NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A10427A
SPONSOR: Barron
 
TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the education law, in relation to
admission to the specialized high schools in the city of New York
 
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to allow special high schools in cities with
a population of one million or more to establish standards for admission
to designated specialized high schools
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
At present, there are nine specialized high schools in New York City,
one of which - Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and
Performing Arts - focuses on the arts. The other eight schools are The
Bronx High School of Science, The Brooklyn Latin School, Brooklyn Tech-
nical High School, High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering
at the City College of New York, High School of American Studies at
Lehman College, Queens High School for the Sciences at York College,
Staten Island Technical High School, and Stuyvesant High School.
Section 2590-h of the Education Law requires that admission to the
specialized high schools, other than LaGuardia High School, be based on
the results of a competitive, objective and scholastic achievement test.
This test is known as the Specialized High School Admissions Test
(SHSAT).
Section one of this bill would amend section 2590-h of the Education Law
to provide that admission to the specialized high schools in New York
City be conducted based on a different system, which would be set forth
in new section 2590-h-1 of the Education Law.
New section 2590-h-1 of the Education Law, as added by section three of
this bill, would, over a period of three years, phase out the use of the
achievement test and instead offer admission to students attending
public middle schools in New York City who rank both in the top of their
school's eighth grade and in the top quarter of eighth grade public
school students Citywide.
For the admission system conducted during the 2018-19 school year, seats
would be reserved in the specialized high schools for students in the
top three percent of their eighth grade. For the admission system
conducted during the 2019-20 school year, seats would be reserved in the
specialized high schools for students in the top five percent of their
eighth grade. For the admission system conducted during the 2020-21
school year, and subsequent school years, seats would be reserved in the
specialized high schools for students in the top five to seven percent
of their eighth grade. The remaining seats in the specialized high
schools in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 school years would be filled by
students who take the SHSAT and who score at or above the cut-off score
for such remaining seats. In the 2020-21 school year, and in subsequent
school years, remaining seats in the specialized schools after reserving
seats for students in the top five to seven percent of their eighth
grade would be filled by a random selection process among eighth grade
students from both public and private schools who have a grade point
average of at least 3.7.
Determination of a public school student's ranking in his or her eighth
grade would be made based on a set of criteria determined by the Chan-
cellor of the New York City Department of Education. Such criteria would
include academic course grades and standardized test scores and could
include other measures as well. Students would be assigned a composite
score based on such criteria. Based on students' school preferences,
students would be arranged in rank order of their composite scores and
would be offered admission to the specialized high schools in such
order.
Section two would make the same amendment as the amendment made by
section one of this bill, as described above. Section two would take
effect when section 2590-h of the Education Law, as amended by chapter
345 of the laws of 2009, expires and reverts to section 2590-h of the
Education Law, as amended by chapter 720 of the laws of 2006.
Section four would provide that this bill takes effect immediately.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
This legislation will create a new admissions system for the City's
specialized high schools. This system will offer seats in the special-
ized high schools to public school students who are at the top of their
school's eighth grade and who also rank within the top quarter of
eighth-grade public school students Citywide, based upon multiple meas-
ures of student achievement, including grades in core academic courses
and standardized test scores during seventh grade. This new admissions
system will be phased in over three years: offers during the first year
will be made to students who are in the top three percent of their
school's eighth grade, during the second year, to students who are in
the top five percent, and during the third year and subsequent years, to
students who are in the top five to seven percent, the specific percent-
age to be selected to allow seats to remain open for admission by random
selection, as further described below.
It is currently estimated that this admissions system will account for
approximately 25-30 percent of the offers to the specialized high
schools during the first year, and an increasing percentage of offers
thereafter. During the first two years, the remaining seats at each of
the specialized high schools will be offered to eighth and ninth grade
students who take the SHSAT and score above or at the cut-off score for
openings that remain in the school for which they have taken the exam-
ination. During the third year and subsequent years, the remaining seats
at each of the specialized high schools will be offered based on random
selection of students who apply and have a minimum grade point average
of 3.7 based on seventh grade performance.
This new admissions policy is expected to increase diversity in the
eight specialized high schools that are currently required to rely on
the SHSAT as the sole criterion for admission. Analysis of data about
the demographics of eighth graders in New York City's public schools
indicates that use of this new admissions system will result in student
bodies at the specialized high schools that more closely resemble the
demographics of the City's public school population. Our data analysis
suggests that as a result of this new system, the specialized high
schools will have:
*increased geographic representation of public middle schools across the
City because the number of middle schools whose students receive offers
to specialized high schools is estimated to increase by over 250
schools; and
*greater racial, ethnic and gender diversity because the percentage of
offers of admission made to black and Hispanic students is expected to
increase from nine percent of total offers to as much as 45 percent of
total offers, and the percentage of offers of admission made to female
students is also expected to increase.
The legislation also permits the Discovery Program to take place during
the school year as well as during the summer, to allow more students to
be able to participate in such program. The Discovery Program could be
utilized for admission to the specialized high schools for the 2019-20
and 2020-21 school years, the two years in which the SHSAT would contin-
ue to be administered.
