Since the Board of Regents meets at fixed intervals, the earliest the proposed rule can be presented for regular (non-emergency) adoption, after expiration of the required 45-day public comment period provided for in State Administrative Procedure Act (SAPA) section 202(4-a), would be the October 17-18, 2016 Regents meeting. Furthermore, pursuant to SAPA section 203(1), the earliest effective date of the proposed rule, if adopted at the October meeting, would be November 2, 2016, the date a Notice of Adoption would be published in the State Register.

Emergency action at the October 2016 Regents meeting is therefore necessary for the preservation of the general welfare in order to immediately establish the eligibility requirements for community school grants to implement Chapter 53 of the Laws of 2016 so that eligible school districts who have schools designated by the Commissioner as persistently struggling and struggling in the 2016-2017 school year can apply, and receive monies, to establish community schools and to ensure that the emergency rule adopted at the July Regents meeting remains continuously in effect until it can be adopted as a permanent rule. The emergency rule adopted at the July meeting expires on October 23, 2016. Therefore, emergency action is necessary to ensure that the emergency rule adopted at the July meeting does not expire before it is permanently adopted on November 2, 2016.

(1) Application for funding. Eligible school districts that seek a community schools grant fund award for a designated school or schools shall submit an application to the Commissioner on a form and pursuant to a timeline prescribed by the Commissioner and shall meet the requirements set forth this subdivision. Applications must set forth the need for such funds, whether the school district is seeking operating funds and/or capital funds, how the funds would be used and the number of students that would be served with such funds. If an eligible school district seeks both operating and capital funds, such application shall include separate budgets for the use of operating and capital funds. Funds shall be awarded in accordance with a formula developed by the Commissioner and approved by the director of the budget which shall take into account factors that include but need not be limited to the number of designated schools in the district, the number of students enrolled in the designated schools, and the needs of such students for English language learner, special education and other enhanced services.

(i) Prior to submitting an application to the Commissioner, the eligible school district shall provide appropriate community partners and/or the community engagement team established pursuant to this section, as the school district deems appropriate, an opportunity to review and provide feedback on the application.

(ii) All applications for funding pursuant to this subdivision must include detailed plans and timelines for ensuring substantial parent, teacher, and community engagement in the planning, implementation and operations of the community school that shall include but need not be limited to the following:

(a) holding public meetings with parents, teachers and community members at least quarterly during the school year to provide information and solicit input regarding the planning, implementation and operations of the community school. Such meetings shall be held in accordance with the requirements of subparagraph (c)(1)(iii) of this section;

(b) providing written notices and communications regarding the planning, implementation and operations of the community school to parents, teachers, other school personnel and community members as often as practicable through means that shall include but need not be limited to email and posting on the district’s internet website, if one exists. All such notices and communications shall be provided in English and translated, to the extent practicable, into the recipient’s native language or mode of communication;

(c) ensuring that such meetings, notices and communications provide parents, teachers and community members with meaningful opportunities to provide input and feedback by providing a variety of widely accessible methods of communication such as email, telephone, and/or access to the community school site coordinator and/or the steering committee; and

(d) submitting quarterly written reports to the Commissioner in a form and format prescribed by the Commissioner containing specific information about the progress of the planning, implementation and operations of the community schools grant and the requirements of this subdivision.

(2) Eligibility for services provided under this grant. Each designated school that receives a grant to deliver co-located or school-linked services pursuant to this subdivision shall first provide such services to the students who are enrolled in such school and their families.

(i) If a designated school has additional unused capacity after making such services available to all enrolled students and their families (e.g., not all available times for health or dental screenings have been filled on a particular day after all students enrolled in the school have been given an opportunity for an appointment, or not all seats in a parenting workshop have been filled by parents of students who attend the school), the school may offer such services to students who attend feeder schools and their families so as to maximize effective and efficient use of available resources and/or students who are alumni of the school and their families in order to provide continuity of services.

(ii) For purposes of this subdivision, “feeder school” shall mean a school that receives Title I funds or is eligible for, but does not receive Title I funds, and from which at least 20 percent of the students in the designed school matriculated, provided that, for designated schools in which school choice, admissions lotteries, and/or open enrollment exist and in which feeder school patterns are therefore not consistent from year to year, the school district may request that a lesser percentage of students matriculating into the designed schools be considered or that up to three schools in the closest geographic proximity to the designated schools and from which students matriculate to such schools be feeder schools for purposes of this subdivision.

