Section 119.3. Charter school reporting requirements

No later than the first day of August of each year, each charter school shall submit to the Board of Regents and to the charter entity an annual report for the preceding school year, which shall include a charter school report card comprising the data set forth in subdivisions (a)-[(c)] (d) of this section.

(a) Basic school information, forms and records. Each charter school shall report to the commissioner, in a time and format prescribed by the commissioner, basic school information data, including but not limited to the data required of other public schools, required by Federal law or regulation, and any other data elements prescribed by the commissioner.

(b) [Basic educational] Student and staff data. Each charter school shall report to the commissioner the following data at a time and in a format prescribed by the commissioner:

(1) student enrollment by grade, gender, and race/ethnicity, and other subgroup populations as defined by the Department;

(2) …

(3) professional qualifications of each teacher [and], classes taught by each teacher, and any other staff data elements required for state and federal reporting purposes, data required by section 80-1.9 of this Chapter, and other such data as prescribed by the commissioner;

(4) [ the number of]data concerning students with limited English proficiency;

(5) …

(6) data on technological and media resources; [and]

(7) student attendance and suspension data; and

(8) any additional information prescribed by the commissioner comparable to the data required of the public schools or required by Federal or State law or regulation.

[(b)] (c) Report of academic performance. Each charter school shall report to the commissioner the following data, in a format prescribed by the commissioner:

(1)…

(i) …

(ii) [Identification of race/ethnicity. Each student record submitted for the 2002-03 and 2003-04 school years must indicate to which of the following racial/ethnic groups the student belongs: American Indian or Alaskan Native, Black (not Hispanic origin), Asian or Pacific Islander, Hispanic or White (not Hispanic origin). Beginning with the 2004-05 school year, each student record must contain information in the format required by the commissioner and indicating whether the student is Hispanic and indicating to which of the following racial groups the student belongs: White, Black or African American, Asian, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.

(iii)] Before submitting each file, the principal of the charter school shall certify that the [file] data submitted is complete and accurate and that the principal has had an opportunity to review the summary report for the charter school, based on the file and generated using Department-approved software.

[(iv)] (iii) The charter school files on record in the Department on the dates specified by the commissioner shall be used for all public reporting, including that pursuant to this section and for determining school/district accountability pursuant to section 100.2(p) of this Title.

[(v)](iv) The student files shall contain any additional information the commissioner may deem necessary and must be reported in a manner set forth by the department.

(2) …

(3) …

(4) student attendance and suspension data;

(5) …

(6) any additional information prescribed by the commissioner comparable to data required of the public schools or required by Federal or State law or regulation.

[(c)] (d) Report of fiscal performance. [Each] For school years prior to the 2019-2020 school year, each charter school shall report the following data, in a format prescribed by the commissioner:

(1) Revenues.

(i) Revenues from State sources, which shall mean any State-funded grants or other apportionments paid directly to the charter school by the State of New York.

(ii) Revenues from Federal sources, which shall mean any federally funded grants or other apportionments paid directly to the charter school by the Federal government or by the State of New York.

(iii) Basic operating revenues received from public school districts,which shall mean payments received by the charter school from public school districts based on the product of the adjusted expense per pupil and the current year resident enrollment in the charter school for all public school districts with resident pupils attending the charter school as such product is defined in section 119.1(d)(3)(i) of this Part, or based on any such reduced amounts payable to the charter school by a public school district pursuant to an agreement between the charter school and the charter entity as set forth in the charter.

(iv) Revenues received from public school districts as State aid attributable to pupils with disabilities, which shall mean any payments received from public school districts representing State aid attributable to a student with a disability attending a charter school as defined in section 119.1(b)(8) of this Part.

(v) Revenues received from public school districts as Federal aid attributable to pupils with disabilities, which shall mean any payments received from public school districts representing Federal aid attributable to a student with a disability attending a charter school as defined in section 119.1(b)(8) of this Part.

(vi) Other revenues from other public school districts, which shall mean any payments received from public school districts other than those revenues defined in subparagraph (iii), (iv) or (v) of this paragraph.

