Meeting of the Board of Regents | May 2009

SUMMARY

Issue for Decision

Should the Regents approve the staff’s recommendations concerning the proposed revisions to the charters for Carl C. Icahn Charter School, Carl C. Icahn Charter Bronx North, and Carl C. Icahn Charter School South Bronx (New York City)?

Background Information

(1)  We received a request from the Trustees of the State University of New York (SUNY) to revise the second renewal charter for Carl C. Icahn Charter School (CCICS or “the School”).  The School seeks to change its name to “Icahn Charter School 1.”  The School currently serves 324 students in grades K – 8.  The School will remain located in Community School District (CSD) 9, as per its approved charter.  The New York City Department of Education held a public hearing in CSD 9 on May 12, 2009 regarding the proposed revision.  No public comments were made or received.

(2)  We received a request from the Trustees of the State University of New York (SUNY) to revise the initial charter for Carl C. Icahn Charter School Bronx North (CCICSBN or “the School”).  The School seeks to change its name to “Icahn Charter School 2.”  The School currently serves 138 students in grades K – 3 and will grow to serve 216 students in grades K – 5.  The School will remain located in Community School District (CSD) 8, as per its approved charter.  The New York City Department of Education held a public hearing in CSD 8 on May 12, 2009 regarding the proposed revision.  No public comments were made or received.

 (3)  We received a request from the Trustees of the State University of New York (SUNY) to revise the initial charter for Carl C. Icahn Charter School South Bronx (ICSSB or “the School”). The School seeks to change its name to “Icahn Charter School 3.”  The School currently serves 108 students in K-2 and will grow to serve 252 students in K-6.  The School will remain located in Community School District (CSD) 8, as per its approved charter.  The New York City Department of Education held a public hearing in CSD 8 on May 12, 2009 regarding the proposed revision.  No comments were made or received.

Recommendation

VOTED: That the Board of Regents approves the revision to the second renewal charter of the Carl C. Icahn Charter School as proposed by the Trustees of the State University of New York, and the provisional charter is amended accordingly.

VOTED: That the Board of Regents approves the revision to the initial charter of the Carl C. Icahn Charter School Bronx North as proposed by the Trustees of the State University of New York, and the provisional charter is amended accordingly.

              VOTED: That the Board of Regents approves the revision to the initial charter of the Carl C. Icahn Charter School South Bronx as proposed by the Trustees of the State University of New York, and the provisional charter is amended accordingly.

Reasons for Recommendation

              The proposed revisions to the School’s charter, along with the other terms of the 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 each of these charter schools will be effective immediately.