(3) Use of grant funds. Community schools grant funds shall be used to supplement and not supplant district expenditures and shall only be used for new expenditures on eligible operating and capital costs in accordance with this subdivision and subject to the terms of the appropriation. Community schools grant funds must be used to support the operating and capital costs associated with the transformation of designated schools into community hubs to deliver co-located or school-linked academic, health, mental health, nutrition, counseling, legal and/or other services to students and their families, which may include but need not be limited to the following:

(i) providing a community school site coordinator at each struggling or persistently struggling school receiving a grant pursuant to this subdivision. The school district shall designate a full-time staff person to serve as the community school site coordinator at each such school who shall assist the school receiver in implementing the grant, including but not limited to managing the development of the community school strategy for that school, coordinating and integrating service delivery at the school, ensuring the maintenance and sustainability of the community school, and consulting and coordinating with any other community school site coordinators designated pursuant to this clause, if applicable. If there are circumstances that do not justify the assignment of a full-time staff person to serve as the community school coordinator for each school (e.g., the designated school is a small rural school and a full-time coordinator is not needed), or if the designation or one full-time site coordinator for multiple schools would be more effective (e.g., if the two schools designated in the district are small schools in close proximity and a full-time coordinator could serve both schools), the school district may apply to the Commissioner for a waiver from this requirement;

(ii) improving parent engagement, which may include but need not be limited to designating a family outreach coordinator, providing parents and families with information on and opportunities to participate in their child’s education and school community, including participation on the school’s community engagement team established pursuant to this section; in the process of local stakeholder consultation conducted pursuant to this section; in the community-wide needs assessment conducted pursuant to this section; on the steering committee established pursuant to subparagraph (vi) of this paragraph; and in family literacy programs, including early childhood education, interactive literacy activities between parents and their children, and training for parents regarding how to be the primary teacher for their children and full partners in the education of their children;

(iii) providing early childhood education programs;

(iv) offering professional development specific to the unique needs of students enrolled in a community school and their families. Such unique needs may be determined through measures including but not limited to surveys of students, families and teachers; focus group meetings with parents, students and teachers; and/or results of comprehensive school and community needs assessments, which may be the comprehensive school and community needs assessment conducted pursuant to subdivision (f)(8)(iii) of this section, if one has been conducted for the specific school. Such professional development shall include but not be limited to job-embedded professional development with an emphasis on strategies that involve teacher input and feedback as well as professional development for administrators at the school with an emphasis on strategies that develop leadership skill and use of principles of distributive leadership and instructional supervision;

(v) conducting community-wide needs assessments, provided that, if a comprehensive school and community needs assessment regarding the school has been conducted pursuant to subdivision (f)(8)(iii) of this section, such needs assessment may be used for this purpose;

(vi) creating a steering committee to provide feedback and guidance. Such steering committee shall be made up of various school and community stakeholders, which shall include but need not be limited to, the school principal, parents of or persons in parental relation to students attending the school, teachers and other school staff assigned to the school, and students attending the school; provided that, in the case of a designated school that does not serve students in grade seven or above, the steering committee need not include students; provided further that a community engagement team established pursuant to this section may also serve as the steering committee; and

(vii) constructing or renovating spaces within such school buildings to serve as health suites, adult education spaces, guidance suites, resource rooms, remedial rooms, parent/community rooms, and career and technical education classrooms, plus any other capital costs necessary to implement a community school.

2. Paragraph (8) of subdivision (a) of section 100.19 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education is amended, effective October 24, 2016, to read as follows:

(8) Community School shall mean a school that partners with one or more agencies with an integrated focus on rigorous academics and the fostering of a positive and supportive learning environment, and a range of school-based and school-linked programs and services that lead to improved student learning, stronger families, and healthier communities. At a minimum, programs must include, but are not limited, to:

(i) addressing social service, health and mental health needs of students in the school and their families in order to help students arrive and remain at school ready to learn;

(ii) providing access to services in the school community to promote a safe and secure learning environment;

(iii) encouraging family and community engagement to promote stronger home-school relationships and increase families’ investment in the school community;

(iv) providing access to nutrition services, resources or programs to ensure students have access to healthy food and understand how to make smart food choices;

(v) providing access to early childhood education to ensure a continuum of learning that helps prepare students for success; [and]

(vi) offering adult and/or community education opportunities, including but not limited to, access to career and technical education as well as workforce development services to students in the school and their families in order to provide meaningful employment skills and opportunities; [and]

(vii) offering expanded learning opportunities that include afterschool, summer school, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math programs (STEAM) and mentoring and other youth development programs; and

(viii) providing members of the community with access to services on school buildings and grounds consistent with all applicable laws and regulations including but not limited to Education Law section 414.

3. Subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (8) of subdivision (f) of section 100.19 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education is amended, effective October 24, 2016, to read as follows:

(ii) designate a full-time staff person who participates in school leadership and community engagement team meetings and reports to the school receiver and whose sole job responsibility is to manage the development of the community school strategy for that school and subsequently ensure the maintenance and sustainability of the community school. If there are circumstances that do not justify the assignment of a full-time staff person to serve as the community school coordinator for each school (e.g., the designated school is a small rural school and a full-time coordinator is not needed), or if the designation or one full-time site coordinator for multiple schools would be more effective (e.g., if the two schools designated in the district are small schools in close proximity and a full-time coordinator could serve both schools), the school may apply to the Commissioner for a waiver from this requirement;

1. STATUTORY AUTHORITY:

Education Law § 207 empowers Regents/Commissioner to adopt rules to carry out State education laws and functions/ duties conferred by law.

Education Law § 305(1) and (2) provide Commissioner, as chief executive officer, with general supervision over schools and institutions subject to Education Law or education-related statutes, and responsibility for executing all Regents educational policies. § 305(20) provides Commissioner with additional powers/duties as charged by Regents.

Education Law § 211-f, as added by Part EE, Subpart H of Ch. 56, L.2015, provides for appointment of receivers to assist low-performing schools to make demonstrable improvement in student performance.

Education Law § 215 authorizes Commissioner to require schools/districts to submit reports containing information prescribed by Commissioner.

Education Law § 308 authorizes Commissioner to enforce/give effect to Education Law provisions or other general/special law pertaining to education.

Education Law § 309 charges Commissioner with general supervision of school boards.

Chapter 53 of the Laws of 2016 establishes an appropriation of $75 million to be used for community school grants for persistently struggling and struggling schools and requires that the criteria for such grants to be established by the Commissioner in regulations.

2. LEGISLATIVE OBJECTIVES:

The proposed amendment implements Chapter 53 of the Laws of 2016, by establishing criteria for community school grants for persistently struggling and struggling schools.

3. NEEDS AND BENEFITS:

As part of the 2016-2017 budget appropriation bill (Chapter 53 of the Laws of 2016), the Legislature and Governor provided a $75 million appropriation ($50 million for operating costs and $25 million for capital costs) to establish community school grants for eligible school districts with schools designated as struggling and persistently struggling by the Commissioner pursuant to Education Law section 211-f(1)(a) or (b) throughout the 2016-2017 school year (“designated schools”). The new law requires eligible school districts to apply to the Commissioner for such grants.

The proposed amendment implements these requirements and requires that all applications for funding pursuant to this subdivision include detailed plans and timelines for ensuring substantial parent, teacher, and community engagement in the planning, implementation and operations of the community school.

Each designated school that receives a grant to deliver co-located or school-linked services pursuant to this subdivision shall first provide such services to the students who are enrolled in such school and their families. If a designated school has additional unused capacity after making such services available to all enrolled students and their families (e.g., not all available times for health or dental screenings have been filled on a particular day after all students enrolled in the school have been given an opportunity for an appointment or not all seats in a parenting workshop have been filled by parents of students who attend the school), the school may offer such services to students who attend feeder schools and their families so as to maximize effective and efficient use of available resources and/or students who are alumni of the school and their families in order to provide continuity of services. The proposed amendment defines “feeder school” as a school that receives Title I funds or is eligible for, but does not receive Title I funds, and from which at least 20 percent of the students in the designated school matriculated, provided that, for designated schools in which school choice, admissions lotteries, and/or open enrollment exist and in which feeder school patterns are therefore not consistent from year to year, the school district may request that a lesser percentage of students matriculating into the designated schools be considered or that up to three schools in the closest geographic proximity to the designated schools and from which students matriculate to such schools be feeder schools for purposes of this subdivision.