(vii) All other revenues, which shall mean any revenues received by the charter school other than those revenues defined in subparagraph (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v) or (vi) of this paragraph.

(2) Expenditures.

(i) Salaries, which shall mean the sum of the compensation paid to employees of the charter school for services performed in relation to those activities defined in paragraph (3) of this subdivision exclusive of the amounts paid for employee benefits. Salaries shall be reported by specific activity.

(ii) Employee benefits, which shall mean the charter school employer's share of any retirement, social security, workers' compensation, life insurance, unemployment insurance, disability insurance, hospital insurance, medical insurance, dental insurance, union welfare benefits or other benefits provided to the employees of the charter school as a condition of employment.

(iii) Other expense for specific activities, which shall mean any expenditures of the charter school related to those activities defined in paragraph (3) of this subdivision exclusive of salaries, employee benefits, debt service, operation and maintenance, capital expenditures, or expenditures for school lunch. Such other expense shall be reported by specific activity.

(iv) Debt service, which shall mean any expenditures for principal and interest on long term and short term obligations issued by the charter school.

(v) School lunch, which shall mean any expenditures associated with providing breakfast, milk or lunch to pupils attending the charter school.

(vi) Capital expense, which shall mean any capital outlay expenditures related to construction projects associated with the charter school.

(3) Salaries and other expense for specific activities shall be reported by the following activity classifications:

(i) General administration, which shall mean the administration and management of the charter school including, but not restricted to activities of the offices of the chief school officer, the treasurer, the finance or business officer, the purchasing unit, the employee personnel officer, the records management officer, or a public information and services officer. General administration also includes those administrative and management services provided by other organizations or corporations on behalf of the charter school for which the charter school pays a fee or other compensation. Direct administration of the instructional programs and services of the charter school and direct supervision of the instructional staff should not be included as general administration.

(ii) Instructional supervision, which shall mean the direct administration and management of the instructional programs and services of the charter school and the direct supervision of instructional staff, including, but not restricted to such functions as the office of a building principal, curriculum development, curriculum supervision, instructional research, planning and evaluation, and in-service training of the instructional staff of the charter school.

(iii) All other instruction, which shall mean those activities and functions related to the instructional programs and services of the charter school that are not related to instructional supervision, including, but not restricted to teaching of regular pupils, school library and audiovisual services, educational television, and computer assisted instruction.

(iv) Pupil services,which shall mean all pupil personnel services provided by the charter school, including, but not restricted to the functions of an attendance office, a guidance office, pupil health services, pupil psychological services, social work services, co-curricular activities, and interscholastic athletics.

(v) Services for pupils with disabilities, which shall mean those special education programs and services provided by the charter school to pupils with disabilities as specified in an individualized education program recommended by a committee on special education and approved by the board of education.

(vi) Pupil transportation services, which shall mean transportation services provided by the charter school to pupils attending the charter school, including, but not restricted to transportation to and from the charter school and the child's residence, transportation on field trips, and transportation to extracurricular activities or interscholastic events.

(vii) Community services, which shall mean community recreation programs, youth programs and other civic services provided by the charter school.

(viii) Operation and maintenance, which shall mean the repair, operating and maintenance services and programs required to maintain safe, secure and healthy facilities and learning environments for the charter school staff and students.

(4) Measures of per pupil expenditures.

(i) Enrollment, which shall mean enrollment for the preceding school year as defined in section 119.1(b)(3) of this Part.

(ii) Total expenditures, which shall mean the sum of all expenditures reported for the school year for general administration, instructional supervision, all other instruction, pupil services, services for pupils with disabilities, pupil transportation services, community services, operation and maintenance, employee benefits, debt service, school lunch, and capital expense.

(iii) Expenditures per pupil, which shall mean the quotient of total expenditures divided by enrollment, rounded to the next highest whole dollar.

[(d)] (f) To satisfy the local report card requirements under section 1111(h)(2) of the No Child Left Behind Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, 20 U.S.C. section 6311(h)(2), each charter school receiving Federal funding under title I must meet the requirements set forth in section 100.2(m)(4) of this Title.

