Merit Institute Merit

The New York Merit-Based Education & Workforce Reform Act (NY-MEWRA)

New York state companion to MEWRA. Because New York does not operate an ESA or tax-credit scholarship, this Act operates through the New York Charter Schools Act (N.Y. Educ. Law Art. 56), early-college and P-TECH pathways, and the State Workforce Investment Board.

THE NEW YORK MERIT-BASED EDUCATION & WORKFORCE REFORM ACT (NY-MEWRA)

Vehicle: State passage. New York State Legislature, regular session. Primary referral to Assembly / Senate Education.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE

This Act may be cited as the “New York Merit-Based Education & Workforce Reform Act (NY-MEWRA).”

SECTION 2. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT

The Legislature finds that the New York Charter Schools Act is codified at N.Y. Educ. Law Art. 56; that New York operates the Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) program and Smart Scholars Early College High School programs; that the State Education Department publishes School Report Cards; that the State Workforce Investment Board operates under N.Y. Lab. Law Art. 23-A; and that New York does not operate an ESA or tax-credit scholarship program. This Act extends these frameworks consistent with New York’s public-school framework.

TITLE I — DEFINITIONS & COORDINATION WITH NEW YORK LAW

Sec. 101. Definitions

  1. (a) “New York outcome-based school” means a public charter school authorized under Title II by the New York Outcome-Based School Authorizer (“NY-OBSA”) under N.Y. Educ. Law Art. 56.
  2. (b) “SWIB” means the State Workforce Investment Board.
  3. (c) “Early-college pathway” means a P-TECH or Smart Scholars program.

Sec. 102. Coordination with Existing New York Law

  1. (a) Consistent with:
  • N.Y. Educ. Law Art. 56 (Charter Schools Act).
  • N.Y. Lab. Law Art. 23-A (SWIB).

TITLE II — NEW YORK OUTCOME-BASED SCHOOL AUTHORIZER

Sec. 201. Establishment of NY-OBSA

  1. (a) The Board of Regents, in coordination with the SUNY Charter Schools Institute and the NYC Department of Education, shall designate a New York Outcome-Based School Authorizer (“NY-OBSA”) operating under N.Y. Educ. Law Art. 56.
  2. (b) NY-OBSA shall authorize provisional public charter schools without requiring regional-accreditor accreditation.

Sec. 202. Outcome-Based Authorization Standard

  1. (a) Authorization requires publication of outcome metrics under Sec. 401.
  2. (b) Facilities, safety, and background-check standards applicable under N.Y. Educ. Law Art. 56.
  3. (c) Four-year term, renewable on thresholds.

TITLE III — EDUCATION-FUND PORTABILITY (Charter & Early-College Rewire)

Sec. 301. Charter and Early-College Funding

  1. (a) A Title II-authorized school operating as a public charter under N.Y. Educ. Law Art. 56 is entitled to per-pupil State Aid on the same terms as other public charters.
  2. (b) NY-OBSA schools may participate in P-TECH and Smart Scholars early-college pathways.

Sec. 302. Workforce Disbursements

  1. (a) SWIB shall ensure that within 24 months, at least 50 percent of WIOA-aligned workforce-program disbursements flow to providers publishing outcome data in the NY-OBSA Registry or Federal NLMF.

TITLE IV — PUBLISHED OUTCOME METRICS

Sec. 401. New York Outcome-Metrics Registry

  1. (a) NY-OBSA shall publish completion rate; one- and three-year earnings medians; licensure/NYRMC/FRAC attainment.
  2. (b) Data sources: the New York State P-20 Longitudinal Data System and Department of Labor wage records.

Sec. 402. Coordination with the Federal NLMF

  1. (a) Crosswalked to the Federal NLMF.
  2. (b) Nothing authorizes disclosure of PII except as permitted under N.Y. Pub. Off. Law Art. 6 (FOIL) and FERPA.

TITLE V — ENFORCEMENT & REMEDIES

Sec. 501. Non-Compliant Provider Remedies

  1. (a) Suspension of NY-OBSA authorization; Registry suspension; administrative penalty up to $500,000 per willful violation.
  2. (b) No private right of action.

TITLE VI — IMPLEMENTATION & GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 601. Severability

If any provision is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect the remainder.

Sec. 602. Effective Date

This Act shall take effect on the July 1 following enactment.

Canonical federal version: MEWRA. Other New York bills: NY-ACSA, NY-GT&P, NY-AI-Workforce.