New York State Comptroller's report of the State's Education Department's oversight of career training programs issued

On December 21, 2020 New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli issued an audit report focusing on the New York State Education Department [SED] oversight of New York's Career and Technical Education [CTE] programs. 

CTE programs that are intended to prepare high school students for future employment. The audit, however indicates that these CTE programs are often failing to ready students for jobs that are in demand, fast-growing, or pay higher wages.

The audit report indicates that during the 2018-19 school year, only 13 percent of students were enrolled in programs that closely aligned with occupations deemed highest in demand, growth and salary. Auditors determined that 57.5 percent of student enrollments were in approved programs geared to high-salary occupations, with the remaining 42.4 percent of students enrolled in programs that align with an occupation with a typical salary below the state average.

Auditors also found SED lacks sufficient employee resources to monitor CTE programming in the state. SED focuses on review of CTE program applications and the administration of federal grants, but does not perform routine visits to program locations or monitor program-level performance. As a result, the report concludes that SED's oversight activities are insufficient for assessing how programs are performing.

DiNapoli’s auditors also found:

a. SED has not established any requirements or issued guidance to address scheduling barriers for students trying to meet educational requirements while also accommodating CTE courses.

b. The majority of locations (78 percent) visited said that attracting, hiring and retaining certified teachers with industry experience to instruct CTE programs is impeded by a prolonged certification application process, inadequate salaries, and stringent educational requirements.

c. Approved program course curriculum and articulation agreements with post-secondary programs are not developed using a centralized approach. There is no single CTE curriculum for comparable programs at different locations, and, as a result, different standards may be required depending on the school district or BOCES where the student takes the CTE program

d. SED cannot accurately determine the number of endorsed graduates each year and does not have assurance that students have met the academic and industry standards of the respective CTE program for which they received an endorsement.

State Comptroller DiNapoli recommended SED take the following actions:

a. Ensure approved and local CTE programs, as well as student enrollments, align with state workforce needs and meet the career goals of secondary school students;

b. Take the steps necessary to monitor CTE program-level performance as well as the accuracy and consistency of data submitted by school districts and BOCES;

c. Assess whether the funding provided for CTE-related activities is sufficient to support high-quality CTE programs;

d. Work with schools to ensure they are adequately promoting, supporting, and teaching CTE programs;

e. Review and update CTE regulations to ensure alignment with state law;

f. Work with schools and BOCES to standardize CTE curriculum; and

g. Provide additional guidance to schools, school districts and BOCES regarding the application of CTE program requirements to ensure there is a clear and consistent process to record and report accurate CTE-related information.

SED, however, generally disagreed with the audit’s findings. SED’s response is included in the audit.

Click here to access the full text of the Audit Report: State Education Department: Oversight of Career and Technical Education Programs in New York State Schools

 

New Regulations and Fact Sheets on New York State's Paid Sick Leave Law

Harris Beach PLLC, a law firm, reports that on December 9, 2020, the New York State Department of Law [DOL] issued proposed regulations that further implement New York's Paid Sick Leave Law.

Harris Beach notes that the regulations are still in "proposed" form and not yet final.

Employers and other members of the public have until February 7, 2021, to submit comments and feedback to the DOL regarding the proposed regulations.

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The Doctrines of Collateral Estoppel and Res Judicata bar a party relitigating the same issues involving the same defendant

Reviewing an appeal challenging Supreme Court's granting the defendant's motion to dismiss Plaintiff's complaint, the Appellate Division affirmed the lower court's ruling, explaining:

1. When a party's complaint arises out of the same set of circumstances as his prior CPLR Article 78 proceeding, the second action is barred on the grounds of res judicata; and

2. When a party has been afforded a full and fair opportunity to litigate an issue and loses in a CPLR Article 78 action, collateral estoppel will bar him from litigating the issue a second time.

The Appellate Division observed that both in the instant proceeding and in an earlier Article 78 proceeding, the plaintiff [Petitioner] attacked an administrator's [Defendant] decision to give him an unsatisfactory ["U"] rating and her refusal to allow him to rescind his resignation.

The court also opined that Supreme Court properly granted summary judgment to the Defendant on the merits, finding that the collective bargaining agreement relied upon by Petitioner "could not serve as the basis for a tortious interference with [his] contract claim" because, among other reasons, Petitioner had not properly alleged that "he was party to a contract with a third party."

As to Petitioner's claim for "tortious interference with [his] prospective business relations," the Appellate Division found that Petitioner was unable to show that Defendant directly interfered with any prospective third-party agreement through "wrongful means" nor could he establish that he would have been hired by a third party "but for" Defendant's actions. In the words of the court, "such vague aspirations of future employment are insufficient ...," citing Kickertz v New York Univ., 110 AD3d 268 and Murphy v City of New York, 59 AD3d 301.

