Senate Bill S973

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S973

SPONSOR: YOUNG
 
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:

2018: S.564-A Referred to Education
2017: S.564 Referred to Education
2015,2016: S.5325-A Referred to Education

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

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