N.Y. Education Law § 316: Teacher resource and computer training centers

§ 316. Teacher resource and computer training centers. 1. As used in

this section, unless another meaning clearly appears from the context:

a. "Teacher resource and computer training center" means any site

operated by a school district, board of cooperative educational services

or a consortium of school districts and/or boards of cooperative

educational services which is specifically established pursuant to this

section to provide professional support services to teachers within the

state in order to:

(1) assist teachers, diagnose learning needs, experiment with the use

of multiple instructional approaches, assess student outcomes, assess

staff development needs and plans, and train other school personnel in

effective pedagogical approaches;

(2) provide demonstration and training sites where teachers are

trained, specifically in the use of computers as teaching aids; the

criteria for school acquisition and use of computer equipment and

software; and the evaluation of computer-related materials;

(3) develop and produce curricula and curricular materials designed to

meet the educational needs of students being served through application

of educational research or new or improved methods, practices, and

techniques;

(4) provide training to improve the skills of teachers in order to

enable such teachers to meet the special educational needs of the pupils

they serve, and to familiarize such teachers with developments in

curriculum formulation and educational research, including the manner in

which the research can be used to improve teaching skills;

(5) provide a location where teachers may share resources, ideas,

methods and approaches directly related to classroom instruction and

become familiar with current teaching materials and products for use in

their classrooms; and

(6) retrain teachers and other educational personnel to become better

qualified to teach in subject areas necessary to prepare students for

the developing high technology era, in the disciplines of mathematics,

science and computer technology.

b. "Site" for the purposes of this section shall mean the location or

locations where the curriculum development and training activities of

the teacher resource and computer training center take place.

2. In order to provide the school districts and teachers of the state

with an opportunity to develop systematic, ongoing in-service training

programs, assure the dissemination and application of educational

research developments to classroom instruction and develop new curricula

and curricular materials specifically designed to meet the educational

needs of the students served, the commissioner shall, within available

state appropriations and subject to the procedures established in this

section, provide funds to school districts and boards of cooperative

educational services to plan, establish and operate teacher resource and

computer training centers. Any school district or board of cooperative

educational services requesting such funds shall make application

therefor at such time, in such manner, and containing or accompanied by

such information as the commissioner may through this section or by

regulation require. Applications shall be made within the following

categories:

(i) a school district with a teacher population of one thousand or

more;

(ii) a school district with a teacher population of five hundred or

more but less than one thousand;

(iii) a school district with a teacher population of less than five

hundred;

(iv) a board of cooperative educational services; or

(v) a consortium of two or more school districts and/or boards of

cooperative educational services.

3. Each such application shall be reviewed by the state professional

standards and practices board for teaching. The board shall in each

instance recommend to the commissioner action, as appropriate, including

specific reasons when it is negative. Any school district, board of

cooperative educational services or consortium whose original

application is rejected may resubmit a revised application for further

review. Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, an

application to continue a teacher resource center which was in operation

prior to the nineteen hundred eighty-four--nineteen hundred eighty-five

school year shall be deemed automatically approved.

4. The commissioner shall establish criteria and standards by which

applications shall be evaluated which shall include provisions for

furnishing technical assistance and information provided by the

department through the facilities of the proposed teacher resource

center, provided, however, that such criteria and standards shall be

consistent with federal regulations which were applicable to teacher

resource centers in operation during the nineteen hundred eighty-two

calendar year.

5. Any school district, board of cooperative educational services or

consortium having an application approved under this section may

collaborate, consult and contract with an approved institution of higher

education in New York state to carry out activities under or provide

technical assistance in connection with such application. Each

application shall be reviewed by the professional practices subcommittee

of the state professional standards and practices board for teaching.

6. Each teacher resource and computer training center shall be

operated by a board, the majority of which shall be composed of

elementary and secondary school teachers representative of teachers

served by the teacher resource and computer training center. Teacher

members shall be designated by the collective bargaining agent of the

teachers served by the teacher resource and computer training center.

Such board shall also include individuals designated by the school board

or board of cooperative educational services served by such center and

at least one representative designated by the institutions of higher

education located in the area served by such center. Such board shall

also include at least one parent of an elementary or secondary school

pupil and at least one representative of a business or industry that

uses, produces or is involved with computer equipment and software.

7. The powers and duties of each teacher resource and computer

training center board shall include policy formulation, the employment

of staff or consultants, budget control and expenditure of funds to

accomplish the purposes of this section, recommendations for

subcontracting to secure technical and other kinds of assistance, and

any other appropriate managerial or supervisory activities not otherwise

prohibited by state or local law or regulations of the commissioner.

7-a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a teacher resource

and computer training center board may collaborate, consult and contract

with a school district or board of cooperative educational services

which is included in the application for the establishment of such

teacher resource and computer training center for the assignment of

teachers employed by such school district or board of cooperative

educational services; provided, however, in such case such teacher shall

continue to accrue all employment rights and benefits, including

seniority, with the employing school district or board of cooperative

educational services and the teacher resource and computer training

center board shall reimburse such school district or board of

cooperative educational services for the services of such teacher.

8. Funds provided each school year to school districts and boards of

cooperative educational services by the commissioner to plan, establish

and operate teacher resource and computer training centers shall not

exceed two million dollars per center, except that for the city school

district for the city of New York such center shall not exceed sixteen

million eight hundred thousand dollars and provided further that each

approved center shall receive not less than twenty thousand dollars. In

any year in which there is a statewide increase in funding for teacher

resource and computer training centers, such increase shall be

distributed proportionately among existing centers that have

satisfactorily fulfilled the requirements of such centers' current

grant. A portion of the increase shall be made available to new

applicants to establish new teacher centers, and to current teacher

centers to develop and implement regional and statewide teacher center

activities.

9. Evaluation and annual reports. a. Teacher resource and computer

training centers shall provide data annually as prescribed by the

commissioner.

b. The commissioner shall prepare and submit to the governor, the

temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly, not

later than May first, nineteen hundred ninety-nine and by the first day

of January in each year thereafter, a report detailing the financial and

programmatic information for teacher resource and computer training

centers. Such report shall, at a minimum, set forth with respect to the

preceding school year: cost information for individual services provided

by such centers; numbers of teachers and other staff served, summarized

in the aggregate, by elementary and secondary school levels, and by home

school district; lists of programs and courses offered, including

identification of those with credit toward college graduate degrees and

those which relate to specific academic areas and higher learning

standards; and aggregate expenditure data for the following categories:

administration, staff development services, rent and other facilities

costs, and other services; and such other information as deemed

appropriate by the commissioner to assist the commissioner in

identifying cost-effective services and programs which may be

successfully replicated in other centers, school districts and boards of

cooperative educational services (BOCES). The format for the report

shall be developed by the commissioner in consultation with school

district officials, and teacher resource center officials, provided that

all information in such report shall be displayed on both a statewide

and individual center basis. Such report shall include changes from the

year prior to the report year for each such item for all teacher

resource and computer training centers and shall be made available to

other interested parties upon request.

c. Funds provided under the teacher resource and computer training

centers program may be used to contract with educational organizations

for the purpose of conducting a statewide program evaluation. The

professional practices subcommittee of the professional standards and

practices board shall review and approve grant applications submitted

for this purpose.