Community schools grant funds shall be used to supplement and not supplant district expenditures and shall only be used for new expenditures on eligible operating and capital costs in accordance with this subdivision and subject to the terms of the appropriation. Community schools grant funds must be used to support the operating and capital costs associated with the transformation of designated schools into community hubs to deliver co-located or school-linked academic, health, mental health, nutrition, counseling, legal, and/or other services to students and their families.

The proposed amendment also revises the current definition of community schools to require offering adult and/or community education opportunities and programs in community schools to provide members of the community with access to services on school buildings and grounds consistent with all applicable laws and regulations including but not limited to Education Law section 414. These revisions allow for a greater integrated focus on offering a range of school-based and school-linked programs and services leading to stronger families and healthier communities.

4. COSTS:

(a) Costs to State government: There are no costs to State government beyond those imposed by the statute.

(b) Costs to local government: None, beyond those imposed by statute.

(c) Costs to private regulated parties: None, beyond those imposed by statute.

(d) Costs to regulating agency for implementation and continued administration of this rule: The proposed amendment does not impose any costs on SED, beyond those imposed by statute.

5. LOCAL GOVERNMENT MANDATES:

The rule is necessary to implement Chapter 53 of the Laws of 2016 by establishing criteria for community school grants. The major mandates of rule are statutorily imposed.

Eligible school districts that seek a community schools grant fund award for a designated school or schools shall submit an application to the Commissioner on a form and pursuant to a timeline prescribed by the Commissioner. Applications must set forth the need for such funds, whether the school district is seeking operating funds and/or capital funds, how the funds would be used and the number of students that would be served with such funds. If an eligible school district seeks both operating and capital funds, such application shall include separate budgets for the use of operating and capital funds. Funds shall be awarded in accordance with a formula developed by the Commissioner and approved by the director of the budget which shall take into account factors that include but need not be limited to the number of designated schools in the district, the number of students enrolled in the designated schools, and the needs of such students for English language learner, special education and other enhanced services.

Prior to submitting an application to the Commissioner, the eligible school district shall provide appropriate community partners and/or the community engagement team established pursuant to this section, as the school district deems appropriate, an opportunity to review and provide feedback on the application.

All applications for funding must include detailed plans and timelines for ensuring substantial parent, teacher, and community engagement in the planning, implementation and operations of the community school that shall include but need not be limited to the following:

• holding public meetings with parents, teachers and community members at least quarterly during the school year to provide information and solicit input regarding the planning, implementation and operations of the community school. Such meetings shall be held in accordance with the requirements of subparagraph (c)(1)(iii) of this section;

• providing written notices and communications regarding the planning, implementation and operations of the community school to parents, teachers, other school personnel and community members as often as practicable through means that shall include but need not be limited to email and posting on the district’s internet website, if one exists. All such notices and communications shall be provided in English and translated, to the extent practicable, into the recipient’s native language or mode of communication;

• ensuring that such meetings, notices and communications provide parents, teachers and community members with meaningful opportunities to provide input and feedback by providing a variety of widely accessible methods of communication such as email, telephone, and/or access to the community school site coordinator and/or the steering committee; and

• submitting quarterly written reports to the Commissioner in a form and format prescribed by the Commissioner containing specific information about the progress of the planning, implementation and operations of the community schools grant and the requirements of this subdivision.

6. PAPERWORK:

See response to No. 5 above relating to local government mandates.

7. DUPLICATION:

The rule is necessary to implement Chapter 53 of the Laws of 2016 and does not duplicate, overlap or conflict with State or federal legal requirements.

8. ALTERNATIVES:

The rule is necessary to implement Chapter 56 of the Laws of 2016 by establishing criteria for community school grants. Consequently, the major provisions of the rule are statutorily imposed, and there are no significant alternatives and none were considered.

9. FEDERAL STANDARDS:

There are no applicable federal standards relating to criteria for these community school grants, appropriated by the State Legislature.

10. COMPLIANCE SCHEDULE:

The rule is necessary to implement Chapter 53 of the Laws of 2016 by establishing criteria for community school grants. Consequently, the major provisions of the proposed rule are statutorily imposed. It is anticipated that regulated parties can achieve compliance with the proposed rule by its effective date.

