Meeting of the Board of Regents | March 2009

THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

 

TO:
FROM:	Johanna Duncan-Poitier
SUBJECT:	Charter Schools: Proposed Revisions to the Initial Charter for New Heights Academy Charter School
DATE:	March 10, 2009
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 1 and 2
AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

SUMMARY

 

Issue for Decision

 

Should the Regents approve the staff’s recommendation concerning the proposed revisions to the initial charter for New Heights Academy Charter School (New York City)?

 

Reason(s) for Consideration

 

              Required by State statute, Education Law §2852.

 

Proposed Handling

 

This question will come before the EMSC Committee in March 2009 for action.  It will then come before the full Board for final action in March 2009.

 

Procedural History

 

The New York Charter Schools Act of 1998 requires the Board of Regents to review, in accordance with the standards set forth in Education Law §2852(2), proposed charters, renewal charters and revisions to charters and renewal charters that have been approved and submitted by other charter entities.  The Board of Regents may either approve and issue a charter, renewal charter and/or revision as proposed by the charter entity, or return the same to the charter entity for reconsideration with written comments and recommendations. 

The Board must act on a proposed revision submitted by the Chancellor of the city school district of the City of New York or other school district within 90 days of its submission or the proposed revision will be deemed to have been approved and issued by operation of law at the expiration of that period.

 

If the Board chooses to return the proposed revision to the Chancellor or school district, as the chartering entity, with comments and recommendations, the Chancellor or the school district must reconsider the proposed revision, taking into consideration the comments and recommendations of the Board.  The Chancellor or the school district may resubmit the proposed revision to the Board without modification, resubmit the proposed revision with modifications agreed to by the applicant in writing, or abandon the proposed revision. 

 

If the Chancellor or the school district resubmits a proposed revision to the Board, the Board may, within 90 days of resubmission, either approve or again return the proposed revision to the Chancellor or to the school district for modification.  There is no limit to the number of times the Board can return a resubmitted proposed revision to the Chancellor or to a school district.

 

Background Information

 

We received a request from the Chancellor of the City school district of the City of New York to revise the charter for New Heights Academy Charter School (NHACS or “the School”).  The School seeks to add a voluntary after-school program and to open enrollment to new students, through the school’s admissions policy, in grade 11, if seats are available.  These modifications will allow current students the opportunity to receive additional learning experiences throughout the school year and open the School’s educational program to other students who seek a change in their learning environment.  

 

NHACS is located in Community School District (CSD) 6, Manhattan.  The New York City Department of Education held a public hearing in CSD 6 on Monday, March 9, 2009, regarding the proposed revisions.  No public comments were made or received.

 

Recommendation

 

VOTED:  That the Board of Regents approves the revisions to the initial charter of the New Heights Academy Charter School as proposed by the Chancellor of the city school district of the City of New York, and the provisional charter is amended accordingly.

 

Reasons for Recommendation

 

              The proposed revisions to the School’s initial charter, along with the other terms of the initial charter: (1) meet the requirements set out in Article 56 of the Education Law, and all other applicable laws, rules and regulations; (2) will permit the charter school to operate in an educationally and fiscally sound manner; and; (3) are likely to improve student learning and achievement and materially further the purposes set out in subdivision two of section twenty-eight hundred fifty of Article 56 of the Education Law.

 

Timetable for Implementation

 

The Regents action for New Heights Academy Charter School will be effective immediately.