BILL NUMBER:  S2998

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act relating to apportionment of state monies to certain nonpublic
schools to reimburse them for their expenses in complying with certain
state requirements for the administration of state testing and
evaluation programs and for participation in state programs for the
reporting of basic educational data


 PURPOSE :
This bill would reiterate the state's commitment to reimbursing
independent and religious schools their actual costs in complying with
state administrative mandates and participating in the state's testing
and evaluation program.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :
Section one of the bill reiterates statutory intent to reimburse
independent and religious schools for their actual costs under the
program.

 JUSTIFICATION :
The Mandated Services Reimbursement program requires that independent
and religious schools be reimbursed for their actual costs in
providing services to the state, most of which are required by statute
and/or regulation. These services include the administration of state
              

testing and evaluation programs and participating in state programs
for reporting basic educational data.

Over its 35-year history, the program has experienced a number of
deficiencies, in some cases due to the state's poor fiscal climate.
In every case, however. those deficiencies were eventually made whole
when the economy permitted doing so. The state's 2008-09 enacted state
budget, however, for the first time, limited the state's liability for
reimbursement under the program to less than 100 percent.

The state's independent and religious schools provide significant
savings to state taxpayers by virtue of their educating nearly a half
million of New York's children. A reduction in Mandated Services
reimbursement will be devastating to the already fragile budgets of
the vast majority of these schools. Not only have hundreds of these
schools closed over the years, more are closing at the end of the
current school year. Their closing only exacerbates the fiscal stress
on the state budget as well as the burden faced by property tax
payers. It is in the state's interest, at least financially, to
maintain its long standing commitment to reimburse these schools for
their state-mandated expenses.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
A.11075-B of 2008

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
The act takes effect immediately.