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Read A355 to see the bill that the Governor signed into law on Friday, 9-10-10. While more clarity still seems to be needed on aid flow, the additionally attached 'Fiscal Estimate'note is helpful because it addresses local cost issues for both 'choice' and sending districts.
Two items are attached here.
(1) The bill A355, and
(2) The Fiscal Estimate for A355
(1) ASSEMBLY, No. 355
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman MILA M. JASEY
District 27 (Essex)
Assemblywoman JOAN M. VOSS
District 38 (Bergen)
Assemblyman PAUL D. MORIARTY
District 4 (Camden and Gloucester)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen DiMaio, Schaer, Assemblywoman Spencer, Assemblyman O'Scanlon, Senators Turner, T.Kean and Ruiz
A355 Jasey/Voss/Moriarity – Signed into law 9-1-10
SYNOPSIS
Establishes a permanent Interdistrict Public School Choice Program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on June 24, 2010, with amendments.
An Act establishing a permanent Interdistrict Public School Choice Program, supplementing chapter 36B of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, and repealing parts of the statutory law.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Interdistrict Public School Choice Program Act."
2. As used in this act:
"Choice district" means a public school district, established pursuant to chapter 8 or chapter 13 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, which is authorized under the interdistrict public school choice program to open a school or schools to students from sending districts;
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Education;
1["Receiving district" means the district receiving a student from a sending district;]1
"Sending district" means the district of residence of a 1choice1 student.
3. The Commissioner of Education shall establish an interdistrict public school choice program which shall provide for the creation of choice districts. A choice district may enroll students across district lines in designated schools of the choice district.
4. a. A proposed choice district shall submit an application to the commissioner no later than April 30 in the year prior to the school year in which the choice program will be implemented; except that for the first year of implementation of the program pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the application shall be submitted no later than the date specified by the commissioner. The application shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:
(1) a description of programs and schools and the number of student openings in each school identified by grade level which are available for selection;
(2) the provision for the creation of a parent information center;
(3) a description of the student application process and any criteria required for admission; 1and1
(4) an analysis of the potential impact of the program on student population diversity in all potential participating districts and a plan for maintaining diversity in all potential participating districts, which plan shall not be used to supersede a court‑ordered or administrative court‑ordered desegregation plan 1[;
(5) the provision for screening out students during the application process who wish to attend a school for athletic, extracurricular, or social reasons; and
(6) after agreement with potential sending districts, the school district responsible for the transportation, or aid-in-lieu-of transportation, for students participating in the choice program from each of the potential sending districts]1.
The commissioner shall notify a choice district of the approval or disapproval of its application no later than July 30, and the reasons for disapproval shall be included in the notice; except that for the first year of implementation of the program pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), notification shall be no later than the date specified by the commissioner.
The commissioner shall notify the State Board of Education of the approval of a choice district application and the State board shall include a public notice of the approval on the next agenda for its public monthly meeting.
b. The commissioner may take appropriate action, consistent with State and federal law, to provide that student population diversity in all districts participating in a choice district program is maintained. Student population diversity shall include, but not be limited to, the ethnic, racial, economic, and geographic diversity of a district's student population. The actions may include, but need not be limited to:
(1) directing a choice district to take appropriate steps to implement successfully the district's plan for maintaining student population diversity;
(2) restricting the number of choice students from a sending district or the authority of a choice district to accept choice students in the future; and
(3) revoking approval of the choice district. Any choice student who is attending a designated school in a choice district at the time of the commissioner's revocation of approval shall be entitled to continue to be enrolled in that school until graduation.
5. The commissioner shall evaluate an application submitted by a proposed choice district according to the following criteria:
a. the fiscal impact on the district;
b. the quality and variety of academic programs offered within the district;
c. the potential effectiveness of the student application process and of the admissions criteria utilized;
d. the impact on student population diversity in the district; and
e. the degree to which the program will promote or reduce educational quality in the choice district and the sending districts.
