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Bill No.: Summary Actions Committee&nbspVotes Floor&nbspVotes Memo Text LFIN Chamber&nbspVideo/Transcript S10658 Summary: BILL NO S10658 &nbsp SAME AS No Same As &nbsp SPONSOR WEIK &nbsp COSPNSR &nbsp MLTSPNSR &nbsp Amd §§2851 & 2852, Ed L &nbsp Relates to the approval of applications of charter schools and establishing the board of regents as the primary charter vetting and oversight authority; provides that charter school applicants shall first apply to the community district education council or the board of education of the school district for approval for renewal of a charter within a certain amount of time and public hearings shall be conducted on such proposed application; provides that school district funding shall be contingent on application certification by the community district education council or the voters of the school district.

Go to top S10658 Text:

STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________

10658

IN SENATE

June 22, 2026 ___________

Introduced by Sen. WEIK -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules

AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the approval of appli- cations of charter schools and to establishing the board of regents as the primary charter school vetting and oversight authority

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows:

1 Section 1. Subdivisions 3 and 4 of section 2851 of the education law, 2 subdivision 3 as amended and paragraph (e) of subdivision 4 as added by 3 chapter 101 of the laws of 2010 and subdivision 4 as added by chapter 4 4 of the laws of 1998, are amended to read as follows: 5 3. An applicant shall submit the application to a charter entity for 6 approval ; provided, however, that in a city with one million or more 7 inhabitants, such applicant shall first apply to the community district 8 education council for approval where such charter school is proposed to 9 be located by February first of the school year two school years prior 10 to the school year when the charter school is planning to commence oper- 11 ations. Such community district education council shall conduct public 12 hearings on such proposed application at the regularly scheduled March 13 and April board meetings, where residents of such community district 14 shall have the opportunity to speak in person or via electronic means, 15 or submit comments regarding the consideration of such application. The 16 community district education council shall deny or certify such applica- 17 tion at the regularly scheduled May meeting. An application shall be 18 deemed certified for transmission to and consideration by the appropri- 19 ate charter entity if there is a majority vote in favor of the applica- 20 tion of the members of the community district education council present 21 at a meeting at which there is a quorum present. Within seven days of 22 denying or certifying an application for a new charter, the community 23 district education council shall forward notice of such denial or 24 certification to the department, the New York city department of educa- 25 tion, and the board of regents along with a form to be developed by the 26 commissioner which states that the community district education council 27 has acted to deny or certify such application for a new charter. Such

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD16086-01-6

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1 notice shall include factual findings, specific to the application, 2 stating the reasons for such denial or certification. Notwithstanding 3 any provision of law to the contrary, the denial of an application shall 4 be considered final and shall not be eligible for reconsideration by any 5 other charter entity. A charter entity shall not act on an application 6 for a new charter unless the vote of the community district education 7 council where the charter school is proposed to be located has certified 8 such charter application. For all school districts located outside of a 9 city with a population of one million or more, such applicant shall 10 first submit their full application to the board of education of the 11 school district where the charter school is proposed to be located by 12 February first of the school year two school years prior to the school 13 year when the charter school is planning to commence operations. Such 14 board of education shall conduct public hearings on such proposed appli- 15 cation at the regularly scheduled March and April board meetings, where 16 residents of such school district shall have the opportunity to speak in 17 person or via electronic means, or submit comments regarding the consid- 18 eration of such application. Qualified voters of such school district 19 shall deny or certify such application on the next scheduled school 20 budget vote date. Such public vote shall be held in accordance with the 21 provisions of part one of article forty-one of this chapter. Such 22 application shall be deemed certified for transmission to and consider- 23 ation by the appropriate charter entity if a majority of the votes cast 24 thereon by eligible voters are in the affirmative. Within seven days of 25 denying or certifying an application for a new charter, the school 26 district shall forward notice of such denial or certification to the 27 department, and the board of regents along with a form to be developed 28 by the commissioner which states that the voters of the school district 29 have acted to deny or certify such application for a new charter. Such 30 notice shall include factual findings, specific to the application, 31 stating the reasons for such denial or certification. Notwithstanding 32 any provision of law to the contrary, the denial of an application shall 33 be considered final and shall not be eligible for reconsideration by any 34 other charter entity. A charter entity shall not act on an application 35 for a new charter unless the voters of the school district where the 36 charter school is proposed to be located have certified such charter 37 application . For purposes of this article, a charter entity shall be: 38 (a) The board of education of a school district eligible for an appor- 39 tionment of aid under subdivision four of section thirty-six hundred two 40 of this chapter, provided that a board of education shall not approve an 41 application for a school to be operated outside the school district's 42 geographic boundaries and further provided that in a city having a popu- 43 lation of one million or more, the chancellor of any such city school 44 district shall be the charter entity established by this paragraph; or 45 (b) [ The board of trustees of the state university of New York; or 46 (c) ] The board of regents. 47 The board of regents shall [ be the only entity authorized to issue a 48 charter ] serve as the primary statewide authority responsible for 49 vetting charter school applications and ensuring compliance with the 50 educational, governance, financial, and community impact standards 51 established pursuant to this article. 52 The board of trustees of the state university of New York shall no 53 longer serve as a charter entity or charter authorizer under this arti- 54 cle. 55 The board of regents shall be the only entity authorized to issue a 56 charter pursuant to this article.