Small Businesses:

The proposed rule is necessary to implement Chapter 53 of the Laws of 2016, by establishing criteria for struggling and persistently struggling schools to apply for community school grants and does not impose any adverse economic impact, reporting, record keeping or any other compliance requirement on small businesses. Because it is evident from the nature of the rule 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 Government:

1. EFFECT OF RULE:

The proposed rule applies to those school districts that have: “Persistently Failing Schools” (identified in the regulation as a “Persistently Struggling Schools”), which are Priority Schools that have been in the most severe accountability status since the 2006-07 school year, and/or Failing Schools (identified in the regulation as “Struggling Schools”), which are schools that have been in Priority Schools status since the 2012-13 school year.

There are currently 17 school districts that have Persistently Struggling Schools and/or Struggling Schools.

2. COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS:

As part of the 2016-2017 budget appropriation bill (Chapter 53 of the Laws of 2016), the Legislature and Governor provided a $75 million appropriation ($50 million for operating costs and $25 million for capital costs) to establish community school grants for eligible school districts with schools designated as struggling and persistently struggling by the Commissioner pursuant to Education Law section 211-f(1)(a) or (b) throughout the 2016-2017 school year (“designated schools”). The new law requires eligible school districts to apply to the Commissioner for such grants.

The proposed amendment implements these requirements and requires that all applications for funding pursuant to this subdivision include detailed plans and timelines for ensuring substantial parent, teacher, and community engagement in the planning, implementation and operations of the community school that shall include but need not be limited to the following:

• holding public meetings with parents, teachers and community members at least quarterly during the school year to provide information and solicit input regarding the planning, implementation and operations of the community school. Such meetings shall be held in accordance with the requirements of subparagraph (c)(1)(iii) of this section;

• providing written notices and communications regarding the planning, implementation and operations of the community school to parents, teachers, other school personnel, and community members as often as practicable through means that shall include but need not be limited to email and posting on the district’s internet website, if one exists. All such notices and communications shall be provided in English and translated, to the extent practicable, into the recipient’s native language or mode of communication;

• ensuring that such meetings, notices, and communications provide parents, teachers, and community members with meaningful opportunities to provide input and feedback by providing a variety of widely accessible methods of communication, such as email, telephone, and/or access to the community school site coordinator and/or the steering committee; and

• submitting quarterly written reports to the Commissioner in a form and format prescribed by the Commissioner containing specific information about the progress of the planning, implementation, and operations of the community schools grant and the requirements of this subdivision.

Each designated school that receives a grant to deliver co-located or school-linked services pursuant to this subdivision shall first provide such services to the students who are enrolled in such school and their families. If a designated school has additional unused capacity after making such services available to all enrolled students and their families (e.g., not all available times for health or dental screenings have been filled on a particular day after all students enrolled in the school have been given an opportunity for an appointment or not all seats in a parenting workshop have been filled by parents of students who attend the school), the school may offer such services to students who attend feeder schools and their families so as to maximize effective and efficient use of available resources and/or students who are alumni of the school and their families in order to provide continuity of services. The proposed amendment defines “feeder school” as a school that receives Title I funds or is eligible for, but does not receive Title I funds, and from which at least 20 percent of the students in the designated school matriculated, provided that, for designated schools in which school choice, admissions lotteries, and/or open enrollment exist and in which feeder school patterns are therefore not consistent from year to year, the school district may request that a lesser percentage of students matriculating into the designated schools be considered or that up to three schools in the closest geographic proximity to the designated schools and from which students matriculate to such schools be feeder schools for purposes of this subdivision.

Community schools grant funds shall be used to supplement and not supplant district expenditures and shall only be used for new expenditures on eligible operating and capital costs in accordance with this subdivision and subject to the terms of the appropriation. Community schools grant funds must be used to support the operating and capital costs associated with the transformation of designated schools into community hubs to deliver co-located or school-linked academic, health, mental health, nutrition, counseling, legal, and/or other services to students and their families, which may include but need not be limited to the following:

• providing a community school site coordinator at each struggling or persistently struggling school receiving a grant pursuant to this subdivision. The school district shall designate a full-time staff person to serve as the community school site coordinator at each such school who shall assist the school receiver in implementing the grant, including but not limited to managing the development of the community school strategy for that school, coordinating and integrating service delivery at the school, ensuring the maintenance and sustainability of the community school, and consulting and coordinating with any other community school site coordinators designated pursuant to this clause, if applicable. If there are circumstances that do not justify the assignment of a full-time staff person to serve as the community school coordinator for each school (e.g., the designated school is a small rural school and a full-time coordinator is not needed), or if the designation of one full-time site coordinator for multiple schools would be more effective (e.g., if the two schools designated in the district are small schools in close proximity and a full-time coordinator could serve both schools), the school may apply to the Commissioner for a waiver from this requirement;