1. STATUTORY AUTHORITY:

Section 101 of the Education law continues existence of Education Department, with Board of Regents as its head, and authorizes Regents to appoint Commissioner of Education as Department's Chief Administrative Officer, which is charged with general management and supervision of all public schools and educational work of State.

Section 206 of the Education Law provides that the regents, any committee thereof, the commissioner, the deputy and any associate and assistant commissioner and the counsel of the department may take testimony or hear proofs relating to their official duties, or in any matter which they may lawfully investigate.

Section 207 of the Education Law grants general rule making authority to the Board of Regents to carry into effect the laws and policies of the State relating to education.

Section 305(1) and (2) of the Education Law provide Commissioner, as chief executive officer of the State's education system, with general supervision over all schools and institutions subject to the Education Law, or any statute relating to education, and responsibility for executing all educational policies of the Regents.

Section 2857(2) of the Educaiton Law provides that each charter school must submit to the Board of Regents and to the charter entity an annual report, one component of which is a charter school report card. The statute specifies that the charter school report card include measures of the school’s comparative academic and fiscal performance, as prescribed in regulations of the Commissioner of Education.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, 20 U.S.C. sections 6301 et seq. (Public Law 114-95, 129 STAT.1802).

2. LEGISLATIVE OBJECTIVES:

The proposed amendment is consistent with the above statutory authority and is necessary to establish criteria and procedures to ensure State and local educational agency compliance with the financial transparency reporting provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, 20 U.S.C. sections 6301 et seq. (Public Law 114-95, 129 STAT. 1802).

3. NEEDS AND BENEFITS:

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires that every school district and charter school will be required to submit a financial transparency report for inclusion in its report card that provides “the per-pupil expenditures of Federal, State, and local funds, including actual personnel expenditures and actual non-personnel expenditures of Federal, State, and local funds, disaggregated by source of funds.” The United States Education Department has provided states with significant flexibility to develop these reports in a way that meets the individual needs of the state. As a result, every school district and charter school in New York State will report per pupil expenditures, disaggregated for each school, pursuant to the regulations and guidelines developed by the New York State Education Department (Department).

This requirement under ESSA will provide important opportunities for school districts, parents, taxpayers, the State, and other stakeholders to cultivate a better understanding of school finances and help spur local discussions about transparency, equity, accountability, confirmation of best practices, and opportunities for improvements in financial management and educational programming.

Over the past two years, the Department has undertaken a rigorous approach of outreach to stakeholders—including independent and network charter schools, charter support and advocacy organizations, charter school authorizers, and auditing and back-office financial support organizations working with charter schools—to develop a report template. The Department will continue to work with charter school stakeholders such as those listed above to develop charter-specific uniform guidance for submitting expenditure data.

The fiscal transparency report for charter schools will closely mirror the report for school districts, with changes made to ensure that the charter context is considered. Similar to the report for school districts, the report for charter schools will be divided into multiple sections that will provide the required expenditure data as well as important contextual information that will inform the reader of the charter school’s financial and student needs. Additional details on the report will be provided in the Regents Item regarding regulatory changes to ESSA Fiscal Transparency reporting for school districts, also presented at the January 2020 Board of Regents meeting.

Charter schools will submit school-level expenditure data to the Department, pursuant to Commissioner’s Regulation Section 170.14, through the ESSA Fiscal Transparency Portal commencing on November 1, 2020 (using 2019-2020 school year data) and each November 1 thereafter (using the preceding school year’s data). Similar to the approach being taken with school districts, the charter school expenditure data will be combined with other contextual information already collected by the Department into a report that will be available in 2021 and thereafter.

Education Law Section 2857(2) requires that a public charter school submit to the charter entity and to the Board of Regents an annual report by the first day of August of each year for the preceding school year. The annual report must be made publicly available by the school, must be posted on the school’s website, must include certain components, and must be in the form prescribed by the Commissioner. In 2000, the Board of Regents promulgated data reporting regulations to address the requirements set forth in Section 2857(2). In 2003, the Board of Regents voted to amend the regulations to provide additional clarification, and to update the reporting requirements to conform with the provisions of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 relating to school/district accountability and data and reporting requirements. No additional updates have been made since the 2003 amendments.

