for assessing student achievement
  that are fair, reliable and valid, that have been selected or  developed
  in conjunction with teachers, principals, parents and representatives of
  employers,  organized labor, higher education institutions and community
  organizations and are consistent with standards and assessment practices
  developed by the department, by national organizations of subject-matter
  experts or by others;
c. specific actions to be undertaken  to  assure  that  all  students,
  regardless  of  economic background, race, gender, ethnicity, disability
  or limited English proficiency, will have a fair opportunity to  achieve
  the  knowledge and skills described in the student achievement standards
  pursuant to paragraph b of this subdivision;
d. specific improvements in  student  achievement  that  the  plan  is
  expected  to  produce  including,  but  not  limited to, improvements in
  student achievement as  reflected  in  grades,  test  scores,  portfolio
  assessments  and  student  demonstrations  of skills or competencies and
  improvements in attendance and completion rates;
e. certifications by the superintendent of schools and  the  principal
  of each school included in the plan that the school will comply with all
  requirements  of  this chapter, rules of the board or regulations of the
  commissioner listed by the commissioner pursuant to subdivision three of
  this section;
f. a description of the staff development, training  and  support  for
  teachers  and  other  personnel  that will be necessary to implement the
  plan;
g. any changes in school  governance  or  management,  work  rules  or
  assignment  restrictions,  pursuant  to  collective  negotiations  where
  applicable, needed in order to effectively focus and assist  schools  in
  preparing  students  to  meet  the  achievement  standards  described in
  paragraph b of this subdivision;
h. any actions to be undertaken to  assist  families  of  students  in
  addressing  pressing  needs  that affect student achievement, including,
  but not  limited  to,  forming  partnerships  with  public  and  private
  agencies  to  increase  the  access  of students and families to quality
  coordinated services;
i.  any  actions  to  be  undertaken to facilitate the transition from
  school to work or to postsecondary education for all students including,
  for example,  integration  of  workplace  readiness  skills  and  career
  information   into   curricula,   provision  of  school-structured  work
  experiences, cooperation with local employers and articulation of school
  and college programs; and
j. a plan for evaluation of the effectiveness of the program.
2. Criteria for approval. The commissioner may designate a total of up
  to two hundred  fifty  twenty-first  century  schools  by  the  nineteen
  hundred  ninety-nine--two  thousand  school year. The commissioner shall
  promulgate criteria for the designation of twenty-first century  schools
  which shall include, but not be limited to:
a.   certifications   by   the  commissioner  that:  (i)  the  student
  achievement standards described pursuant to paragraph b  of  subdivision
  one   of   this  section  represent  high,  internationally  competitive
  standards for student knowledge and skills, (ii) that the mechanisms for
  assessing student achievement pursuant to such  paragraph  b  are  fair,
  reliable  and  valid;  and  (iii)  the  plan  is designed to provide all
  students with educational services of a quality  at  least  as  high  as
  those  offered  under  existing  practices,  without  regard to economic
  background, race,  gender,  ethnicity,  disability  or  limited  English
  proficiency;
b.  the  potential  of  the  school  plan  for  use  as  a model to be
  replicated by other similarly situated schools and  the  probability  of
  success  in  substantially  improving  levels  of  achievement  for  all
  students,  without  regard  to  economic   background,   race,   gender,
  ethnicity, disability or limited English proficiency;
c.  evidence  and strength of support for the proposal among teachers,
  parents and staff;
d. use of nationally recognized school restructuring  and  improvement
  models and reliance upon research-based strategies for improving student
  achievement; and
e.  changes  in  local  policies to provide the school or schools with
  additional enhanced flexibility.
The commissioner shall designate twenty-first  century  schools  after
  consultation with the twenty-first century schools committee established
  pursuant  to subdivision six of this section. The commissioner shall, to
  the extent practicable, provide for designation of schools located in  a
  mixture  of  urban,  rural and suburban settings. The commissioner shall
  take specific actions to encourage applications from schools located  in
  economically and socially distressed communities.
3.  Exemption  from  regulation. A school designated as a twenty-first
  century school shall:
a. be exempt from complying with rules of the board and regulations of
  the commissioner to  the  extent  necessary  to  implement  an  approved
  twenty-first  century school plan and except as provided in paragraphs b
  and c of this subdivision;
b. be authorized, as part of a twenty-first  century  school  plan  or
  revision thereto, to request approval by the commissioner to be exempted
  from  specific  requirements  of  this  chapter  except  as  provided in
  paragraph c of this subdivision  and  provided  that  the  school  shall
  continue  to  meet  the  underlying  purposes  of  the  statute  to  the
  satisfaction of the commissioner and that the exemption shall be granted

  only to the extent  necessary  to  implement  an  approved  twenty-first
  century  school  plan  in  the  affected  school or schools and provided
  further, that within thirty days of granting an  exemption  pursuant  to
  this  paragraph,  the  commissioner shall provide written notice of such
  action to the governor, the temporary president of the  senate  and  the
  speaker of the assembly; and
c.  not  be  exempt  from complying with requirements of this chapter,
  rules of the board or regulations of the commissioner that  (i)  protect
  the  health,  safety  and  civil  rights  of  students  and  staff, (ii)
  implement the requirements of federal law or regulation,  (iii)  provide
  for teacher, staff and parent participation and involvement, maintenance
  of  effort or equitable participation of students and staff in nonpublic
  schools, (iv) require the use of certified teachers, or (v)  pertain  to
  attendance  of  pupils;  further,  nothing  herein shall be construed to
  exempt a twenty-first century school  or  its  governing  district  from
  complying  with  the  provisions of titles two and four of this chapter,
  with the requirement to offer students the opportunity to meet  all  the
  requirements  for  and  receive  a  regents  high school diploma or with
  requirements to reporting data necessary for the  computation  of  state
  aid.
