The law, the money, and the timelines.

IDEA, the CSE process and NY timelines

IDEA, 20 U.S.C. §1400 et seq. Part C covers birth–age 2; Part B covers ages 3–21. FAPE is special education and related services designed to meet the child's unique needs. LRE means educating with non-disabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate — removal only when education in regular classes with supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.

Sources: ed.gov IDEA · 8 NYCRR §200.4 (NYSED)

Discipline of students with disabilities — 8 NYCRR Part 201

• The 10-school-day rule. A superintendent may place a student with a disability in an interim alternative educational setting for up to 10 consecutive school days. A disciplinary change of placement occurs when removal exceeds 10 consecutive school days, or a series of removals forms a pattern totalling more than 10 school days in a year.
• Manifestation determination review (§201.4). Must be made immediately if possible, and in no case later than 10 school days after the decision to change placement. Participants: a district representative knowledgeable about the student, the parent, and relevant CSE members.
• The two-prong standard. Was the conduct (1) caused by, or did it have a direct and substantial relationship to, the disability; or (2) the direct result of the district's failure to implement the IEP? If yes to either: conduct an FBA and implement a BIP, and — absent special circumstances — return the student to the placement they were removed from unless the parent and district agree otherwise. A failure-to-implement finding obliges the district to take immediate steps to remedy the deficiency.
• The 45-school-day exception. Regardless of manifestation, a student may be placed in an IAES for up to 45 school days for weapons, illegal drugs or controlled substances, or infliction of serious bodily injury at school or a school function.

Sources: §201.4 · §201.7

Section 504 and ADA Title II

• 29 U.S.C. §794; regulations at 34 C.F.R. Part 104.
• Three-prong definition of disability: (1) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity; (2) a record of such impairment; (3) being regarded as having such an impairment.
• Major life activities include caring for oneself, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, plus major bodily functions.
• FAPE under 504 = regular or special education and related aids and services designed to meet the individual needs of students with disabilities as adequately as the needs of non-disabled students are met.
• Evaluation and placement decisions are made by a group of knowledgeable persons drawing on varied sources — aptitude and achievement tests, teacher recommendations, physical condition, social and cultural background, adaptive behavior.
• Procedural safeguards: notice, opportunity to review records, an impartial due process hearing with parent participation and counsel, and a review procedure.
• 504 vs. IDEA: under IDEA, FAPE requires an IEP. Under 504, FAPE turns on following the procedures for setting, evaluation, placement and safeguards. Implementing an IDEA IEP satisfies the 504 FAPE standard.
• unverified Whether a written 504 plan is required by the regulation. The regulation requires a documented placement decision by a knowledgeable group; the written-plan requirement is common practice, not clearly a regulatory mandate. Don't assert it flatly.

Source: OCR Parent & Educator Resource Guide to Section 504

FERPA — 20 U.S.C. §1232g; 34 C.F.R. Part 99

• Rights belong to parents and transfer to the eligible student at age 18 or upon enrolling in a postsecondary institution, whichever comes first.
• Education records are records directly related to a student and maintained by the institution. Excluded: sole-possession records, law enforcement unit records, treatment records.
• Directory information may be disclosed without consent if designated and noticed; families may opt out. It may not include a Social Security number, or a student ID used alone for access.
• Exceptions to consent: disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests, and a health or safety emergency where the information is necessary to protect the student or others.
• Inspection: comply within a reasonable time, not more than 45 days.
• Amendment: families may request amendment of inaccurate or misleading records; if denied, the school must offer a hearing.
• Annual notification of rights is required.

Source: studentprivacy.ed.gov

Title I, Part A and ESSA accountability

• Allocated via four statutory formulas driven primarily by federal census poverty data and state per-pupil costs. NY districts apply through the NYSED Consolidated Application for ESSA-Funded Programs.
• Schoolwide Program is available when low-income students are at least 40% of enrollment, and serves all students. Targeted Assistance serves only children failing or at risk of failing state standards.
• A comprehensive needs assessment and documented stakeholder consultation are required.
• Parent and family engagement: a written policy developed in consultation with parents, an annual Title I meeting, and a school-parent compact. Districts with allocations over $500,000 must reserve at least 1% for family engagement, with 90% distributed to schools and parents meaningfully involved in deciding its use.
• Supplement not supplant: the district must show its state and local funding methodology is Title I neutral.

ESSA designations in NY: Recognition · Local Support · Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) · Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI) · Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI).

Determinations apply to All Students and to each accountability subgroup — racial and ethnic groups, economically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities, and English language learners.

Sources: NYSED Title I Fact Sheet · NYSED ESSA Accountability

Title IX — 20 U.S.C. §1681; 34 C.F.R. Part 106

No person shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination under any education program receiving federal financial assistance. Covers sex-based harassment, sexual violence, pregnancy discrimination, equal athletic opportunity, discriminatory dress-code enforcement, and retaliation.

Source: OCR Dear Colleague Letter, Feb 4, 2025

McKinney-Vento — students in temporary housing

Federal: McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, Subtitle VII-B, reauthorized by Title IX Part A of ESSA. NY: Education Law §3209 and 8 NYCRR §100.2(x).