Due to changes in the reporting requirements and templates issued by NYSED without a corresponding amendment to the regulations, including new federal data reporting requirements prescribed by ESSA, charter schools have expressed confusion regarding the requirements and expectations of the Department. Some schools also fail to report certain data that is not specified in the current regulations. These reporting inconsistencies may have accountability, fiscal and other implications for the schools involved.

4. COSTS:

(a) Costs to State government: There are no additional costs to State government.

(b) Costs to local government: There are no additional costs to local government.

(c) Cost to private regulated parties: The proposed amendment does not impose any additional costs on regulated parties.

(d) Cost to the regulatory agency: There are no additional costs to the State Education Department.

5. LOCAL GOVERNMENT MANDATES:

The proposed amendment does not impose any program, service, duty, or responsibility on local governments beyond those imposed by State and federal statutes.

6. PAPERWORK:

The proposed amendment requires charter schools to submit school-level expenditure data to the Department, pursuant to Commissioner’s Regulation Section 170.14, through the ESSA Fiscal Transparency Portal commencing on November 1, 2020 (using 2019-2020 school year data) and each November 1 thereafter (using the preceding school year’s data). Similar to the approach being taken with school districts, the charter school expenditure data will be combined with other contextual information already collected by the Department into a report that will be available in 2021 and thereafter.

7. DUPLICATION:

The proposed amendment does not duplicate any other existing State or Federal requirements.

8. ALTERNATIVES:

The proposed amendment is necessary to establish criteria and procedures to ensure State and local educational agency compliance with the financial transparency reporting provisions of ESSA. The State and LEAs, including charter schools, are required to comply with the ESSA as a condition to receipt of federal funding under Title I of ESSA, as amended. There are no significant alternatives to the proposed amendment and none were considered.

9. FEDERAL STANDARDS:

The proposed amendment does not exceed any minimum standards of the federal government for the same or similar subject areas and is necessary to conform the Commissioner’s Regulations to the financial transparency reporting provisions of ESSA.

10. COMPLIANCE SCHEDULE:

It is anticipated that regulated parties will be able to comply with the proposed amendment by the effective date.

Small businesses:

The proposed rule is necessary to establish criteria and procedures relating to charter school financial transparency reporting to ensure State and local educational agency compliance with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, 20 U.S.C. sections 6301 et seq. (Public Law 114-95, 129 STAT. 1802).

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires that every school district and charter school will be required to submit a financial transparency report for inclusion in its report card that provides “the per-pupil expenditures of Federal, State, and local funds, including actual personnel expenditures and actual non-personnel expenditures of Federal, State, and local funds, disaggregated by source of funds.” The United States Education Department has provided states with significant flexibility to develop these reports in a way that meets the individual needs of the state. As a result, every school district and charter school in New York State will report per pupil expenditures, disaggregated for each school, pursuant to the regulations and guidelines developed by the New York State Education Department (Department).

Charter schools will submit school-level expenditure data to the Department, pursuant to Commissioner’s Regulation Section 170.14, through the ESSA Fiscal Transparency Portal commencing on November 1, 2020 (using 2019-2020 school year data) and each November 1 thereafter (using the preceding school year’s data). Similar to the approach being taken with school districts, the charter school expenditure data will be combined with other contextual information already collected by the Department into a report that will be available in 2021 and thereafter.

The proposed rule does not impose any adverse economic impact, reporting, record keeping or any other compliance requirements on small businesses. Because it is evident from the nature of the proposed amendment that it does not affect small businesses, no further measures were needed to ascertain that fact and none were taken. Accordingly, a regulatory flexibility analysis for small businesses is not required and one has not been prepared.

Local governments:

1. EFFECT OF RULE:

The proposed amendment applies to each charter schools in the State.

2. COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS:

See the response to Question #3, Needs and Benefits in the full Regulatory Impact Statement.

3. PROFESSIONAL SERVICES:

The proposed rule does not impose any additional professional service requirements on charter schools.

