charter school siting in a new york city department of education building

8/8/2019 Charter School Siting in a New York City Department of Education Building

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Charter School Siting in a New York City Department of Education Building:

An Overview of the Process

Siting, co-locating or growing a charter school in a DOE building is governed by a number of different

legal provisions and involves a complex process. Much of that process is the responsibility of DOE.

Nonetheless, charter schools planning on locating inside a DOE building need to understand this siting

process, the timing, and how it will impact them.

This memo is technical in nature. It is not meant to address two key issues that are just as important

as the legal process: First, the way in which charter school teams can engage the community in order,

ideally, to have community boards, residents and lawmakers welcome the charter school into a

district building. Second, where community engagement is not successful, ways to activate a charter

schools supporters (particularly its parents) to ensure that their side of the story is heard and taken

into account during the process. The Charter Center and its partners work with schools to assist them

with these two issues.


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THE SITING PROCESS FOR NEW LOCATIONS AND CO-LOCATIONS1

Process Step Description

1. Public identification of districtbuildings subject to possible charter

school location or co-location

DOE publishes list of all district buildings that are candidates forcharter school location or co-location

2. Educational Impact Statements DOE creates and disseminates Educational Impact Statements

describing the proposed school utilization changes and the impact

they are expected to have

3. Building Usage Plans DOE creates Building Usage Plans to be included with the Educational

Impact Statements, which describe the proposed allocation and

sharing of space

4. Jointpublic hearings at affected

schools

30 to 45 days after posting the Educational Impact Statements, the

DOE holds a joint public hearing with the community education council

and the school leadership team(s) of the affected school(s)5. Charter school authorizer siting

hearings

The charter schools authorizer holds a public meeting for parents and

guardians from the school that is affected by the proposed charter

school siting (which may or may not be separate from the joint

hearing)

6. Public comments and the Panel for

Educational Policy vote

The Panel for Educational Policy votes on all new locations and co-

locations after the Educational Impact Statements has been posted on

its website and public comment compiled

7. Possible appeal to the Commissioner It is possible to appeal the decision to locate a charter school in a

public school building to the Commissioner through an expedited

appeal process

8. Shared Space Committee A Shared Space Committee is established, comprised of the principal, ateacher, and a parent from each co-located school

9. Capital improvements A charter school seeking to make any capital improvement or facility

upgrade to a public school costing more than $5,000 must receive

DOEs approval and matching funds must be spent on any other DOE

school in the building

10. Space Planning and Building

Councils

After the Panel for Educational Policy approval, the schools building

council meets with the DOEs Office of Space Planning to assign

specific rooms to each school and finalize the shared space plan

11. Expansion of a School that is Already

Co-located

A charter school already co-located in a public school space, but

seeking to expand beyond its original allocated space is subject to a

siting process

1We do not include in the siting process the separate requirement that DOE hold a hearing prior to the issuance, revision

or renewal of a charter. See Education Law 2857(1). This hearing is generally before the Community Education Council

of the Community School District in which the school is located or intends to locate. It is separate and apart from the joint

public hearing that is specifically devoted to siting a school in public school space (which is discussed in this memo) and

applies to a much broader array of situations by its terms. For new schools, this hearing would precede issuance of a

charter. While this hearing is not included in the siting process, it is important to note that where a new school is

planning on locating in public school space, this hearing will naturally involve this issue and could be contentious.


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1. PUBLIC IDENTIFICATION OF DISTRICT BUILDINGS SUBJECT TO CHARTER SCHOOL LOCATION OR CO-

LOCATION

The first step that DOE must undertake prior to selecting a school building for a charter school siting

is to publish a list of all buildings that are candidates for such siting. DOE must provide the rationale

for why buildings have been chosen for possible charter school location or co-location. The master list

must be posted on the Panel for Educational Policys website and also given to the community

superintendent, community district education council and the school-based management team of

every school on the list. We expect DOE to publish this list in the fall.

2. EDUCATIONAL IMPACT STATEMENT AND ITS DISSEMINATION

Once DOE chooses a building off of the master list for an actual proposed co-location, it must createand disseminate an Educational Impact Statement. An Educational Impact Statement must be

created for all significant changes in building utilizations (including charter school locations and co-

locations). The Educational Impact Statement must lay out the proposed school utilization change

and describe the impact the change would have.2

It must be publicly posted on the DOEs website

and in the affected school building no later than 6 months before the first day of school (according to

the Department of Education calendar, i.e., the first day of school for the non-charter school) in the

succeeding year, or by roughly March 1. This means that the DOE cannot propose any new facility

usage plans after this date for the next school year. A Building Usage Plan (see below) must be

attached as an addendum to any Educational Impact Statement involving the location or the co-

location of a charter school with another public school.