• Definition: lacking a “fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence” — doubled up due to loss of housing or economic hardship; shelters; motels; places not designed for sleeping; cars, parks, abandoned buildings, bus or train stations; migratory children in similar circumstances.
• School selection: the school of origin (where enrolled when last permanently housed or most recently attended, including the designated receiving school at the next grade level) or the school serving the area of current residence. The best-interest determination is made with the parent, and it comes first — transportation feasibility is not a precondition.
• Immediate enrollment without school records, immunization records, proof of residency or other documents. The enrolling school requests records from the prior district within 5 days.
• Transportation to the school of origin up to 50 miles each way, continuing for the remainder of the school year after permanent housing is obtained, plus one additional year if that year is the student's terminal year (8th or 12th grade). The district pays.
• Each district designates a liaison; disputes require written explanation, immediate enrollment and transport to the desired school pending resolution, and liaison assistance with a §310 appeal to the Commissioner.
• Unaccompanied youth — not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian, including runaway and abandoned youth — may enroll without parental consent or guardianship papers, with no age limit.

Source: NYSED McKinney-Vento

DASA — the Dignity for All Students Act

NY Education Law Article 2. This is the statute that drives the cyberbullying performance task in the official Part One sample set — know it operationally, not just by name.

§11 — definitions

• Harassment / bullying = the creation of a hostile environment by conduct or by threats, intimidation or abuse, including cyberbullying.
• Protected characteristics: race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender (including gender identity and expression), or sex. NYSED guidance notes this includes traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture and protective hairstyles.
• Cyberbullying = harassment or bullying through any form of electronic communication (§11(8)).
• School function = a school-sponsored extra-curricular event or activity.

§13 — the operational core

Training: all employees receive training on awareness, identifying social patterns, prevention and response, and effects on students (CR 100.2). Certification applicants complete at least six clock hours of DASA training.

unverified Article 2 spans §§10–18. Only §11 and §13 were verified verbatim here; check the others individually before relying on section numbers.

Sources: Ed. Law §11 · §13 · NYSED DASA Information Guide

APPR — Education Law §3012-d (and the new §3012-e)

• Covers classroom teachers and building principals in districts and BOCES.
• Two categories: (1) Student Performance — a required SLO, with an optional second measure; (2) Teacher Observations / Principal School Visits using a state-approved rubric.
• Rating categories (HEDI): Highly Effective, Effective, Developing, Ineffective. The composite rating comes from a matrix combining the two category ratings.
• Observers: a principal or other trained administrator, plus an impartial independent trained evaluator. Peer observation by an Effective or Highly Effective teacher is optional.
• Grades 3–8 ELA and math state assessments shall not be required to be utilized in any manner in evaluations.
• Consequences: a student may not be instructed for two consecutive years by two teachers each rated Ineffective the prior year (waivable). Improvement plans and expedited §3020-a attach to consecutive Ineffective ratings.

Sources: Ed. Law §3012-d · NYSED Chapter 143 guidance

Education Law §3020-a — tenured teacher discipline

Source: Ed. Law §3020-a

Education Law §3214 — student suspension and due process

The short-term process is Goss v. Lopez codified. Note that suspension generally stands pending the hearing, and notice must be in writing.

Source: Ed. Law §3214

Codes of Conduct and School Safety Plans — Project SAVE

Sources: Ed. Law §2801 · §2801-a

Mandated reporter obligations in NY

• Citation: Social Services Law §413. School mandated reporters include teachers, guidance counselors, psychologists, social workers, school nurses and administrators, in public and private schools. Unlicensed persons functioning in a teaching role are also mandated reporters.
• Trigger: “reasonable cause to suspect” that a child has been abused or maltreated. You report suspicion, not proof. You do not investigate first.
• Report to the Statewide Central Register. Mandated reporter hotline: 1-800-635-1522.
• Delegation: where several mandated reporters share the same information, one may call on behalf of all — but one of them must call. A supervisor cannot prevent a mandated reporter from calling.
• Written report: form LDSS-2221A. unverified The commonly cited 48-hour deadline was not confirmed against a primary source here — check the form before relying on the number.
• Penalties for failure to report: a class A misdemeanor, and civil liability for damages proximately caused by the failure.
• unverified Good-faith immunity (SSL §419) and the general-public hotline number (sources conflict between 1-800-342-3720 and 1-800-343-3720).

Sources: NYSED P-12 Mandated Reporter Q&A · SSL §413

NYC governance and Chancellor's Regulations

Article 52-A = §§2590 through 2590-r. Under §2590-h the Chancellor is the superintendent and chief executive officer of the city school district — controlling specialized high schools, special education and city-wide services; establishing and discontinuing schools; setting standards and curricula; appointing community superintendents and principals; and intervening in underperforming schools. Under §2590-e, Community District Education Councils have a role in the community superintendent's employment and submit the superintendent's annual performance evaluation to the Chancellor.

School finance

Internal controls, audits and the Roslyn lesson

This is where Competency 0003's fiscal items actually live — not in formulas, but in whether you know how money gets stolen and what stops it.

Comptroller Hevesi's 5-Point School Accountability Plan, the response: (1) six hours of training for board members on financial oversight; (2) establish an internal audit function; (3) create an audit committee; (4) mandate a competitive RFP for audit firms at least every five years; (5) improve annual external audits by requiring direct School Board involvement.

Court cases worth knowing

Certification — what has changed

Sources: NYSED Administrator Certificate · Certificate Reissuance · School Leadership Examinations · SBL Experience Requirements