• improving parent engagement, which may include but need not be limited to designating a family outreach coordinator, providing parents and families with information on and opportunities to participate in their child’s education and school community, including participation on the school’s community engagement team established pursuant to this section; in the process of local stakeholder consultation conducted pursuant to this section; in the community-wide needs assessment conducted pursuant to this section; on the steering committee established by these regulations; and in family literacy programs, including early childhood education, interactive literacy activities between parents and their children, and training for parents regarding how to be the primary teacher for their children and full partners in the education of their children;

• providing early childhood education programs;

• offering professional development specific to the unique needs of students enrolled in a community school and their families. Such unique needs may be determined through measures including but not limited to surveys of students, families and teachers; focus group meetings with parents, students and teachers; and/or results of comprehensive school and community needs assessments, which may be the comprehensive school and community needs assessment conducted pursuant to these regulations, if one has been conducted for the specific school. Such professional development shall include but not be limited to job-embedded professional development with an emphasis on strategies that involve teacher input and feedback as well as professional development for administrators at the school with an emphasis on strategies that develop leadership skills, use of principles of distributive leadership, and instructional supervision;

• conducting community-wide needs assessments, provided that, if a comprehensive school and community needs assessment regarding the school has already been conducted, such needs assessment may be used for this purpose;

• creating a steering committee to provide feedback and guidance. Such steering committee shall be made up of various school and community stakeholders, which shall include but need not be limited to, the school principal, parents of or persons in parental relation to students attending the school, teachers and other school staff assigned to the school, and students attending the school; provided that, in the case of a designated school that does not serve students in grade seven or above, the steering committee need not include students; provided further that a community engagement team established pursuant to section 100.19 may also serve as the steering committee; and

• constructing or renovating spaces within such school buildings to serve as health suites, adult education spaces, guidance suites, resource rooms, remedial rooms, parent/community rooms, and career and technical education classrooms, plus any other capital costs necessary to implement a community school.

The proposed amendment also revises the current definition of community schools to require offering adult and/or community education opportunities and programs in community schools to provide members of the community with access to services on school buildings and grounds consistent with all applicable laws and regulations including but not limited to Education Law section 414. These revisions allow for a greater integrated focus on offering a range of school-based and school-linked programs and services leading to stronger families and healthier communities.

3. PROFESSIONAL SERVICES:

The proposed rule does not impose any additional professional services requirements beyond those inherent in the statute.

4. COMPLIANCE COSTS:

The proposed rule is necessary to implement Chapter 53 of the Laws of 2016 and, consequently, the major mandates of the proposed rule are statutorily imposed. The Department anticipates that because $75 million has been appropriated to support the community schools grants, there will be no costs to local governments for implementing the proposed amendment.

5. ECONOMIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL FEASIBILITY:

Economic feasibility is addressed in the Costs section above.

6. MINIMIZING ADVERSE IMPACT:

The rule is necessary to implement Chapter 53 of the Laws of 2016 by establishing criteria for community school grants. The major provisions of the rule are statutorily imposed and it is not feasible to establish differing compliance or reporting requirements, or to exempt school districts from coverage by the rule.

The Department intends to take steps to provide sufficient notice of the proposed rule to ensure that school districts are made aware of the rule's requirements so they may suitably prepare for and apply for these grants.

7. LOCAL GOVERNMENT PARTICIPATION:

Comments on the proposed rule were solicited from school districts through the offices of the district superintendents of each supervisory district in the State, from the chief school officers of the five big city school districts, which include school districts with persistently struggling and struggling schools.

8. INITIAL REVIEW OF RULE (SAPA § 207):

Pursuant to State Administrative Procedure Act section 207(1)(b), the State Education Department proposes that the initial review of this rule shall occur in the fifth calendar year after the year in which the rule is adopted, instead of in the third calendar year. The justification for a five year review period is that the proposed rule is necessary to implement Chapter 53 of the Laws of 2016, by establishing criteria for community school grants.

The Department invites public comment on the proposed five year review period for this rule. Comments should be sent to the agency contact listed in item number 10 of the Notice of Proposed Rule Making published herewith, and must be received within 45 days of the date the Notice is published in the State Register.

