A591

An Act concerning the reimbursement of certain special education costs and amending P.L.2007, c.260.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 13 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-55) is amended to read as follows:

13. a. Special education categorical aid for each school district and county vocational school district shall be calculated as follows:

SE = (RE x SEACR x AEC x 1/3) x GCA

where

RE is the resident enrollment of the school district or county vocational school district;

SEACR is the State average classification rate for general special education services pupils;

AEC is the excess cost for general special education services pupils; and

GCA is the geographic cost adjustment as developed by the commissioner.

For the 2008-2009 school year the excess cost shall be $10,898 for general special education services pupils. The excess cost amount shall be adjusted by the CPI in the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years as required pursuant to subsection b. of section 4 of this act. For subsequent school years, the excess cost amount shall be established in the Educational Adequacy Report, with the amount adjusted by the CPI for each of the two school years following the first school year to which the report is applicable.

b. Extraordinary special education aid for an individual classified pupil shall be available when the student is educated in a general education classroom, special education program, including but not limited to a resource program or special class program, or any combination of general education and special education programs and services, subject to the requirements and thresholds set forth in this section.

(1) In those instances in which a pupil is educated in an in-district public school program with non-disabled peers, whether run by a public school or by a private school for the disabled, and the cost of providing direct instructional and support services for an individual classified pupil exceeds $40,000, for those direct instructional and support services costs in excess of $40,000 a district shall receive extraordinary special education State aid equal to [90%] 95% of the amount of that excess in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (4) of this subsection.

(2) In those instances in which a pupil is educated in a separate public school program for students with disabilities and the cost of providing direct instructional and support services for an individual classified pupil exceeds $40,000, for those direct instructional and support services costs in excess of $40,000 a district shall receive extraordinary special education State aid equal to [75%] 85% of the amount of that excess in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (4) of this subsection.

(3) In those instances in which a pupil is educated in a separate private school for students with disabilities and the tuition for an individual classified pupil exceeds $55,000, for tuition costs in excess of $55,000 a district shall receive extraordinary special education State aid equal to [75%] 85% of the amount of that excess in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (4) of this subsection.

(4) Extraordinary special education State aid for an individual classified pupil shall be calculated as follows:

EA = ((ADC-$40,000) x [.90] .95) + (((AIC - $40,000) + (ASC - $55,000)) x [.75] .85)

where

ADC equals the district's actual cost for the direct instructional and support services in an in-district public school program as set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection;

AIC equals the district's actual cost for direct instructional and support services in a separate public school program as set forth in paragraph (2) of this subsection; and

ASC equals the district's actual cost for tuition paid to a separate private school as set forth in paragraph (3) of this subsection.

(5) The receipt of extraordinary special education State aid for an individual classified pupil shall be conditioned upon a demonstration by the district that the pupil's Individualized Education Plan requires the provision of intensive services, pursuant to factors determined by the commissioner.

c. In order to receive funding pursuant to this section, a district shall file an application with the department that details the expenses incurred on behalf of the particular classified pupil for which the district is seeking reimbursement. Additional State aid awarded for extraordinary special education costs shall be recorded by the district as revenue in the current school year and paid to the district in the subsequent school year.

d. A school district may apply to the commissioner to receive emergency special education aid for any classified pupil who enrolls in the district prior to March of the budget year and who is in a placement with a cost in excess of $40,000 or $55,000, as applicable. The commissioner may debit from the student's former district of residence any special education aid which was paid to that district on behalf of the student.

e. The department shall review expenditures of federal and State special education aid by a district in every instance in which special education monitoring identifies a failure on the part of the district to provide services consistent with a pupil's Individualized Education Plan.

f. The commissioner shall commission an independent study of the special education census funding methodology to determine if adjustments in the special education funding formulas are needed in future years to address the variations in incidence of students with severe disabilities requiring high cost programs and to make recommendations for any such adjustments. The study and recommendations shall be completed by June 30, 2010.

g. A school district may apply to the commissioner to receive additional special education categorical aid if the district has an unusually high rate of low-incidence disabilities, such as autism, deaf/blindness, severe cognitive impairment, and medically fragile. In applying for the aid the district shall: demonstrate the impact of the unusually high rate of low-incidence disabilities on the school district budget and the extent to which the costs to the district are not sufficiently addressed through special education aid and extraordinary special education aid; and provide details of all special education expenditures, including details on the use of federal funds to support those expenditures.

(cf: P.L.2007, c.260, s.13)

2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full school year following the effective date of this act.

STATEMENT

This bill amends the “School Funding Reform Act of 2008” (SFRA), P.L.2007, c.260, to increase the rates at which the State reimburses school districts for certain special education costs. Under current law, districts receive extraordinary special education aid for an individual special education student in the following manner:

· in the case of a special education student who is educated in an in-district program with non-disabled peers, a district is reimbursed for 90 percent of direct instructional and support services costs in excess of $40,000;

· in the case of a special education student who is educated in a separate public school program for students with disabilities, a district is reimbursed for 75 percent of direct instructional and support services costs in excess of $40,000; and

· in the case of a special education student who is educated in a private school for students with disabilities, a district is reimbursed for 75 percent of tuition costs in excess of $55,000.

The fiscal year 2009-2010 Appropriations Act included language that increased these reimbursement rates. For students educated in-district with non-disabled peers, the reimbursement rate was increased from 90 percent to 95 percent. The other reimbursement rates were increased from 75 percent to 85 percent. This bill would establish these higher reimbursement rates as part of the permanent laws.