Senate Bill S5325A

                                BILL NUMBER:S5325

TITLE  OF  BILL:   An act to amend the education law, in relation to the
distribution of aid for high cost students with disabilities

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To provide financial support and stability in the first year when a  new
high  cost student with a disability moves into a school district during
the school year with an individualized  education  program,  before  aid
normally flows in the second year.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section  1.  Paragraph (c) is added to Section 3609 of the Education Law
to provide current year aid for new high cost  students  with  disabili-
ties.  Section  2.  Subparagraph (c) of paragraph (3) of Section 4405 of
the Education Law is  amended  to  provide  current  year  aid  for  new
students  with  disabilities that move into a school district during the
school year with an individualized education program from another school
district requiring the student to be educated  at  an  approved  private
special education school.

JUSTIFICATION:

Currently,  most  state  aid to school districts, including aid for high
              

cost students with disabilities educated at public  schools,  BOCES  and
approved private special education schools, flows the year following the
year  in  which  the  expense is incurred. While school districts may be
able to absorb the cost of some students that  move  into  the  district
after  the  budget  has  passed,  a high cost student with a disability,
whose costs are greater than four times the cost  of  an  average  pupil
with  a  disability, may place an undue hardship on a school district to
provide the programming required by  law.    Especially  smaller  school
districts  may  find that absorbing such expense threatens the financial
stability of the district to continue educational services to all of its
students.

The first year of educating  a  high  cost  student  with  a  disability
requires  the  school  district to assume all of the costs for the first
year of the student's education. That puts a strain on  school  district
resources  and is especially difficult for smaller school districts with
limited budgets and savings. Expenses for these high cost students  will
not  be  in  the  district's budget approved by the voters, and based on
which taxes were levied. These costs are akin  to  emergency  costs  and
warrant  the  payment of current year aid to ensure school districts can
continue to both provide essential educational programs as  approved  by
the  voters  and  educate  these  newly arrived students, as required by
their individualized education programs.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This  act  shall take effect on July 1st in the year after it has become
law.