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1 Notwithstanding any provision of this subdivision to the contrary, an 2 application for the conversion of an existing public school to a charter 3 school shall be submitted to, and may only be approved by, the charter 4 entity set forth in paragraph (a) of this subdivision. Notwithstanding 5 any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, any such application for 6 conversion shall be consistent with this section [ but shall not be 7 subject to the process pursuant to subdivision nine-a of section twen- 8 ty-eight hundred fifty-two of this article ], and the charter entity 9 shall require that the parents or guardians of a majority of the 10 students then enrolled in the existing public school vote in favor of 11 converting the school to a charter school. Notwithstanding any 12 provision of law to the contrary, no charter school approved pursuant to 13 this subdivision shall receive or be eligible to receive any school 14 district funds unless such charter school application has first been 15 certified as required by this subdivision. If a charter school applica- 16 tion has been certified pursuant to this subdivision, the school 17 district shall be authorized to distribute public education funds to 18 such charter school pursuant to this article. If the application has 19 been denied, the charter school shall not receive school district funds 20 within that district. 21 4. Charters may be renewed, upon application, for a term of up to five 22 years in accordance with the provisions of this article for the issuance 23 of such charters pursuant to section twenty-eight hundred fifty-two of 24 this article; provided, however, that [ a ] in a city having a population 25 of one million or more, such applicant shall first submit their renewal 26 application for review to the community district education council where 27 such charter school is located by February first of the year the charter 28 is set to expire. Such community district education council shall 29 conduct public hearings on such renewal application at the regularly 30 scheduled March and April board meetings, where residents of such commu- 31 nity district shall have the opportunity to speak in person or via elec- 32 tronic means, or submit comments regarding the consideration of such 33 renewal application. The community district education council shall deny 34 or certify such renewal application at the regularly scheduled May meet- 35 ing. An application shall be deemed certified for transmission to and 36 consideration by the appropriate charter entity if there is a majority 37 vote in favor of the renewal application of the members of the community 38 district education council present at a meeting at which there is a 39 quorum present. Within seven days of denying or certifying an applica- 40 tion for renewal of a charter, the community district education council 41 shall forward notice of such denial or certification to the department, 42 the New York city department of education, and the board of regents 43 along with a form to be developed by the commissioner which states that 44 the community district education council has acted to deny or certify 45 such application for renewal of a charter. Such notice shall include 46 factual findings, specific to the application, stating the reasons for 47 such denial or certification. Notwithstanding any provision of law to 48 the contrary, the denial of an application shall be considered final and 49 shall not be eligible for reconsideration by any other charter entity. A 50 charter entity shall not act on an application for renewal of a charter 51 unless the vote of the community district education council where the 52 charter school is located has certified such charter renewal applica- 53 tion. For all school districts located outside of a city having a popu- 54 lation of one million or more, such applicant shall first submit their 55 renewal application to the board of education of the school district 56 where the charter is located by February first of the year the charter

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1 is set to expire. Such board of education shall conduct public hearings 2 on such renewal application at the regularly scheduled March and April 3 board meetings, where residents of such school district shall have the 4 opportunity to speak in person or via electronic means, or submit 5 comments regarding the consideration of such renewal application. Quali- 6 fied voters of such school district shall deny or certify such renewal 7 application on the next scheduled school budget vote date. Such public 8 vote shall be held in accordance with the provisions of part one of 9 article forty-one of this chapter. Qualified voters residing in the 10 Buffalo, Rochester and Yonkers city school districts shall vote to deny 11 or certify such renewal application on general election day. Such appli- 12 cation shall be deemed certified for transmission to and consideration 13 by the appropriate charter entity if a majority of the votes cast there- 14 on by eligible voters are in the affirmative. Within seven days of deny- 15 ing or certifying an application for renewal of a charter, the school 16 district shall forward notice of such denial or certification to the 17 department, and the board of regents along with a form to be developed 18 by the commissioner which states that the voters of the school district 19 have acted to deny or certify such application for renewal of a charter. 20 Such notice shall include factual findings, specific to the application, 21 stating the reasons for such denial or certification. Notwithstanding 22 any provision of law to the contrary, the denial of an application shall 23 be considered final and shall not be eligible for reconsideration by any 24 other charter entity. A charter entity shall not act on an application 25 for renewal of a charter unless the voters of the school district where 26 the charter school is located have certified such charter renewal appli- 27 cation. Such renewal application shall include: 28 (a) A report of the progress of the charter school in achieving the 29 educational objectives set forth in the charter. 30 (b) A detailed financial statement that discloses the cost of adminis- 31 tration, instruction and other spending categories for the charter 32 school that will allow a comparison of such costs to other schools, both 33 public and private. Such statement shall be in a form prescribed by the 34 board of regents. 35 (c) Copies of each of the annual reports of the charter school 36 required by subdivision two of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-seven 37 of this article, including the charter school report cards and the 38 certified financial statements. 39 (d) Indications of parent and student satisfaction. 40 (e) The means by which the charter school will meet or exceed enroll- 41 ment and retention targets as prescribed by the board of regents [ or the 42 board of trustees of the state university of New York, as applicable, ] 43 of students with disabilities, English language learners, and students 44 who are eligible applicants for the free and reduced price lunch program 45 [ which shall be considered by the charter entity prior to approving such 46 charter school's application for renewal ]. When developing such targets, 47 the board of regents [ and the board of trustees of the state university 48 of New York ] shall ensure : (1) that such enrollment targets are compara- 49 ble to the enrollment figures of such categories of students attending 50 the public schools within the school district, or in a city school 51 district in a city having a population of one million or more inhabit- 52 ants, the community school district, in which the charter school is 53 located; and (2) that such retention targets are comparable to the rate 54 of retention of such categories of students attending the public schools 55 within the school district, or in a city school district in a city

