Requires that all special education students attending schools scheduled to be closed or to undergo a significant change be assigned to new schools prior to the implementation of the closing or change

S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           79

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                                    I N  S E N A T E

                                       (PREFILED)

                                     January 8, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  LIU  --  read  twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on New York City Education

        AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation  to  requiring  that  all
          special education students attending schools scheduled to be closed or
          to  undergo  a  significant change be assigned to new schools prior to
          the implementation of the closing or change

          THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
        BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

     1    Section 1. Paragraphs (b) and (e) of subdivision 2-a of section 2590-h
     2  of  the  education law, as added by chapter 345 of the laws of 2009, are
     3  amended to read as follows:
     4    (b) Such educational impact  statement  shall  include  the  following
     5  information  regarding the proposed school closing or significant change
     6  in school utilization:
     7    (i) the current and projected pupil enrollment of the affected school,
     8  the prospective need for such school building, the ramifications of such
     9  school closing or significant change  in  school  utilization  upon  the
    10  community,  initial costs and savings resulting from such school closing
    11  or significant change in school utilization, the potential disposability
    12  of any closed school;
    13    (ii) the impacts of the proposed school closing or significant  change
    14  in school utilization to any affected students;
    15    (iii) an outline of any proposed or potential use of the school build-
    16  ing for other educational programs or administrative services;
    17    (iv) the effect of such school closing or significant change in school
    18  utilization  on  personnel  needs,  the  costs  of instruction, adminis-
    19  tration, transportation, and other support services;
    20    (v) the type, age, and physical condition  of  such  school  building,
    21  maintenance,  and  energy  costs, recent or planned improvements to such
    22  school building, and such building's special features;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00529-01-5
        S. 79                               2

     1    (vi) the ability of other schools in the affected  community  district
     2  to accommodate pupils following the school closure or significant change
     3  in  school  utilization,  INCLUDING  A  LIST  OF  SUCH SCHOOLS WITH EACH
     4  SCHOOL'S MOST  RECENTLY  AVAILABLE  ENROLLMENT,  UTILIZATION  RATE,  AND
     5  PERCENTAGE  OF  SPECIAL EDUCATION PUPILS AND THE TOTAL NUMBER OF SPECIAL
     6  EDUCATION STUDENTS IMPACTED BY THE  SCHOOL  CLOSURE  OR  THE  CHANGE  IN
     7  SCHOOL UTILIZATION; and
     8    (vii) information regarding such school's academic performance includ-
     9  ing  whether such school has been identified as a school under registra-
    10  tion review or has  been  identified  as  a  school  requiring  academic
    11  progress,  a  school  in  need of improvement, or a school in corrective
    12  action or restructuring status.
    13    (e) (I) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (f) of this subdivi-
    14  sion, all proposed school closings  or  significant  changes  in  school
    15  utilization  shall  be  approved  by  the city board pursuant to section
    16  twenty-five hundred ninety-g of this article and shall not  take  effect
    17  until all the provisions of this subdivision have been satisfied and the
    18  school year in which such city board approval was granted, has ended.
    19    (II)  EXCEPT  AS  OTHERWISE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH (F) OF THIS SUBDIVI-
    20  SION, NO PROPOSED SCHOOL CLOSING OR SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN SCHOOL  UTILI-
    21  ZATION  SHALL  TAKE  EFFECT  UNTIL  ALL  SPECIAL EDUCATION PUPILS IN THE
    22  AFFECTED SCHOOL HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED TO NEW SCHOOLS WITHIN THE CITY OF NEW
    23  YORK AND THE CHANCELLOR HAS VERIFIED THAT EACH  NEW  SCHOOL  WITHIN  THE
    24  CITY  OF NEW YORK ACCEPTING SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS FROM THE AFFECTED
    25  SCHOOL CAN ACCOMMODATE SUCH PUPILS.
    26    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the  amend-
    27  ments  to subdivision 2-a of section 2590-h of the education law made by
    28  section one of this act shall not affect the repeal of such  subdivision
    29  and shall be deemed repealed therewith.