6. Any choice district established by the commissioner prior to the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) is authorized to continue operation as if the choice district had been approved pursuant to the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
7. a. The parents or guardian of a student shall notify the sending district of the student's intention to participate in the choice program and shall submit an application to the choice district, indicating the school the student wishes to attend, no later than the date specified by the commissioner. To be eligible to participate in the program, a student shall be enrolled at the time of application in grades preschool through 1[9] 121 in a school of the sending district and have attended school in the sending district for at least one full year immediately preceding enrollment in the choice district 2[; except that the] , provided that a “sending district” includes any school district that a student in a particular district of residence is required by law to attend. The2 one-year requirement shall not apply to a student enrolling in preschool or kindergarten in the choice district, if that student has a sibling enrolled in the choice district. Openings in a designated school of a choice district shall be on a space-available basis, and if more applications are received for a designated school than there are spaces available, a lottery shall be held to determine the selection of students. Preference for enrollment may be given to siblings of students who are enrolled in a designated school.
1If there is an opening in a designated school of a choice district and there is no student who is enrolled in a sending district who meets the attendance requirements of this subsection, including a student who has been placed on a waiting list based on a lottery held in the choice district, then the choice district may fill that opening with a public school student who does not meet the attendance requirements of this subsection or a nonpublic school student.1
b. A choice district may evaluate a prospective student on 1[reasonable criteria, including]1 the student's interest in the program offered by a designated school. The district shall not discriminate in its admission policies or practices on the basis of athletic ability, intellectual aptitude, English language proficiency, status as a handicapped person, or any basis prohibited by State or federal law.
c. A choice district shall not prohibit the enrollment of a student based upon a determination that the additional cost of educating the student would exceed the amount of additional State aid received as a result of the student's enrollment. A choice district may reject the application for enrollment of a student who has been classified as eligible for special education services pursuant to chapter 46 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes if that student's individualized education program could not be implemented in the district, or if the enrollment of that student would require the district to fundamentally alter the nature of its educational program, or would create an undue financial or administrative burden on the district.
d. A student whose application is rejected by a choice district shall be provided with a reason for the rejection in the letter of notice. The appeal of a rejection notice may be made to the commissioner.
e. Once a student is enrolled in a designated school, the student shall not be required to reapply 2[for]2 each school year 2for enrollment in any designated school of the choice district2 and shall continue to be permitted to be enrolled until graduation. A student shall be permitted to transfer back to a school of the sending district or may apply to a different choice district during the next application period.
f. A choice district shall accept all of the credits earned toward graduation by a student in the schools of the sending district.
g. A choice district shall notify a sending district upon the enrollment of a choice student resident in that district.
8. a. (1) 1[Upon adoption of a resolution, the school board of a sending district may restrict enrollment of its students in a choice district to 2% of the number of students per grade level per year in the sending district, limited by any resolution adopted pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection.
(2) Upon adoption of a resolution, the school board of a sending district may restrict enrollment of its students in a choice district to 7% of the total number of students enrolled in the sending district.
(3)]1 The school board of a sending district may adopt a resolution to 1[exceed the enrollment restriction percentages of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection] restrict enrollment of its students in a choice district1 to a maximum of 10% of the number of students per grade level per year limited by any resolution adopted pursuant to this paragraph and 15% of the total number of students enrolled in the sending district, provided that the resolution shall be subject to approval by the commissioner upon a determination that the resolution is in the best interest of the district's students and that it will not adversely affect the district's programs, services, operations, or fiscal conditions, and that the resolution will not adversely affect or limit the diversity of the remainder of the student population in the district who do not participate in the choice program.
1[(4)] (2)1 Enrollment restriction percentages adopted by any resolution pursuant to paragraph (1) 1[, (2), or (3)] of this subsection1 shall not be compounded from year to year and shall be based upon the enrollment counts for the year preceding the sending district's initial year of participation in the choice program, except that in any year of the program in which there is an increase in enrollment, the percentage enrollment restriction may be applied to the increase and the result added to the preceding year's count of students eligible to attend a choice district. If there is a decrease in enrollment at any time during the duration of the program, the number of students eligible to attend a choice district shall be the number of students enrolled in the choice program in the initial year of the district's participation in the program, provided that a student attending a choice district school shall be entitled to remain enrolled in that school until graduation.