On or by October first, nineteen hundred ninety-four, the commissioner
  shall promulgate and provide to the governor, the temporary president of
  the  senate  and  the  speaker of the assembly a preliminary list of all
  requirements from which twenty-first century schools shall  be  required
  to  request  specific  exemption  as  provided  in  paragraph  b of this
  subdivision  and  with  which  twenty-first  century  schools  shall  be
  required  to  comply as provided in paragraph c of this subdivision. The
  commissioner shall promulgate a final list of all such  requirements  on
  November  first,  nineteen  hundred  ninety-four. The commissioner shall
  revise  such  list  as  needed  and,  in  each  case,  shall  provide  a
  preliminary revised list to the governor, the temporary president of the
  senate  and  the  speaker  of the assembly at least thirty days prior to
  promulgating a final revised list.
4. School  evaluations  and  reports.  Each  school  designated  as  a
  twenty-first  century  school shall annually review its effectiveness in
  improving student performance and enabling all students  to  achieve  to
  high  internationally competitive standards and shall report the results
  of this review to the commissioner by September  first  next  succeeding
  each  year  of  operation as a twenty-first century school. Prior to the
  start of a school's third year of operation as  a  twenty-first  century
  school,  the  school  and  the  commissioner  shall  jointly  review the
  school's performance to identify areas in need  of  improvement  and  to
  develop  revisions  to  the school's twenty-first century school plan to
  remedy the identified shortcomings. If, as a result of such review,  the
  commissioner   determines   that  the  school  is  unlikely  to  produce
  improvement in student achievement, he or she shall commence  action  to
  revoke  the  school's  designation  as  a twenty-first century school in
  accordance with the provisions of subdivision five of this section.  The
  trustees or board of education of each district operating a twenty-first
  century  school  shall  arrange  for  an  independent evaluation of such
  school's effectiveness in substantially improving  student  achievement.
  Such  independent  evaluation  shall be completed and transmitted to the
  commissioner within ninety days after completion of the fourth  year  of
  the   school's   operation   as  a  twenty-first  century  school.  Such
  independent evaluation shall be conducted by an agency selected  by  the
  trustees  or  board  of  education  of  the district and approved by the
  commissioner.
5. Duties of the commissioner and department. The  commissioner  shall
  promulgate guidelines to implement the provisions of this section, shall
  annually   review   the   performance   of  all  schools  designated  as
  twenty-first century schools, shall  provide  technical  assistance  and
  support,  as  appropriate,  to all such schools, and shall submit to the
  regents, the legislature and the governor, no later than February first,
  an annual  report  describing  the  effectiveness  of  the  twenty-first
  century  schools  program,  recommending  changes  in  the  program  and
  recommending changes in laws and regulations affecting all schools based
  upon the experiences of twenty-first century  schools.  The  first  such
  report  shall  be  submitted  no later than June first, nineteen hundred
  ninety-five and shall detail  the  steps  undertaken  to  implement  the
  provisions  of  this  section.  Each  such  annual report shall list and
  summarize all exemptions  requested,  granted  and  denied  pursuant  to
  paragraph  b of subdivision three of this section. The commissioner may,
  acting either upon complaint or upon his or her own initiative, revoke a
  school's designation as a twenty-first century  school  for  good  cause
  shown and after affording the school an opportunity to present arguments
  against revocation.
6. Twenty-first century schools committee. There is hereby established
  the  twenty-first  century schools committee. The committee shall advise
  and assist the commissioner in developing guidelines  to  implement  the
  provisions  of  this  section,  selecting  schools  for  designation  as
  twenty-first century schools, reviewing the performance of such schools,
  evaluating the overall effectiveness of the twenty-first century schools
  program and recommending changes to the program and to laws,  rules  and
  regulations   affecting  all  schools  based  upon  the  experiences  of
  twenty-first century schools. The committee shall  consist  of  thirteen
  members,  appointed by the governor, of whom three shall be appointed on
  the recommendation of the commissioner, two on the recommendation of the
  temporary president of the senate, two  on  the  recommendation  of  the
  speaker  of  the  assembly,  one  on  the recommendation of the minority
  leader of the senate and one  on  the  recommendation  of  the  minority
  leader  of the assembly. The commissioner shall designate the chair. The
  appointing authorities shall attempt to assure that  the  membership  of
  the  committee  includes  representatives  of  parents, teachers, school
  board members and school administrators as well  as  representatives  of
  their own institutions.