The decision is posted on the Internet at http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2020/2020_07286.htm.

 

Audits issued by the New York State Comptroller during the week ending December 18, 2020

On December 18, 2020, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced the following audit reports had been issued.

Click on the text highlighted in color to access the complete audit report

State Departments and Agencies

 

Metropolitan Transportation Authority - Long Island Rail Road (LIRR): Management of Capital Projects (2018-S-70) LIRR’s capital management process is guided by a series of Department of Program Management procedures; however, project managers do not always comply with, and contractors/consultants are not required to follow, these procedures. Auditors believe this contributed to LIRR completing 10 of 11 sampled projects late, ranging from three months to over four years. In addition, eight of the projects sampled were over budget.

 

Office of Information Technology Services (ITS): Oversight of Information Technology Consultants and Contract Staffing (Follow-Up) (2020-F-21) An audit issued in September 2019 found that ITS was monitoring information technology services procured from consultants and contract staff to ensure compliance with contract terms and deliverables. For 14 of the 20 contracts reviewed, ITS provided adequate oversight to ensure that the contractor or consultant was meeting the deliverables. For the remaining six contracts, for which ITS paid out more than $156 million, there were deficiencies in contract monitoring. In a follow up, auditors found ITS has made progress in correcting the problems identified in the initial report.

 

State Education Department (SED): Mary Cariola Children’s Center, Inc. – Compliance With the Reimbursable Cost Manual (2020-S-25) Mary Cariola is a not-for-profit organization located in Monroe County that provides preschool special education services to children with disabilities who are three and four years of age. Mary Cariola is reimbursed for these services through rates set by SED. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2016, auditors identified $12,744 in ineligible costs that Mary Cariola reported for reimbursement.

 

State Education Department (SED): Wayne County Chapter NYSARC Inc. (ARC Wayne) – Compliance with the Reimbursable Cost Manual (2020-S-30) ARC Wayne is a not-for-profit organization located in Wayne County. Among other programs, ARC Wayne provides preschool special education services to children with disabilities who are three and four years of age. ARC Wayne is reimbursed for these services through rates set by SED. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017, auditors identified $20,988 in ineligible costs that ARC Wayne reported for reimbursement.  

 

Department of Health: Medicaid Program – Claims Processing Activity Oct.1, 2019 Through March 31, 2020 (2019-S-53) Auditors identified about $2.9 million in improper Medicaid payments that require the department’s prompt attention, including: $978,966 was paid for inpatient claims that were billed at a higher level of care than what was actually provided; $740,920 was paid for newborn birth claims that contained inaccurate information; and $513,427 was paid for practitioner, clinic, inpatient, pharmacy, and episodic home health care claims that did not comply with Medicaid policies.

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Find out how your government money is spent at Open Book New York. Track municipal spending, the state's 180,000 contracts, billions in state payments and public authority data. Visit the Reading Room for contract FOIL requests, bid protest decisions and commonly requested data.

 

Courts will accept an agency's interpretation of its statutory authority if it determines that agency's interpretation of the statute is rational

The New York City's Administrative Code §13-254(a) provides that the New York City's Police Department's Medical Board [Board] may require "any disability pensioner, under the minimum age or period for service retirement elected by him, to undergo medical examination," and if the Board concludes that he or she "is able to engage in a gainful occupation," it certifies the pensioner to the appropriate civil service commission, which places the pensioner "as a preferred eligible on such appropriate lists of candidates as are prepared for appointment to positions for which [the pensioner] is stated to be qualified."

A retired New York City police officer [Petitioner] submitted an application for reinstatement to the New York City Police Department [NYPD]. NYPD rejected the Petitioner's application. Petitioner initiated an action pursuant to CPLR Article 78 challenging NYPD's decision. Supreme Court granted NYPD's motion to dismiss the proceeding and Petitioner appealed.

The Appellate Division unanimously affirmed the Supreme Court's ruling. Noting the Board's authority to reinstate a disability pensioner "is limited to members under the age of 55 or who have not reached the service retirement contribution period (20 0r 25 years) they elected upon joining the pension fund," the court opined that the Board's interpretation of §13-254(a) was rational.*

As was undisputed that when Petitioner joined NYPD he elected a minimum service retirement period of 20 years. It was also conceded that when he requested reinstatement to the NYPD, he was no longer under the minimum 20-year period for service retirement elected by him.

Accordingly, the Appellate Division held that Supreme Court correctly found that the Board's denial of Petitioner's application for reinstatement was "a rational determination based on  the Board's rational interpretation of its statutory authority."

* Encarta^® World English Dictionary^© defines the term "rational" as being "reasonable and sensible: governed by, or showing evidence of, clear and sensible thinking and judgment, based on reason rather than emotion or prejudice".

The decision is posted on the Internet at http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2020/2020_07308.htm