In addition to promoting more diverse student bodies at the specialized
high schools, this legislation shifts the emphasis from reliance on one
exam to assessing multiple educational indicators of success, such as
student work and achievement in core academic subjects. It thereby
rewards students for their sustained diligence and multiple academic
accomplishments, rather than their performance on a single test.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately, provided that the amendments to
paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 2590-h of the education law
made by section one of this act shall be subject to the expiration and
reversion of such section pursuant to subdivision 12 of section 17 of
chapter 345 of the laws of 2009, as amended, when upon such date the
provisions of section two of this act shall take effect.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10427--A
IN ASSEMBLY
April 20, 2018
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BARRON, BLAKE, DAVILA, MONTESANO, PERRY, SIMON,
STECK, PICHARDO, COOK, HOOPER, TAYLOR, RIVERA, PRETLOW, DE LA ROSA,
TITUS, DICKENS, WRIGHT, VANEL, BICHOTTE, JOYNER, SOLAGES, ARROYO,
WOERNER, THIELE, FERNANDEZ, ERRIGO, ESPINAL, WEPRIN, MOSLEY, GOTTFRIED
-- read once and referred to the Committee on Education -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to admission to the
specialized high schools in the city of New York
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 2590-h of the
2 education law, as amended by chapter 345 of the laws of 2009, is amended
3 to read as follows:
4 (b) all specialized [senior] high schools. The [special] specialized
5 high schools shall include the [present] schools known as[:]
6 The Bronx High School of Science, Stuyvesant High School, Brooklyn
7 Technical High School, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music [and
8 the Arts in the borough of Manhattan] & Art and Performing Arts, and
9 such [further] additional schools [which the city board may designate]
10 as may be designated by the chancellor from time to time. The [special]
11 specialized high schools shall be permitted to maintain a discovery
12 program in accordance with the law in effect on the date preceding the
13 effective date of this section; provided that the requirement that a
14 student who is considered for the discovery program attend and pass a
15 preparatory program administered by the specialized high school, demon-
16 strating thereby his or her ability to successfully cope with the
17 specialized high school program, shall refer to a program that can take
18 place during the school year or the summer; admissions to the [special]
19 specialized high schools shall be conducted in accordance with [the law
20 in effect on the date preceding the effective date of this] section
21 twenty-five hundred ninety-h-l of this article;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00247-04-8
A. 10427--A 2
1 § 2. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 2590-h of the education
2 law, as amended by chapter 720 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read
3 as follows:
4 (b) all specialized [senior] high schools. The [special] specialized
5 high schools shall include the [present] schools known as[:]
6 The Bronx High School of Science, Stuyvesant High School, Brooklyn
7 Technical High School, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music [and
8 the Arts in the borough of Manhattan] & Art and Performing Arts, and
9 such [further] additional schools [which the city board may designate]
10 as may be designated by the chancellor from time to time. The [special]
11 specialized high schools shall be permitted to maintain a discovery
12 program in accordance with the law in effect on the date preceding the
13 effective date of this section; provided that the requirement that a
14 student who is considered for the discovery program attend and pass a
15 preparatory program administered by the specialized high school, demon-
16 strating thereby his or her ability to successfully cope with the
17 specialized high school program, shall refer to a program that can take
18 place during the school year or the summer; admissions to the [special]
19 specialized high schools shall be conducted in accordance with [the law
20 in effect on the date preceding the effective date of this] section
21 twenty-five hundred ninety-h-1 of this article;
22 § 3. The education law is amended by adding a new section 2590-h-1 to
23 read as follows:
24 § 2590-h-1. Admissions to the specialized high schools. 1. Admissions
25 to the specialized high schools shall be conducted in accordance with
26 this section, provided that students may also be admitted to the
27 specialized high schools for the two thousand nineteen--two thousand
28 twenty and the two thousand twenty--two thousand twenty-one school years
29 pursuant to the discovery program as set forth in section twenty-five
30 hundred ninety-h of this article.
31 2. For the admissions process conducted during the two thousand eigh-
32 teen--two thousand nineteen school year to determine admissions to the
33 specialized high schools for the two thousand nineteen--two thousand
34 twenty school year, students who meet the criteria set forth in this
35 subdivision shall be offered admission to the specialized high schools
36 in the following order:
37 (a) students attending public schools located in the city of New York
38 who are in the top three percent of their eighth grade class, as calcu-
39 lated based on multiple measures of student achievement pursuant to
40 subdivision five of this section, and who achieve a composite score
41 above or at the cut-off composite score for the school such students
42 have committed themselves to attend, pursuant to subdivision five of
43 this section, provided that such students shall also rank in the top
44 quarter of public school students in the eighth grade citywide based on
45 such multiple measures of student achievement, and provided further that
46 openings shall be reserved for such students at each specialized high
47 school as set forth in subdivision seven of this section;
48 (b) students in the city of New York who take a competitive, objective
49 and scholastic achievement examination in the eighth grade and achieve a
50 score above or at the cut-off score for the openings that remain in the
51 school for which such students have taken the examination; and
52 (c) students in the city of New York who take a competitive, objective
53 and scholastic examination in the ninth grade and achieve a score above
54 or at the cut-off score for the openings that remain in the school for
55 which such students have taken the examination.
