Sec. 120.3. Unsafe school choice

Each local educational agency shall ensure that any student who attends a persistently dangerous public elementary or secondary school, as determined by the commissioner pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section, or who is a victim of a violent criminal offense, as defined pursuant to subdivision (b) of this section, that occurred on the grounds of a public elementary or secondary school that the student attends, shall be allowed to attend a safe public school at the same grade level within the local educational agency. For purposes of this section, a safe public school shall mean a public school that has not been designated by the commissioner as a persistently dangerous public elementary or secondary school.

(a) Persistently dangerous schools.

Pursuant to guidelines to be developed by the commissioner in consultation with a representative sample of local educational agencies, the commissioner shall determine which public elementary and secondary schools are persistently dangerous. A determination that a school is persistently dangerous shall be based upon objective information including, at a minimum, data submitted through the uniform violent incident reporting system, also known as the "school safety and educational climate report", established pursuant to section 2802 of the Education Law and pursuant to section 100.2(gg) of this Title, over a period of two years.

(1) On or before July 1st of each year commencing in 2003, the commissioner shall annually notify the local educational agencies of those schools which the information described in this subdivision indicate may be persistently dangerous public elementary and secondary schools.

(2) Upon notification that a school has been identified for potential designation as a persistently dangerous public elementary or secondary school, the local educational agency shall be given the opportunity to present evidence to the commissioner that conditions in the school do not unreasonably threaten the safety of students, that it has taken appropriate action or actions to improve safety at the school, and any other such evidence in support of its position that the school should not be designated as persistently dangerous. The commissioner shall request local educational agencies to submit, by a date prescribed by the commissioner, data for the current school year that is reportable under the uniform violent incident reporting system and is deemed necessary to make a final determination that a school should be designated as persistently dangerous. If a local educational agency fails to submit such data by such date, such final determination shall be based on data on file with the commissioner.

(3) The commissioner shall consider any evidence presented to him pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subdivision and shall notify the local educational agency no later than August 1st immediately following his initial notification of the final determination on whether the school has been designated as a persistently dangerous public elementary or secondary school.

(b) Victims of violent criminal offenses.

Each local educational agency that is required to provide unsafe school choice shall establish procedures for determinations by the superintendent of schools or other chief school officer of whether a student is the victim of a violent criminal offense that occurred on school grounds of the school that the student attends. Such superintendent of schools or other chief school officer shall, prior to making any such determination, consult with any law enforcement agency investigating such alleged violent criminal offense and consider any reports or records provided by such agency. The trustees or board of education or other governing board of a local educational agency may provide, by local rule or by-law, for appeal of the determination of the superintendent of schools to such governing board. The determination of such chief school officer pursuant to this subdivision shall not have collateral estoppel effect in any student disciplinary proceeding brought against the alleged victim or perpetrator of such violent criminal offense. For purposes of this subdivision, violent criminal offense shall mean a crime that involved infliction of serious physical injury upon another as defined in the penal law, a sex offense that involved forcible compulsion or any other offense defined in the penal law that involved the use or threatened use of a deadly weapon.

(c) Transfer.

Any student who transfers to a safe public school pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be enrolled in the classes and other activities of the public school to which such student transfers in the same manner as all other children at the public school.

(d) Notification.

Each local educational agency that is required to provide school choice pursuant to the provisions of this section and section 2802 of the Education Law shall establish procedures for notification of parents of, or persons in parental relation to, students attending schools that have been designated as persistently dangerous and parents of, or persons in parental relation to, students who are victims of violent criminal offenses of their right to transfer to a safe public school within the local educational agency and procedures for such transfer. Such notice shall be, to the extent practicable, provided in the dominant language or mode of communication used by the parents or persons in parental relation to such students. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to require such notification where there are no other public schools within the local educational agency at the same grade level or such transfer to a safe public school within the local educational agency is otherwise impossible or to require a local educational agency that has only one public school within the local educational agency or only one public school at each grade level to develop such procedures.

