S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         1240
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                    January 8, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by M. of A. STECK -- read once and referred to the Committee
         on Education
       AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to residency requirements
         for charter schools
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section  1.  Paragraph  (b)  of  subdivision  2 of section 2854 of the
    2  education law, as amended by chapter 101 of the laws of 2010, is amended
    3  to read as follows:
    4    (b) Any child who is qualified under the laws of this state for admis-
    5  sion to a public school is qualified for admission to a charter  school,
    6  PROVIDED THAT SUCH CHILD LIVES IN THE LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT IN WHICH THE
    7  CHARTER  SCHOOL  IS  LOCATED.  Applications  for  admission to a charter
    8  school shall be submitted on a uniform application form created  by  the
    9  department  and shall be made available by a charter school in languages
   10  predominately spoken in the community in which such  charter  school  is
   11  located.  The  school  shall  enroll each eligible student who submits a
   12  timely application by the first day  of  April  each  year,  unless  the
   13  number of applications exceeds the capacity of the grade level or build-
   14  ing.  In such cases, students shall be accepted from among applicants by
   15  a random selection process, provided, however, that an enrollment  pref-
   16  erence  shall  be  provided to pupils returning to the charter school in
   17  the second or any subsequent year of operation [and pupils  residing  in
   18  the  school  district  in  which  the  charter  school  is located], and
   19  siblings of pupils already enrolled in the charter school.  The  commis-
   20  sioner  shall establish regulations to require that the random selection
   21  process conducted pursuant to this paragraph be performed in a transpar-
   22  ent and equitable manner and to require that the time and place  of  the
   23  random  selection  process be publicized in a manner consistent with the
   24  requirements of section one hundred four of the public officers law  and
   25  be  open to the public. For the purposes of this paragraph and paragraph
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD04411-01-5
       A. 1240                             2
    1  (a) of this subdivision, the school district in which the charter school
    2  is located shall mean, for the city school district of the city  of  New
    3  York, the community district in which the charter school is located.
    4    S  2.  This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding
    5  the date on which it shall have become a law.