4. COMPLIANCE COSTS:

The proposed rule is necessary to conform the Commissioner’s Regulations to the financial transparency reporting requirements of ESSA. The State and LEAs, including charter schools, are required to comply with ESSA as a condition to their receipt of federal funding under Title I of ESSA, as amended. The proposed rule does not impose any costs beyond those imposed by State and federal statutes.

5. ECONOMIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL FEASIBILITY:

The proposed rule does not impose any additional technological requirements on charter schools. Economic feasibility is addressed under the Compliance Costs section above.

6. MINIMIZING ADVERSE IMPACT:

The proposed rule is necessary to establish criteria and procedures relating to implementing charter school financial transparency reporting provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, 20 U.S.C. sections 6301 et seq. (Public Law 114-95, 129 STAT. 1802). The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires that every school district and charter school will be required to submit a financial transparency report for inclusion in its report card that provides “the per-pupil expenditures of Federal, State, and local funds, including actual personnel expenditures and actual non-personnel expenditures of Federal, State, and local funds, disaggregated by source of funds.” There were no significant alternatives were considered.

7. LOCAL GOVERNMENT PARTICIPATION:

Comments on the proposed amendment were solicited from charter schools.

1. TYPES AND ESTIMATED NUMBERS OF RURAL AREAS:

The proposed rule applies to each charter school in the State, including those located in the 44 rural counties with less than 200,000 inhabitants and the 71 towns in urban counties with a population density of 150 per square mile or less.

2. REPORTING, RECORDKEEPING AND OTHER COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS; AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES:

The proposed amendment is necessary to establish criteria and procedures to ensure State and local educational agency compliance with the financial transparency reporting provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, 20 U.S.C. sections 6301 et seq. (Public Law 114-95, 129 STAT. 1802).

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires that every school district and charter school will be required to submit a financial transparency report for inclusion in its report card that provides “the per-pupil expenditures of Federal, State, and local funds, including actual personnel expenditures and actual non-personnel expenditures of Federal, State, and local funds, disaggregated by source of funds.” The United States Education Department has provided states with significant flexibility to develop these reports in a way that meets the individual needs of the state. As a result, every school district and charter school in New York State will report per pupil expenditures, disaggregated for each school, pursuant to the regulations and guidelines developed by the New York State Education Department (Department).

Charter schools will submit school-level expenditure data to the Department, pursuant to Commissioner’s Regulation Section 170.14, through the ESSA Fiscal Transparency Portal commencing on November 1, 2020 (using 2019-2020 school year data) and each November 1 thereafter (using the preceding school year’s data). Similar to the approach being taken with school districts, the charter school expenditure data will be combined with other contextual information already collected by the Department into a report that will be available in 2021 and thereafter.

3. COMPLIANCE COSTS:

The proposed amendment does not impose any additional costs on the State, regulated parties, or the State Education Department, beyond those imposed by State and federal statutes.

4. MINIMIZING ADVERSE IMPACT:

The proposed rule is necessary to establish criteria and procedures relating to implementing charter school financial transparency reporting provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, 20 U.S.C. sections 6301 et seq. (Public Law 114-95, 129 STAT. 1802). The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires that every school district and charter school will be required to submit a financial transparency report for inclusion in its report card that provides “the per-pupil expenditures of Federal, State, and local funds, including actual personnel expenditures and actual non-personnel expenditures of Federal, State, and local funds, disaggregated by source of funds.” There were no significant alternatives and none were considered.

5. RURAL AREA PARTICIPATION:

Copies of the proposed amendments have been provided to the Charter School Association whose membership include charter schools located in rural areas within the State.

The purpose of the proposed rule is to establish criteria and procedures implementing charter school financial transparency reporting provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, 20 U.S.C. sections 6301 et seq. (Public Law 114-95, 129 STAT. 1802). The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires that every school district and charter school will be required to submit a financial transparency report for inclusion in its report card that provides “the per-pupil expenditures of Federal, State, and local funds, including actual personnel expenditures and actual non-personnel expenditures of Federal, State, and local funds, disaggregated by source of funds.”

Because it is evident from the nature of the proposed amendment that it will have no impact on the number of jobs or employment opportunities in New York State, no further steps were needed to ascertain that fact and none were taken.