1. TYPES AND ESTIMATED NUMBER OF RURAL AREAS:

The proposed rule applies to those school districts that have: “Persistently Failing Schools” (identified in the regulation as a “Persistently Struggling Schools”), which are Priority Schools that have been in the most severe accountability status since the 2006-07 school year, and/or Failing Schools (identified in the regulation as a “Struggling Schools”), which are schools that have been in Priority Schools status since the 2012-13 school year.

There is currently one school district that has one Struggling School located in a rural area (i.e. 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:

As part of the 2016-2017 budget appropriation bill (Chapter 53 of the Laws of 2016), the Legislature and Governor provided a $75 million appropriation ($50 million for operating costs and $25 million for capital costs) to establish community school grants for eligible school districts with schools designated as struggling and persistently struggling by the Commissioner pursuant to Education Law section 211-f(1)(a) or (b) throughout the 2016-2017 school year (“designated schools”). The new law requires eligible school districts to apply to the Commissioner for such grants.

The proposed amendment implements these requirements and requires that all applications for funding pursuant to this subdivision include detailed plans and timelines for ensuring substantial parent, teacher, and community engagement in the planning, implementation and operations of the community school that shall include but need not be limited to the following:

• holding public meetings with parents, teachers and community members at least quarterly during the school year to provide information and solicit input regarding the planning, implementation and operations of the community school. Such meetings shall be held in accordance with the requirements of subparagraph (c)(1)(iii) of this section;

• providing written notices and communications regarding the planning, implementation and operations of the community school to parents, teachers, other school personnel, and community members as often as practicable through means that shall include but need not be limited to email and posting on the district’s internet website, if one exists. All such notices and communications shall be provided in English and translated, to the extent practicable, into the recipient’s native language or mode of communication;

• ensuring that such meetings, notices, and communications provide parents, teachers, and community members with meaningful opportunities to provide input and feedback by providing a variety of widely accessible methods of communication, such as email, telephone, and/or access to the community school site coordinator and/or the steering committee; and

• submitting quarterly written reports to the Commissioner in a form and format prescribed by the Commissioner containing specific information about the progress of the planning, implementation, and operations of the community schools grant and the requirements of this subdivision.

Each designated school that receives a grant to deliver co-located or school-linked services pursuant to this subdivision shall first provide such services to the students who are enrolled in such school and their families. If a designated school has additional unused capacity after making such services available to all enrolled students and their families (e.g., not all available times for health or dental screenings have been filled on a particular day after all students enrolled in the school have been given an opportunity for an appointment or not all seats in a parenting workshop have been filled by parents of students who attend the school), the school may offer such services to students who attend feeder schools and their families so as to maximize effective and efficient use of available resources and/or students who are alumni of the school and their families in order to provide continuity of services. The proposed amendment defines “feeder school” as a school that receives Title I funds or is eligible for, but does not receive Title I funds, and from which at least 20 percent of the students in the designated school matriculated, provided that, for designated schools in which school choice, admissions lotteries, and/or open enrollment exist and in which feeder school patterns are therefore not consistent from year to year, the school district may request that a lesser percentage of students matriculating into the designated schools be considered or that up to three schools in the closest geographic proximity to the designated schools and from which students matriculate to such schools be feeder schools for purposes of this subdivision.

Community schools grant funds shall be used to supplement and not supplant district expenditures and shall only be used for new expenditures on eligible operating and capital costs in accordance with this subdivision and subject to the terms of the appropriation. Community schools grant funds must be used to support the operating and capital costs associated with the transformation of designated schools into community hubs to deliver co-located or school-linked academic, health, mental health, nutrition, counseling, legal, and/or other services to students and their families, which may include but need not be limited to the following:

• providing a community school site coordinator at each struggling or persistently struggling school receiving a grant pursuant to this subdivision. The school district shall designate a full-time staff person to serve as the community school site coordinator at each such school who shall assist the school receiver in implementing the grant, including but not limited to managing the development of the community school strategy for that school, coordinating and integrating service delivery at the school, ensuring the maintenance and sustainability of the community school, and consulting and coordinating with any other community school site coordinators designated pursuant to this clause, if applicable. If there are circumstances that do not justify the assignment of a full-time staff person to serve as the community school coordinator for each school (e.g., the designated school is a small rural school and a full-time coordinator is not needed), or if the designation of one full-time site coordinator for multiple schools would be more effective (e.g., if the two schools designated in the district are small schools in close proximity and a full-time coordinator could serve both schools), the school may apply to the Commissioner for a waiver from this requirement;

