EDU-43-10-00009-RP Distinguished Educators  

  • 1/19/11 N.Y. St. Reg. EDU-43-10-00009-RP
    NEW YORK STATE REGISTER
    VOLUME XXXIII, ISSUE 3
    January 19, 2011
    RULE MAKING ACTIVITIES
    EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
    REVISED RULE MAKING
    NO HEARING(S) SCHEDULED
     
    I.D No. EDU-43-10-00009-RP
    Distinguished Educators
    PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following revised rule:
    Proposed Action:
    Amendment of sections 100.17 and 100.16 of Title 8 NYCRR.
    Statutory authority:
    Education Law, sections 207, 305(1), 211-b(1-5) and 211-c(1-8); and L. 2007, ch. 57, part A, section 1
    Subject:
    Distinguished educators.
    Purpose:
    To prescribe requirements regarding appointment of distinguished educators to assist low-performing schools.
    Substance of revised rule:
    The Commissioner of Education proposes to add a new section 100.17 and amend section 100.16 of the Commissioner's Regulations, effective March 30, 2011, relating to the appointment of distinguished educators to assist low-performing schools pursuant to Education Law sections 211-b and 211-c. The following is a summary of the substance of the revised proposed rule.
    1. Subdivision (a) of section 100.17 sets forth criteria regarding eligibility for designation as a distinguished educator.
    2. Subdivision (b) of section 100.17 sets forth selection criteria for distinguished educators appointed to a school district and distinguished educators appointed to a school within a school district.
    3. Subdivision (c) of section 100.17 sets forth procedures, criteria and requirements for the appointment of distinguished educators, including provisions for reassignment of an appointed distinguished educator.
    4. Subdivision (d) of section 100.17 sets forth the roles and responsibilities of distinguished educators and school districts, including specific responsibilities for distinguished educators appointed to a school district and distinguished educators appointed to a school within a school district.
    5. Subdivision (e) of section 100.17 sets forth provisions for the removal of distinguished educators.
    6. Subdivision (f) of section 100.17 sets for reporting requirements for appointed distinguished educators.
    7. Subdivision (g) of section 100.17 sets forth provisions for the evaluation of distinguished educators.
    8. Subdivision (h) of section 100.17sets forth provisions for school district and school follow-up procedures upon completion of service of a distinguished educator.
    9. Section 100.16 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, regarding calculation of reasonable and necessary expenses of distinguished educators is amended to provide that the consulting fee for distinguished educators assigned to school districts shall be increased by an additional ten percent.
    Revised rule compared with proposed rule:
    Substantial revisions were made in section 100.17(b)(1), (2), (c)(3) and (d)(1), (2).
    Text of revised proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from
    Chris Moore, State Education Department, Office of Counsel, State Education Building, Room 148, 89 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12234, (518) 473-8296, email: legal@mail.nysed.gov
    Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:
    John B. King, Jr., Senior Deputy P-12 Education, State Education Department, State Education Building, Room 125, 89 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12234, (518) 474-3862, email: NYSEDP12@mail.nysed.gov
    Public comment will be received until:
    30 days after publication of this notice.
    Revised Regulatory Impact Statement
    Since publication of a Notice of Proposed Rule Making in the State Register on October 27, 2010, the proposed rule has been revised as follows:
    Section 100.17(b)(1)(ii)(a) has been revised to replace the phrase "NYS certification as a superintendent of schools" with the phrase "New York State certification as a School District Administrator or School District Leader or a substantially equivalent certification, as determined by the Commissioner, issued by a jurisdiction outside the State", in order to reflect the proper certification titles as currently used under Part 80 of the Commissioner's Regulations, and also to expand the pool of potential candidates eligible for appointment as distinguished educators to include qualified individuals who hold substantially equivalent certification outside the State of New York.
