§ 612 — Liberty partnerships

§ 612. Liberty partnerships. 1. The commissioner shall award grants\nfor the purpose of providing support services to students enrolled in\npublic and non-public schools who are identified as having a high risk\nof dropping out of school. Such awards shall be made on a competitive\nbasis to degree-granting institutions of higher education or consortia\nof degree-granting higher education institutions in cooperation with\nschool districts and not-for-profit community-based organizations. In\naddition, in areas of the state where no degree-granting institution or\nconsortium of degree-granting institutions of higher education can\nprovide appropriate services to students, the commissioner may award\ngrants to not-for-profit community-based organizations in cooperation\nwith school districts.\n a. All grant applications shall contain the following program\nelements:\n (1) a program for identifying students who are at-risk of dropping out\nas measured by academic performance, attendance, discipline problems,\nand other factors affecting school performance including but not limited\nto teenage pregnancy or parenting, residence in a homeless shelter or\ntemporary living arrangement, substance abuse, child abuse or neglect,\nor limited English proficiency;\n (2) a program for encouraging the use of volunteers and facilitating\nparent involvement where possible and involvement of current or former\nliberty scholarship recipients as peer or mentor counselors in programs;\nand\n (3) a program to provide for continuity of services throughout a\nstudent's progression through secondary school.\n b. In awarding such grants, the commissioner shall give priority to\napplications that:\n (1) provide services to school districts receiving an apportionment\nunder subdivision twenty-five of section thirty-six hundred two of this\nchapter;\n (2) provide services to schools identified by the commissioner as in\nneed of assistance pursuant to the comprehensive assessment report;\n (3) provide services to rural schools with students at risk;\n (4) replicate model programs of demonstrated effectiveness, including\nmodels that provide for small group partnerships with low student-staff\nratios. The commissioner shall identify model programs with proven\neffectiveness and shall make such models available to grant applicants;\n (5) demonstrate a high level of institutional commitment to programs\nin fields relevant to counseling and mentoring, including but not\nlimited to education, social work, psychology and sociology and the\nextent to which such institution shall involve faculty members and\ngraduate/professional students from such degree programs;\n (6) the need for such services in the area the institution proposes to\nserve; and\n (7) the degree to which the institution proposes to cooperate with\nschool districts and not-for-profit community based organizations to\nprovide services and insure continuity of such services until such\nstudents graduate from high school or receive a high school equivalency\ndiploma.\n c. Services for non-public school students shall be provided at sites\nother than sectarian non-public schools.\n 2. Services. Funds available under this section shall be used for\ncompensatory and support services to students who are identified as\nbeing at risk of dropping out of school. Services to be provided under\nthis section may include skills assessment, tutoring, academic and\npersonal counseling, family counseling and home visits, staff\ndevelopment activities for personnel with direct responsibility for such\nstudents and mentoring programs.\n 3. Allowable costs. Allowable costs under this program shall include,\nbut not be limited to: salaries of program personnel, including graduate\nstudent stipends; transportation costs for students and program\npersonnel; instructional materials; reimbursement to school districts\nfor release time granted to employees while participating in the\nplanning and development of activities funded pursuant to this section;\ntraining of program personnel; costs related directly to program\nprovisions, including summer and weekend activities; and administrative\ncosts directly attributable to the program.\n 4. a. For school years commencing in nineteen hundred eighty-nine--\nninety and thereafter, the amount that shall be made available for\nfunding liberty partnership grants shall be equal to four percent of the\nbase year enrollment of children in public and non-public schools in New\nYork state in grades seven through twelve, as computed in accordance\nwith regulations of the commissioner, multiplied by seven hundred fifty\ndollars, provided, however, that notwithstanding the foregoing, the\namount that shall be made available for funding liberty partnership\ngrants for the nineteen hundred eighty-nine--ninety, nineteen hundred\nninety--ninety-one and nineteen hundred ninety-one--ninety-two school\nyears shall be twenty-five percent, fifty percent, and seventy-five\npercent, respectively, of the amount to be provided pursuant to this\nsubdivision.\n b. The grant recipients shall provide students at public and nonpublic\nschools the opportunity to receive compensatory and support services in\nan equitable manner consistent with the number and need of the children\nin such schools.\n 5. Regulations. The commissioner shall adopt regulations for the\nimplementation of this section.\n 6. Annual report. The commissioner shall prepare an annual report\nevaluating the programs funded under this section and under sections\nsixty-four hundred fifty-four and sixty-four hundred fifty-five of this\nchapter and making appropriate recommendations. The report shall be\nsubmitted on or before December first, to the governor, the temporary\npresident of the senate and the speaker of the assembly.\n