• improving parent engagement, which may include but need not be limited to designating a family outreach coordinator, providing parents and families with information on and opportunities to participate in their child’s education and school community, including participation on the school’s community engagement team established pursuant to this section; in the process of local stakeholder consultation conducted pursuant to this section; in the community-wide needs assessment conducted pursuant to this section; on the steering committee established by these regulations; and in family literacy programs, including early childhood education, interactive literacy activities between parents and their children, and training for parents regarding how to be the primary teacher for their children and full partners in the education of their children;

• providing early childhood education programs;

• offering professional development specific to the unique needs of students enrolled in a community school and their families. Such unique needs may be determined through measures including but not limited to surveys of students, families and teachers; focus group meetings with parents, students and teachers; and/or results of comprehensive school and community needs assessments, which may be the comprehensive school and community needs assessment conducted pursuant to these regulations, if one has been conducted for the specific school. Such professional development shall include but not be limited to job-embedded professional development with an emphasis on strategies that involve teacher input and feedback as well as professional development for administrators at the school with an emphasis on strategies that develop leadership skills, use of principles of distributive leadership, and instructional supervision;

• conducting community-wide needs assessments, provided that, if a comprehensive school and community needs assessment regarding the school has already been conducted, such needs assessment may be used for this purpose;

• creating a steering committee to provide feedback and guidance. Such steering committee shall be made up of various school and community stakeholders, which shall include but need not be limited to, the school principal, parents of or persons in parental relation to students attending the school, teachers and other school staff assigned to the school, and students attending the school; provided that, in the case of a designated school that does not serve students in grade seven or above, the steering committee need not include students; provided further that a community engagement team established pursuant to section 100.19 may also serve as the steering committee; and

• constructing or renovating spaces within such school buildings to serve as health suites, adult education spaces, guidance suites, resource rooms, remedial rooms, parent/community rooms, and career and technical education classrooms, plus any other capital costs necessary to implement a community school.

The proposed amendment also revises the current definition of community schools to require offering adult and/or community education opportunities and programs in community schools to provide members of the community with access to services on school buildings and grounds consistent with all applicable laws and regulations including but not limited to Education Law section 414. These revisions allow for a greater integrated focus on offering a range of school-based and school-linked programs and services leading to stronger families and healthier communities.

3. COMPLIANCE COSTS:

The proposed rule is necessary to implement Chapter 53 of the Laws of 2016 and, consequently, the major mandates of the proposed rule are statutorily imposed. The Department anticipates that because $75 million has been appropriated to support community schools grants, the grant money will be used to assist local governments and that no additional costs are imposed on local governments by the proposed amendment.

4. MINIMIZING ADVERSE IMPACT:

The rule is necessary to implement Chapter 53 of the Laws of 2016 by establishing criteria for community school grants. The major provisions of the rule are statutorily imposed and it is not feasible to establish differing compliance or reporting requirements, or to exempt school districts from coverage by the rule.

The Department intends to take steps to provide sufficient notice of the proposed rule to ensure that school districts, including those located in rural areas are made aware of the rule's requirements so they may suitably prepare for and apply for these grants.

5. RURAL AREA PARTICIPATION:

Department staff will solicit comments on the proposed amendment from the Rural Advisory Committee, which has members who live and work in rural areas on the State.

The purpose of the proposed amendment is to timely implement Chapter 53 of the Laws of 2016 to establish the requirements for eligible school districts with schools designated as struggling and persistently struggling by the Commissioner pursuant to Education Law section 211-f(1)(a) or (b) throughout the 2016-2017 school year that wish to apply for such grants in the 2016-2017 school year. The proposed amendment also revises the definition of the community schools to require programs in a community school to provide members of the community with access to services on school buildings and grounds consistent with all applicable laws and regulations including but not limited to Education Law section 414.

Furthermore, an apportionment of $75 million in State funds will be available to Struggling and Persistently Struggling Schools for the implementation of community schools and a portion of those monies must be used on operating costs. Another portion of the funding is to be used for capital costs (i.e., construction and/or renovation). This will result in a net gain of jobs.

The agency received no public comment since publication of the last assessment of public comment.