A. 10427--A 3
1 3. For the admissions process conducted during the two thousand nine-
2 teen--two thousand twenty school year to determine admissions to the
3 specialized high schools for the two thousand twenty--two thousand twen-
4 ty-one school year, students who meet the criteria set forth in this
5 subdivision shall be offered admission to the specialized high schools
6 in the following order:
7 (a) students attending public schools located in the city of New York
8 who are in the top five percent of their eighth grade class, as calcu-
9 lated based on multiple measures of student achievement pursuant to
10 subdivision five of this section, and who achieve a composite score
11 above or at the cut-off composite score for the school such students
12 have committed themselves to attend pursuant to subdivision five of this
13 section, provided that such students shall also rank in the top quarter
14 of public school students in the eighth grade citywide based on such
15 multiple measures of student achievement, and provided further that
16 openings shall be reserved for such students at each specialized high
17 school as set forth in subdivision seven of this section;
18 (b) students in the city of New York who take a competitive, objective
19 and scholastic achievement examination in the eighth grade and achieve a
20 score above or at the cut-off score for the openings that remain in the
21 school for which such students have taken the examination; and
22 (c) students in the city of New York who take a competitive, objective
23 and scholastic examination in the ninth grade and achieve a score above
24 or at the cut-off score for the openings that remain in the school for
25 which such students have taken the examination.
26 4. For the admissions process conducted during the two thousand twen-
27 ty--two thousand twenty-one school year and subsequent school years to
28 determine admissions to the specialized high schools for the two thou-
29 sand twenty-one--two thousand twenty-two school year and subsequent
30 school years, students who meet the criteria set forth in this subdivi-
31 sion shall be offered admission to the specialized high schools in the
32 following order:
33 (a) students attending public schools located in the city of New York
34 who are in the top five to seven percent of their eighth grade class,
35 such percentage to be determined to allow openings to remain for admis-
36 sion pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision and as calculated
37 based on multiple measures of student achievement, determined as set
38 forth in subdivision five of this section, and who achieve a composite
39 score above or at the cut-off composite score for the school such
40 students have committed themselves to attend, determined as set forth in
41 subdivision five of this section, provided that such students shall also
42 rank in the top quarter of public school students in the eighth grade
43 citywide based on such multiple measures of student achievement, and
44 provided further that openings shall be reserved for such students at
45 each specialized high school as set forth in subdivision seven of this
46 section; and
47 (b) students in the city of New York who have a minimum grade point
48 average of 3.7, provided such students shall be admitted by a random
49 selection process for the openings that remain in each school.
50 5. The chancellor shall determine the multiple measures of student
51 achievement as referenced in this section, and the weight of each such
52 measure, provided that such measures shall include academic course
53 grades and standardized test scores. A description of such measures and
54 the weight accorded to each shall be made publicly available, including
55 on the website of the city school district. A student who is evaluated
56 based on such measures for the purposes of this subdivision shall be
A. 10427--A 4
1 assigned a composite score based on such weighted measures. Offers of
2 admission to the specialized high schools pursuant to paragraph (a) of
3 subdivisions two through four of this section shall be determined by
4 arranging the composite scores of all students who are assigned such
5 scores and who then commit themselves to attend a particular specialized
6 high school in descending order from the highest score and counting down
7 to the cut-off composite score, which shall be the composite score of
8 the last student who receives an offer of admission to such school based
9 on the number of openings available in such school pursuant to such
10 paragraph.
11 6. Offers of admission to the specialized high schools pursuant to
12 paragraphs (b) and (c) of subdivisions two and three of this section
13 shall be determined by arranging the scores of all the candidates who
14 took the competitive, objective and scholastic examination and who then
15 commit themselves to attend a particular specialized high school in
16 descending order from the highest score and counting down to the cut-off
17 score, which shall be the score of the last candidate who receives an
18 offer of admission to such school based on the number of openings avail-
19 able in such school.
20 7. The number of openings reserved at each specialized high school for
21 students who meet the criteria set forth in paragraph (a) of subdivi-
22 sions two through four of this section shall be determined by multiply-
23 ing: (a) the total number of ninth grade available openings at such
24 school; by (b) the number of students who meet the criteria set forth in
25 paragraph (a) of subdivisions two through four of this section divided
26 by the aggregate number of ninth grade available openings in all the
27 specialized high schools.
28 8. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, admission to the
29 Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts,
30 and other schools of the arts that may be established pursuant to
31 section twenty-five hundred ninety-h of this article, shall be deter-
32 mined by a student's demonstrated abilities in music or the arts as well
33 as such student's scholastic achievement.
34 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
35 the amendments to paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 2590-h of
36 the education law made by section one of this act shall be subject to
37 the expiration and reversion of such section pursuant to subdivision 12
38 of section 17 of chapter 345 of the laws of 2009, as amended when upon
39 such date the provisions of section two of this act shall take effect.