    Section 100.17(b)(2)(ii)(a) has been revised to replace the phrase "NYS certification as a building principal, assistant principal or teacher" with the phrase "New York State certification as a School Administrator and Supervisor, or School Building Leader, or Teacher or a substantially equivalent certification, as determined by the Commissioner, issued by a jurisdiction outside the State. . . " in order to reflect the proper certification titles as currently used under Part 80 of the Commissioner's Regulations, and also to expand the pool of potential candidates eligible for appointment as distinguished educators to include qualified individuals who hold substantially equivalent certification outside the State of New York.
    Section 100.17(c)(3)(ii), providing for agreements between the Commissioner and distinguished educators, and between distinguished educators and school districts, has been deleted as unnecessary and redundant. Upon further consideration, the Department has determined that the functions of such agreements may be carried out through the Action Plan provisions in section 100.17(f) and the Evaluation provisions in section 100.17(g). Consistent with this determination, a revision to section 100.17(f) has been made to require that such action plans be submitted to the Commissioner or Commissioner's designee for approval and, upon approval, a copy shall be provided to the school district. Section 100.17(g) has also been revised for purposes of consistency to delete reference to the "standards and criteria specified in the agreement" and replace it with "goals and objections specified in the action plan."
    Section 100.17(b)(1)(iii) and (b)(2)(iii) have been revised, for purposes of clarification, to replace the phrase "have been directly involved in teaching or administration within a school district, charter school, BOCES or a nonprofit educational organization within the past three years", with the phrase "have experience as a teacher or administrator in a school district, charter school, BOCES or a nonprofit educational organization within the past three years."
    Section 100.17(d)(1)(ii)(d) has been revised to replace the term "ensure" with "facilitate" so as to now read "facilitate increased student performance across the district" in order to more appropriately describe this responsibility of the distinguished educator.
    Section 100.17(d)(2)(v) has been revised to add "contracts" to the list of things that may affect a distinguished educator's right to return to his or her previous employment.
    Section 100.17(g), regarding removal of distinguished educators, has been revised, for purposes of clarification, to replace the phrase "shall serve at the pleasure of the Commissioner" to "shall serve within the sole discretion of the Commissioner."
    References in section 100.17 to a distinguished educator being "appointed" to a school within a school district, have been revised to replace such term with "assigned" in order to ensure consistency with Education Law section 211-c, which provides for the appointment of distinguished educators to a school district. Therefore, under the revised proposed rule, a distinguished educator is appointed to a school district and may be assigned to a school within such district.
    Nonsubstantial revisions were also made for purposes of ensuring consistency, providing clarification, and correcting grammatical errors.
    The above changes require that the following sections of the previously published Regulatory Impact Statement be revised to read as follows:
    LOCAL GOVERNMENT MANDATES:
    The proposed rule is necessary to implement Education Law sections 211-b and 211-c to establish requirements for the appointment of distinguished educators to assist low performing schools, and will not impose any program, service, duty or responsibility upon any county, city, town, village, school district, fire district or other special district, beyond those inherent in the Education Law.
    The school district to which a distinguished educator is appointed shall cooperate fully with an appointed distinguished educator.
    The reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by the appointed distinguished educators while performing their official duties shall be paid by the school district pursuant to section 100.16 of the Commissioner's Regulations.
    Consistent with and to the extent permitted under any applicable provisions of law, existing collective bargaining agreements, and contracts:
    (1) a school district employee appointed as a distinguished educator shall be ensured that at the end of his/her term of services as a distinguished educator, he/she will be returned to the previously held position or a position comparable to the one he/she had at the beginning of his/her leave, whether or not a reduction in work force is required to comply with this requirement;
    (2) upon return to service with his/her employer, the employee's term of service as a distinguished educator shall count as service time for purposes of scheduled, routine or general compensation enhancements, retirement eligibility, retirement benefit calculation and seniority.
    The school district shall ensure that a distinguished educator, upon appointment, shall be subject to the fingerprint and criminal history check requirements contained in law.