(1) Where the commissioner has determined that a school is a persistently dangerous public elementary or secondary school, the local educational agency shall notify the parents of, or persons in parental relation to, all students attending such school of their right to transfer to a safe public school within the local educational agency and the procedures for such transfer. The local educational agency shall so notify the parents of, or persons in parental relation to, all such students no later than 10 days after such local educational agency has been advised that the commissioner has determined that a school is a persistently dangerous public elementary or secondary school.

(2) Where a student has been determined to be the victim of a violent criminal offense, as defined in subdivision (b) of this section, the local educational agency shall notify the parents of, or persons in parental relation to, such student of his or her right to transfer to a safe public school within the local educational agency and the procedures for such transfer. The local educational agency shall so notify the parents of, or persons in parental relation to, such student within 24 hours of such determination.

(e) Duration of unsafe school choice.

(1) The transfer of a student to a safe public school from a school that has been designated by the commissioner as a persistently dangerous public elementary or secondary school pursuant to the provisions of this section may be either temporary or permanent, as determined by the local educational agency, provided, however, that a temporary transfer shall remain in effect at least as long as such student's transferring school continues to be identified as persistently dangerous, unless the parent or other person in parental relationship to the student requests that the student transfer back to the transferring school pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subdivision. In determining whether a transfer will be temporary or permanent, a local educational agency shall evaluate the educational needs of the student and any other relevant factors affecting such student's ability to succeed if returned to the transferring school, and shall make the transfer permanent if such evaluation indicates that a permanent transfer would be in the best educational interests of the student. For purposes of this subdivision, permanent transfer shall mean a transfer that ends when the student has completed the highest grade level in the school such student has transferred to, or when the parent or other person in parental relationship to the student has requested that the student transfer back to the transferring school pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subdivision.

(2) Any student who has been the victim of a violent criminal offense that occurred on the grounds of a public elementary or secondary school that the student attends and who transfers to a safe public school pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be afforded a permanent transfer.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subdivision to the contrary, the parent or other person in parental relationship to a student who transfers to a safe school pursuant to this section may request that such student be transferred back to the transferring school, provided that the local educational agency may require that any such transfer back be made effective at the start of classes in the next school year.

(f) When the commissioner has designated a school of a local educational agency as a persistently dangerous public elementary or secondary school, or when a student has been the victim of a violent criminal offense that occurred on the grounds of a public elementary or secondary school that the student attends, it shall be the responsibility of such local educational agency, based on objective criteria, to designate a safe public school or schools within the local educational agency to which students may transfer. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to require a local educational agency to designate a safe public school where there are no other public schools within the local educational agency at the same grade level or such transfer to a safe public school within the local educational agency is otherwise impossible or to require a local educational agency that has only one public school within the local educational agency or only one public school at each grade level to make such a designation.

(g) Transportation.

The local educational agency shall provide transportation for any student permitted to transfer to the safe public school within the local educational agency it has designated pursuant to subdivision (f) of this section, within the transportation limits established pursuant to section 3635 and subdivision 4 of section 4401 of the Education Law.

(h) In the event that a local educational agency fails to comply with the school choice provisions of this section or section 2802 of the Education Law, the parent or person in parental relation to a student attending a school that has been designated as persistently dangerous and the parent, or persons in parental relation to a student who is the victim of a violent criminal offense, may commence an appeal to the commissioner pursuant to section 310 of the Education Law.

(i) Removal of persistently dangerous public elementary or secondary school designation.

In the event that a local educational agency believes that a school has demonstrated the progress necessary to have its designation as a persistently dangerous public elementary or secondary school removed for the next school year, such local educational agency may petition the commissioner to remove such designation by the date prescribed by the commissioner. A school's designation as persistently dangerous shall not be removed if, in the commissioner's judgment, conditions that may contribute to a dangerous environment remain present at the school.