1[(5)] (3)1 The calculation of the enrollment of a sending district shall be based on the enrollment count as reported on the Application for State School Aid in October preceding the school year during which the restriction on enrollment shall be applicable.
b. 1[The school board of a sending district may restrict enrollment of a student on the basis of an exceptional circumstance that would affect the sending district's instructional program upon the adoption of a resolution detailing the reasons for the restriction. The restriction shall be subject to the approval of the commissioner.
c.]1 A choice district shall not be eligible to enroll students on a tuition basis pursuant to N.J.S.18A:38‑3 while participating in the interdistrict public school choice program. Any student enrolled on a tuition basis prior to the establishment of the choice program shall be entitled to remain enrolled in the choice district as a choice student.
9. 1a.1 Transportation, or aid in-lieu-of transportation, shall be provided to an elementary school pupil who lives more than two miles from the 1[receiving] choice1 district school of attendance and to a secondary school pupil who lives more than two and one‑half miles from the 1[receiving] choice1 district school of attendance, provided the 1[receiving] choice1 district school is not more than 20 miles from the residence of the pupil. Transportation, or aid in-lieu-of transportation, shall be the responsibility of 1[such district as designated in the application submitted pursuant to section 4 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)] the sending district. The choice district and the sending district may enter into a shared service agreement in accordance with the “Uniform Shared Services and Consolidation Act,” sections 1 through 35 of P.L.2007, c.63 (C.40A:65-1 through C.40A:65-35)1.
1b. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 20 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-62) to the contrary, the sending district shall receive State aid for transportation calculated pursuant to section 15 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-57) for a student transported or receiving aid-in-lieu-of transportation pursuant to subsection a. this section.1
10. A choice district shall establish and maintain a parent information center. The center shall collect and disseminate information about participating programs and schools and shall assist parents and guardians in submitting applications for enrollment of students in an appropriate program and school. 1The information about participating programs and schools shall be posted on the choice district’s website.1
11. The commissioner shall annually report to the State Board of Education, the Legislature, and the Joint Committee on the Public Schools on the effectiveness of the interdistrict public school choice program. 1The commissioner’s annual report shall be posted on the Department of Education’s website and on the website of each choice district.1
12. Sections 1 through 10 and 14 through 17 of P.L.1999, c.413 (C.18A:36B-1 through 18A:36B-13) are repealed.
13. This act shall take effect immediately.
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(2) A355 - LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
[Second Reprint]
ASSEMBLY, No. 355
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
DATED: JULY 19, 2010
SUMMARY
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Synopsis: |
Establishes a permanent Interdistrict Public School Choice Program. |
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Type of Impact: |
Expenditure Increase from General Fund or Property Tax Relief Fund. |
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Agencies Affected: |
Department of Education and local school districts. |
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Office of Legislative Services Estimate | ||||
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Fiscal Impact |
Year 1 |
Year 2 |
Year 3 |
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State Cost |
Indeterminate - See comments below |
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Local Cost |
Indeterminate - See comments below |
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Local Revenue |
Indeterminate - See comments below |
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· Due to factors that cannot be predicted, the Office of Legislative Services is not able to estimate the potential State and local costs associated with the creation of a permanent Interdistrict Public School Choice Program. These costs would be determined by the number of students who participate in the choice program and which choice districts they attend.
· Sending districts would be responsible for providing transportation services to choice students who attend school more than two miles (2.5 miles for high school students) away from home. This may lead to a cost increase for the sending district if the cost of transporting the student to a choice district is greater than the transportation cost incurred when the student was enrolled in the resident district.
· New choice districts would receive an increase in revenue in the form of school choice aid and, possibly, other forms of State school aid awarded pursuant to the “School Funding Reform Act of 2008” (SFRA).