3

The Educational Impact Statement needs to be circulated to the community superintendent,

community education council, community board and school-based management team(s), and, as set

forth by the Chancellors Regulation A-190, the Citywide Council on High Schools, the Citywide

Council on English Language Learners, the Citywide Council on Special Education and/or the District

75 Council, as applicable. The community superintendent, as well as the High School Superintendent

or D75 superintendant where applicable, will be responsible for informing parents of the proposed

school utilization change, of where they can find the Educational Impact Statement, and of the date

and location of the joint public hearing on the proposal. A copy of the statement must also be posted

on the Panel for Educational Policy website at least 45 days before its vote.

2See 2590-h(2-a) of the Education Law and the Chancellors Regulation A-190 for more information on the contents of

an Educational Impact Statement. In a recent court case involving Educational Impact Statements created in spring 2010,

an appellate court ruled that the Educational Impact Statements must address with some specificity the impact of the

change in utilization. A copy of the decision can be found at

http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2010/2010_05863.htm

3The law provides a process for revising the Building Usage Plan and Educational Impact Statement, details on which may

be found in the Chancellors Regulation A-190; 2590-h(2-a)(d-1) of the Education Law; and 2853(3)(a-3)(4). Revisions to

the Building Usage Plan must be approved by the Panel for Educational Policy prior to implementation.


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After receiving public comment, the Chancellor may choose to revise the proposed school utilization

change, and prepare a revised Educational Impact Statement. The revised statement is subject to the

same publishing and filing requirements as the original. A joint public hearing must be held at least15 days after the filing of the Educational Impact Statement.

3. BUILDING USAGE PLAN

When dealing with the location or co-location of a charter school in a DOE facility, which houses one

or more non-charter schools, the DOE must also create a space sharing plan that is known as the

Building Usage Plan. The law requires the Building Usage Plan to include and address:

o Actual allocation and sharing of classroom and administrative space between the schoolso

Proposal for collaborative usage of shared resources and spaces, including cafeterias, libraries,gymnasiums and recreational spaces

o Justification of the feasibility of the proposed allocationso Building safety and securityo Communication and collaborative decision-making strategies to be used by the co-located

schools

The allocations for classroom and administrative space will be made pursuant to the Citywide

Instructional Footprint4

that DOE uses in all co-location decisions (charter and non-charter). As stated

above, the Building Usage Plan becomes part of the Educational Impact Statement and both it and

the Educational Impact Statement must be posted at least 45 days prior to the Panel for Educational

Policy vote. The template for the Building Usage Plan can be found as an appendix to the ChancellorsRegulation A-190.

4. JOINT PUBLIC HEARINGS

Between 30 to 45 days after the Educational Impact Statement is publicly posted, the DOE must hold

a joint public hearing with the community education council and the school leadership team(s) of the

affected school(s). Notice must be specifically given to parents, students, the community board, and

the districts elected state and local officials. The Citywide Council on English Language Learners and

the Citywide Council on Special Education should be invited to the hearing as well as the Citywide

Council on High Schools and the District 75 Council, where applicable. Prior to the filing of theEducational Impact Statement, the Chancellors office will communicate with all concerned parties

who are to be invited to the joint public hearing to propose possible times and dates for the hearing,

allowing them to indicate availability and propose alternative dates as set forth in the Chancellors

Regulation A-190. The agenda for the hearing must also be set in accordance with the Chancellors

Regulation A-190. This meeting must take place before the Panel for Education Policy can vote on the

4DOE Instructional footprint can be found at http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/682FC26A-6B81-476A-BD6A-

333CBBDC7BB3/44569/NYCDOE_Instructional_Footprint1.pdf


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proposed siting. In general, the DOE will ask the charter school leadership team to present at this

hearing. The charter school is well-advised to have parents and other supporters attend this hearing.

5. CHARTER SCHOOL AUTHORIZER SITING HEARINGS

In addition to the joint public hearing, a charter schools authorizer must also hold a public hearing

before a NYC charter school goes into public space. The meeting notice must be sent to the parents

or guardians of students at the affected school(s) and parents must be given the opportunity to

comment at the meeting. At this time, it is unclear whether SED and SUNY will hold these hearings

separately or concurrently with the joint public hearing that is described above.

6. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND THE PANEL FOR EDUCATIONAL POLICY VOTE

The Panel for Educational Policy must vote on all new locations and co-locations (as well as othersignificant changes to building utilization). As above, the Educational Impact Statement (containing

the Building Usage Plan) must have been posted and disseminated at least 45 days prior to a Panel

vote and the Panel for Educational Policy must provide notice of its intent to take up the matter. The

DOE must also post the Educational Impact Statement on its website for public comment and compile

the public comment it has received prior to the vote. Notice of the upcoming vote must be circulated

to the community superintendent, the community education council, the community board, and all

school-based management team(s). If the Chancellors proposal is substantially revised resulting in a

revised Educational Impact Statement, the Panel for Educational Policy must issue a revised public

notice at least 15 days before a Panel vote in accordance with the Chancellors Regulation A-190.

After the public comment period has ended, the Panel for Educational Policy will post on the DOE

website an assessment of all public comments received prior to 24 hours before the Panel for

Educational Policy meeting. The vote needs to take place at one of the Panel for Educational Policys

regular monthly public meetings. No approved school building utilization changes (including

locations and co-locations) can take place until the school year has ended.

7. POSSIBLE APPEAL TO THE COMMISSIONER

The decision to locate a charter school in a public school building and the implementation and

compliance with the Building Usage Plan may be appealed to the State Education Commissioner after

such decision and plan have been approved by the Panel for Educational Policy. The appeal is meant

to be expedited with DOE being required to respond within 10 days of the appeal being brought, andthe Commissioner being required to render a decision within 10 days of receiving DOEs response.

8. SHARED SPACE COMMITTEE

A shared space committee must be established in each public school building in which one or more

charter schools are co-located with one or more non-charter public schools or a D75 school

organization with more than three classrooms in the building. The shared space committee shall be


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comprised of the principal, a teacher, and a parent from each co-located school or eligible D75 school

organization. With respect to a non-charter schools teacher and parent members, such shared space

committee members shall be selected by the corresponding constituent member of the SLT at that

school. With respect to charter schools whose location or co-location in a public school building wasapproved by the Panel for Educational Policy after the effective date of the Amended Charter School

Act (i.e., May 28, 2010), the shared space committee shall review implementation of the Building

Usage Plan developed by the Chancellor and approved by the Panel for Educational Policy. With

respect to charter schools that were approved to be located or co-located in a public school building

prior to the effective date of the Amended Charter School Act, the shared space committee shall

review implementation of the current building space plan in place at those buildings.

The Shared Space Committee is separate and apart from the regular building council meetings which

only the principals/operational leaders of the co-located schools may attend.

9. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS

Any proposed capital improvement or facility upgrade to a public school space by a charter school

which would cost more than $5,000, must now be submitted for approval to DOE prior to that

improvement or upgrade being made, regardless of the charter schools source of funding. The DOE

will review each application for an improvement or upgrade and determine if approval is appropriate.

Where a capital improvement or facility upgrade is approved by the Chancellor, an equal amount of

funds must be made available to each of the co-located schools in the building for improvements and

upgrades. The law does not specify the source of funds. Matching capital improvements or facility

upgrades must be made to each non-charter public school in the building within three months of the

charter schools improvements or upgrades. Pursuant to the Chancellors Regulation A-190, the DOEreview process is triggered by the submission of a project request form that must be submitted to the

Division of Operations at the DOE no later than 15 business days prior to the proposed

commencement date of the project. Contact the Office of Space Planning at

[email protected] for more information.

10. SPACE PLANNING AND BUILDING COUNCILS

Once an Educational Impact Statement is approved by the Panel for Educational Policy, the schools

building council shall meet with the DOEs Office of Space Planning to assign specific rooms to each

school and finalize the shared space plan. Please see the Campus Policy Memo and Procedures formore detail on the establishment and duties of the building council.

11. EXPANSION OF A SCHOOL THAT IS ALREADY CO-LOCATED

A charter school that is already co-located in a public school space, but seeks to expand beyond the

space which DOE originally planned to allocate to it, will trigger the siting provisions laid out above

and DOE will treat this as a new co-location. As such, the DOE must file an Educational Impact


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Statement, create a Building Usage Plan, hold a joint hearing and get approval of the Panel for

Educational Policy through a formal vote.5

Possible Timeline for Charter School Sitings

Set Oct Nov Dec Jan

DOE identifies

buildings slated for

charter school co-

location

DOE creates Building

Usage Plans and

Educational Impact

Statements

Public hearings areheld at affected

schools

Comments are

solicited for the Panel

for Educational Policy

vote

School siting decision

voted on by the Panel

for Educational Policy

5Expansion of the school may also trigger the need for the DOE to conduct a charter revision hearing. See footnote 1.

charter school siting in a new york city department of education building

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