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1 having a population of one million or more inhabitants, the community 2 school district, in which the proposed charter school would be located. 3 Such renewal application shall be submitted to the charter entity no 4 later than six months prior to the expiration of the charter; provided, 5 however, that the charter entity may waive such deadline for good cause 6 shown. No charter renewal shall permit the continued receipt of school 7 district funds unless the charter school's application is approved 8 pursuant to this subdivision. 9 § 2. Subdivisions 1, 3 and 7 of section 2852 of the education law, 10 subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 101 of the laws of 2010, subdivision 11 3 as added by chapter 4 of the laws of 1998 and subdivision 7 as amended 12 by section 2 of part D-2 of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007, are amended 13 to read as follows: 14 1. A charter entity shall not act on an application unless the commu- 15 nity district education council or the voters of the school district 16 where the charter is located or is proposed to be located has voted on 17 and certified such charter application and transmitted such certif- 18 ication documentation to such charter entity. A charter entity that 19 receives an application for approval of a charter school which has been 20 certified by the community district education council or the voters of 21 the school district where the charter is located or is proposed to be 22 located shall act on each [ request ] charter school application received 23 from a community district education council or a school district prior 24 to July first of a calendar year on or before January first of the 25 succeeding calendar year, and a proposed charter between the applicant 26 and the charter entity resulting from such application shall be executed 27 on or before February first of such succeeding year. Nothing in this 28 subdivision shall be construed to prevent a charter entity from receiv- 29 ing or acting upon an application at any time[ . This subdivision shall 30 not apply to applications that are submitted pursuant to subdivision 31 nine-a of this section ] ; provided, however, that such application shall 32 have been certified by the community district education council or by 33 the voters of the school district where the charter is located or is 34 proposed to be located . 35 3. A charter entity is not required to approve a charter and may 36 require an applicant to modify or supplement an application as a condi- 37 tion of approval. Any modification or supplement shall first be certi- 38 fied by the community district education council or by the voters of the 39 school district where the charter is located or is proposed to be 40 located before the charter entity may act on such charter application, 41 pursuant to the provisions established in subdivisions three and four of 42 section twenty-eight hundred fifty-one of this article. An existing 43 private school shall not be eligible to convert to a charter school. In 44 determining whether an application involves the conversion of an exist- 45 ing private school, the charter entity and the board of regents shall 46 consider such factors as: (a) whether the charter school would have the 47 same or substantially the same board of trustees and/or officers as an 48 existing private school; (b) whether a substantial proportion of employ- 49 ees of the charter school would be drawn from such existing private 50 school; (c) whether a substantial portion of the assets and property of 51 such existing private school would be transferred to the charter school; 52 (d) whether the charter school would be located at the same site as such 53 existing private school; (e) upon renewal only, whether such private 54 school closed within one year of establishment of the charter school; 55 and (f) upon renewal only, whether a substantial portion of the charter 56 school's students were drawn from such existing private school.

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1 7. (a) A revision of a charter shall be made only upon the approval of 2 the charter entity and the board of regents in accordance with the 3 provisions of subdivisions five-a and five-b of this section after 4 certification by the community district education council or by the 5 voters of the school district where the charter is located . 6 (b) When a revision of a charter involves the relocation of a charter 7 school to a different school district, the proposed new school district 8 shall be given [ at least forty-five days notice ] by February first of 9 the proposed relocation. In addition, the applicant shall provide an 10 analysis of the community support for such relocation and of the 11 projected programmatic impact and an independent fiscal impact statement 12 of the charter school on the proposed new school district of location 13 and other public and nonpublic schools in the area. 14 § 3. Section 2852 of the education law is amended by adding a new 15 subdivision 11 to read as follows: 16 11. The board of regents shall serve as the primary statewide over- 17 sight authority responsible for monitoring charter schools for compli- 18 ance with the terms of their charters and all applicable state and 19 federal laws. Such oversight shall include but not be limited to: 20 (a) Annual academic performance reviews; 21 (b) Financial audits; 22 (c) Monitoring compliance with enrollment and retention requirements; 23 (d) Investigating complaints or violations; or 24 (e) Recommending probation, corrective action, or revocation of a 25 charter where substantial noncompliance is identified. 26 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.

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