· Because of other provisions in SFRA pertaining to adjustment aid and the State aid growth limit, a sending district is unlikely to experience a decrease in State school aid when a student enrolls in a choice district. This would lead to a net increase in State expenditures.
BILL DESCRIPTION
Assembly Bill No. 355 (2R) of 2010 establishes a permanent Interdistrict Public School Choice Program. P.L.1999, c.413 created a five-year school choice program. This legislation would make that program permanent, with some modifications.
Under the provisions of the bill, school districts may submit an application to the Commissioner of Education to become designated as a choice district; any district that was designated a choice district pursuant to P.L.1999, c.413 would continue to operate as a choice district as if it had been so designated under this bill. Students are permitted to participate in the choice program if the student was enrolled in the student’s resident district for at least one full year immediately preceding enrollment in a choice district; this requirement does not apply to a student enrolling in preschool or kindergarten who has a sibling enrolled in the choice district. The bill provides that the sending district would be responsible for providing transportation services to choice students enrolled in schools more than two miles (more than 2.5 miles for high school students) but not more than 20 miles from home.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
None received.
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
Due to factors that cannot be predicted, the Office of Legislative Services is not able to provide an estimate of the additional cost to the State and sending districts and the additional revenue to choice districts that would result from Assembly Bill No. 355 (2R). The primary factor that will determine the increased costs or revenue will be the number of new students to participate in the choice program and the choice districts in which the students enroll. While the magnitude of the impact cannot be determined, the interaction between the provisions of this legislation and the SFRA would likely result in three outcomes: 1) choice districts would receive an increase in revenue; 2) sending districts may incur greater transportation costs; and 3) State expenditures would increase.
Key Provisions of the “School Funding Reform Act of 2008”
The fiscal implications of this legislation are inextricably linked to key provisions of the SFRA. As such, it is necessary to briefly review certain elements of the school funding law:
· Adequacy Budget: Under the provisions of SFRA, an adequacy budget is calculated for each school district and represents the portion of the costs that the State deems sufficient for the district to provide a thorough and efficient education to its students that will be supported by the State on a wealth-equalized basis. The figure is unique to each district and is determined by factors such as the resident enrollment and student demographics (e.g., eligibility for free or reduced price lunch or status as an English language learner).
· Primary Aid Categories: SFRA includes four aid categories that are linked to the total enrollment (as well as other factors), including equalization, special education categorical, security, and transportation aids.
· Adjustment Aid: SFRA provided that in the 2008-2009 school year, a school district would receive adjustment aid in an amount sufficient to yield a two percent increase in total State aid relative to the amount of aid received in the 2007-2008 school year. In the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years, adjustment aid is awarded to ensure that a district does not receive less State aid than it did in the 2008-2009 school year. In subsequent school years, this aid category is awarded to ensure that a district does not receive less total aid than it did in the 2008-2009 school year provided that the district did not experience a significant enrollment decline.
· State Aid Growth Limit: A district’s increase in State aid relative to the previous school year is limited to either 10 percent or 20 percent (depending on the district’s spending level). If the funding formula would yield an increase in aid greater than the applicable State aid growth limit, then an adjustment is made to reduce the aid awarded such that the total aid increase matches the growth limit.
· School Choice Aid: SFRA provides that, for the purpose of calculating State aid, a choice district will include choice students in the resident enrollment. Additionally, a district receives choice aid for each choice student equal to the adequacy budget local levy per pupil amount. The combination of choice and equalization aids provides a choice district with its adequacy budget, on a per pupil basis, for each choice student. School choice aid is not subject to the State aid growth limit and is not included in the calculation of adjustment aid.
Increased Revenue to Choice Districts
A-355 (2R) would lead to an increase in revenue in choice districts through the provision of State school aid. The specific amount would be contingent on at least two factors: 1) the number of choice students to enroll in the choice district; and 2) the choice district’s adequacy budget per pupil. The combination of equalization and choice aids awarded to a choice district will be equal to the district’s adequacy budget per pupil.