    PAPERWORK:
    Appointed distinguished educators shall review or provide assistance in the development and implementation of any district improvement plan and/or any corrective action, restructuring, or comprehensive plan of any school within the district to which the distinguished educator is assigned. Such distinguished educator shall either endorse without change or make recommendations for modifications to any such plan to the school district and the Commissioner.
    Upon receipt of any recommendations from the distinguished educator for modification of a district improvement plan and/or any corrective action, restructuring, or comprehensive plan, the school district shall either modify the plans accordingly or provide a written explanation to the Commissioner of its reasons for not adopting such recommendations. The Commissioner shall direct the district to modify the plans as recommended by the distinguished educator unless the Commissioner finds that the written explanation provided by the district has compelling merit.
    Within 45 days of appointment to the district, a distinguished educator shall develop an action plan outlining his/her goals and objectives for the district for the ensuing school year and shall also submit such action plan to the Commissioner or Commissioner's designee for approval. Upon approval, the distinguished educator shall provide a copy of the action plan to the school district. The distinguished educator shall also submit quarterly reports to the Commissioner or Commissioner's designee in a form prescribed by the Commissioner.
    Upon completion of service of the distinguished educator, the school district and school shall prepare and submit to the Commissioner a written report describing how they shall continue, sustain and extend the continuous improvement structures and systems that have been implemented to reverse chronic failure and to support improved academic achievement and improved graduation outcomes.
    Revised Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
    Since publication of a Notice of Proposed Rule Making in the State Register on October 27, 2010, the proposed rule has been revised as set forth in the Revised Regulatory Impact Statement submitted herewith.
    The proposed rule, as revised, requires that the following section of the previously published Regulatory Flexibility Analysis be revised to read as follows:
    COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS:
    The proposed rule is necessary to implement Education Law sections 211-b and 211-c and imposes no compliance requirements on school districts beyond those inherent in the statutes.
    The school district to which a distinguished educator is appointed shall cooperate fully with an appointed distinguished educator.
    The reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by the appointed distinguished educators while performing their official duties shall be paid by the school district pursuant to section 100.16 of the Commissioner's Regulations.
    Consistent with and to the extent permitted under any applicable provisions of law, existing collective bargaining agreements, and contracts:
    (1) a school district employee appointed as a distinguished educator shall be ensured that at the end of his/her term of services as a distinguished educator, he/she will be returned to the previously held position or a position comparable to the one he/she had at the beginning of his/her leave, whether or not a reduction in work force is required to comply with this requirement;
    (2) upon return to service with his/her employer, the employee's term of service as a distinguished educator shall count as service time for purposes of scheduled, routine or general compensation enhancements, retirement eligibility, retirement benefit calculation and seniority.
    The school district shall ensure that a distinguished educator, upon appointment, shall be subject to the fingerprint and criminal history check requirements contained in law.
    Appointed distinguished educators shall review or provide assistance in the development and implementation of any district improvement plan and/or any corrective action, restructuring, or comprehensive plan of any school within the district to which the distinguished educator is assigned. Such distinguished educator shall either endorse without change or make recommendations for modifications to any such plan to the school district and the Commissioner.
    Upon receipt of any recommendations from the distinguished educator for modification of a district improvement plan and/or any corrective action, restructuring, or comprehensive plan, the school district shall either modify the plans accordingly or provide a written explanation to the Commissioner of its reasons for not adopting such recommendations. The Commissioner shall direct the district to modify the plans as recommended by the distinguished educator unless the Commissioner finds that the written explanation provided by the district has compelling merit.
    Within 45 days of appointment to the district, a distinguished educator shall develop an action plan outlining his/her goals and objectives for the district for the ensuing school year and submit such action plan to the Commissioner or Commissioner's designee for approval. Upon approval, the distinguished educator shall provide a copy of the action plan to the school district. The distinguished educator shall also submit quarterly reports to the Commissioner in a form prescribed by the Commissioner.