The legislation’s impact on the other primary aid categories is ambiguous. The addition of choice students to the choice district’s resident enrollment would tend to increase the amount of aid the choice district would receive under the other primary aid categories. However, this effect would be nullified if the choice district either receives adjustment aid or is subject to the State aid growth limit. In the case of a choice district that receives adjustment aid, an increase in any primary aid category that results from the enrollment of a choice student would be offset by a decrease in adjustment aid. The net effect would be no change in total revenue to the choice district (unless the increase in aid associated with the enrollment of choice students exceeds the amount of adjustment aid received). Similarly, a choice district that has, in the absence of choice students, reached its applicable State aid growth limit would not receive any additional revenue from any primary aid category once the choice students are included in the resident enrollment. It is important to note that the choice aid awarded under SFRA would not affect a choice district’s adjustment aid and is not subject to the State aid growth limit.
Increased Cost to Sending Districts
A-355 (2R) is likely to increase transportation costs for school districts in which some students leave the district to enroll in choice districts. Under the provisions of this bill, the sending district is required to provide transportation services (or pay aid-in-lieu-of transportation) for choice students who live more than two miles (2.5 miles for high school students) and not more than 20 miles from the school that the choice students attend. It is not possible to estimate the additional cost that would be incurred by the sending districts, as it is contingent on the number of its students who choose to enroll in the choice program and the distance between the students’ homes and the choice districts they attend relative to the schools they attend in their resident districts. However, it does not appear to be unreasonable to assume that, in the aggregate, a choice student will be transported over a greater distance between home and school than the distance the same student would have been transported had the student remained enrolled in the sending district.
Increased Cost to State
As previously discussed, A-355 (2R) would lead to an increase in school choice aid paid by the State to choice districts and may lead to an increased State expenditure in categories of other State school aid awarded pursuant to SFRA as the choice districts count the choice students in the resident enrollment. It is very unlikely that this increased aid to choice districts will be offset by a decrease in State aid to the sending districts that the choice students are leaving. This results from the fact that the vast majority of school districts either receive adjustment aid or their total aid is subject to the State aid growth limit.
In the case of a sending district that receives adjustment aid, the loss of students to a choice district would lead to a decrease in the other primary aid categories under SFRA. However, given the fact that total State school aid cannot decrease below the amount awarded in the 2008-2009 school year, adjustment aid would increase by the same amount that the other aid categories decreased, yielding no net change in the amount of aid awarded to the sending district. During the 2009-2010 school year, 43 percent of all school districts received adjustment aid and, therefore, would not experience a net reduction in State school aid as a result of students leaving the district to enroll in a choice district.
In the case of a sending district in which its State aid was subject to the State aid growth limit, the loss of students to a choice district would affect the preliminary State aid calculation prior to the imposition of the growth limit. However, to the extent that a district’s growth in State aid is capped, any change in the district’s preliminary aid calculation would be immaterial to its final State aid award, since the preliminary award will be reduced to comply with the State aid growth limit (the exception would be a circumstance in which the reduction associated with students leaving the district to enroll in a choice district uniquely causes the district’s aid to fall below the applicable growth limit). During the 2009-2010 school year, 55 percent of all school districts were subject to the State aid growth limit and therefore, would not likely experience a net reduction in State school aid as a result of students leaving the district to enroll in a choice district.
When these two factors are combined, 93 percent of all districts would likely not experience a net reduction in State school aid as a result of their students leaving the district to enroll in a choice district. Given that the choice districts would certainly receive additional revenue (in the form of school choice aid) and would possibly receive increases in other categories of aid, there would be a net increased cost to the State.
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Section: |
Education |
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Analyst: |
Senior Fiscal Analyst |
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Approved: |
David J. Rosen Legislative Budget and Finance Officer |
This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.
This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L. 1980, c.67 (C. 52:13B-6 et seq.).