    Upon completion of service of the distinguished educator, the school district and school shall prepare and submit to the Commissioner a written report describing how they shall continue, sustain and extend the continuous improvement structures and systems that have been implemented to reverse chronic failure and to support improved academic achievement and improved graduation outcomes.
    Revised Rural Area Flexibility Analysis
    Since publication of a Notice of Proposed Rule Making in the State Register on October 27, 2010, the proposed rule has been revised as set forth in the Revised Regulatory Impact Statement submitted herewith.
    The proposed rule, as revised, requires that the following section of the previously published Rural Area Flexibility Analysis be revised to read as follows:
    REPORTING, RECORDKEEPING AND OTHER COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS; AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES:
    The proposed rule is necessary to implement Education Law sections 211-b and 211-c [as added by Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2007] and imposes no compliance requirements on entities in rural areas beyond those inherent in the statute.
    The school district to which a distinguished educator is appointed shall cooperate fully with an appointed distinguished educator.
    The reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by the appointed distinguished educators while performing their official duties shall be paid by the school district pursuant to section 100.16 of the Commissioner's Regulations.
    Consistent with and to the extent permitted under any applicable provisions of law, existing collective bargaining agreements, and contracts:
    (1) a school district employee appointed as a distinguished educator shall be ensured that at the end of his/her term of services as a distinguished educator, he/she will be returned to the previously held position or a position comparable to the one he/she had at the beginning of his/her leave, whether or not a reduction in work force is required to comply with this requirement;
    (2) upon return to service with his/her employer, the employee's term of service as a distinguished educator shall count as service time for purposes of scheduled, routine or general compensation enhancements, retirement eligibility, retirement benefit calculation and seniority.
    The school district shall ensure that a distinguished educator, upon appointment, shall be subject to the fingerprint and criminal history check requirements contained in law.
    Appointed distinguished educators shall review or provide assistance in the development and implementation of any district improvement plan and/or any corrective action, restructuring, or comprehensive plan of any school within the district to which the distinguished educator is assigned. Such distinguished educator shall either endorse without change or make recommendations for modifications to any such plan to the school district and the Commissioner.
    Upon receipt of any recommendations from the distinguished educator for modification of a district improvement plan and/or any corrective action, restructuring, or comprehensive plan, the school district shall either modify the plans accordingly or provide a written explanation to the Commissioner of its reasons for not adopting such recommendations. The Commissioner shall direct the district to modify the plans as recommended by the distinguished educator unless the Commissioner finds that the written explanation provided by the district has compelling merit.
    Within 45 days of appointment to the district, a distinguished educator shall develop an action plan outlining his/her goals and objectives for the district for the ensuing school year and shall submit such action plan to the Commissioner or Commissioner's designee for approval. Upon approval, the distinguished educator shall provide a copy of the action plan to the school district. The distinguished educator shall also submit quarterly reports to the Commissioner in a form prescribed by the Commissioner.
    Upon completion of service of the distinguished educator, the school district and school shall prepare and submit to the Commissioner a written report describing how they shall continue, sustain and extend the continuous improvement structures and systems that have been implemented to reverse chronic failure and to support improved academic achievement and improved graduation outcomes.
    Revised Job Impact Statement
    Since publication of a Notice of Proposed Rule Making in the State Register on October 27, 2010, the proposed rule has been revised as set forth in the Revised Regulatory Impact Statement submitted herewith. The proposed rule, as revised, is necessary to implement Education Law sections 211-b and 211-c by establishing selection criteria for the appointment of Distinguished Educators. The proposed revised rule will not have a substantial adverse impact on job or employment opportunities. Because it is evident from the nature and purpose of the proposed revised rule that it will have no impact on jobs or employment opportunities, no further measures were needed to ascertain that fact and none were taken. Accordingly, a job impact statement is not required and one has not been prepared.
    Assessment of Public Comment
    The agency received no public comment.

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