Bill Text: CT HB06502 | 2011 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: An Act Concerning The Open Choice Program.
Sponsorship: Committee Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-03-03 - Public Hearing 03/07 [HB06502 Detail]
Download: Connecticut-2011-HB06502-Introduced.html
General Assembly |
Raised Bill No. 6502 | ||
January Session, 2011 |
LCO No. 3996 | ||
*03996_______ED_* | |||
Referred to Committee on Education |
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Introduced by: |
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(ED) |
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AN ACT CONCERNING THE OPEN CHOICE PROGRAM.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2011) (a) As used in this section:
(1) "Crandall school program" means a program offered at an existing public school that (A) has a specialized curriculum or theme, such as art, science, technology, engineering, mathematics, history, government, English, world languages or preschool or full-day kindergarten, and (B) is designed to promote participation in the open choice program pursuant to section 10-266aa of the general statutes, as amended by this act;
(2) "Sending district" means any school district that sends students it would otherwise be legally responsible for educating to a school district that offers a Crandall school program and in which such students are enrolled in such program; and
(3) "Minority students" means students who are "pupils of racial minorities", as defined in section 10-226a of the general statutes.
(b) For the school year commencing July 1, 2012, and each school year thereafter, the Department of Education shall, within available appropriations, establish a Crandall school program. A Crandall school program shall be available to any local or regional board of education that assists the state in meeting the goals of the 2008 stipulation and order for Milo Sheff, et al. v. William A. O'Neill, et al.
(c) Any local or regional board of education seeking to participate in the Crandall school program shall submit an application for such grant to the Commissioner of Education at such time and in such manner as the commissioner prescribes. In determining whether to award a grant pursuant to this section, the commissioner shall consider, but such consideration shall not be limited to, (1) whether the Crandall school program offered by the local or regional board of education reduces racial isolation, (2) whether the educational program offered through the Crandall school program is likely to increase student achievement, (3) whether the educational program offered through the Crandall school program is unique and will not adversely impact enrollment at existing interdistrict magnet schools, regional vocational-technical schools and regional agricultural science and technology education centers in the region, and (4) the proposed operating budget and funding sources for the innovation school.
(d) Each local or regional board of education participating in the Crandall school program shall be eligible to receive a per pupil grant as follows: (1) Four thousand dollars for each student who is a resident of Hartford and is enrolled in a Crandall school program offered by a local or regional board of education for a school district other than the Hartford school district, provided at least twenty-five per cent of the students enrolled in such Crandall school program are students who are residents of Hartford, and (2) four thousand dollars for each student enrolled in a Crandall school program offered by the Hartford school district who is not a resident of such district, provided the number of minority students enrolled in such Crandall school program is not greater than seventy-five per cent.
(e) The commissioner may, within available appropriations, provide annual operating grants to local or regional boards of education offering Crandall school programs in an amount not to exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars for the purposes of enhancing the educational specialized curriculum or theme offered by such program.
(f) Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 172 of the general statutes, each sending district and each district offering a Crandall school program shall divide the number of children participating in such program who reside in such district or attend school in such district by two for purposes of the counts for subdivision (22) of section 10-262f of the general statutes and subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 10-261 of the general statutes.
(g) In the case of an out-of-district student enrolled in a Crandall school program who requires special education and related services, the sending district shall pay the district offering a Crandall school program an amount equal to the difference between the reasonable cost of providing such special education and related services to such student and the amount received by the receiving district pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. The sending district shall be eligible for reimbursement pursuant to section 10-76g of the general statutes.
(h) The department shall provide grants to local or regional boards of education offering a Crandall school program for the reasonable cost of transportation for students participating in such program. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, and each fiscal year thereafter, the department shall provide such grants within available appropriations, provided the state-wide average of such grants does not exceed an amount equal to three thousand two hundred fifty dollars for each student transported. For purposes of this section, the number of students transported shall be determined on September first of each fiscal year.
(i) In accordance with the provisions of subsection (l) of this section, for purposes of the state-wide mastery examinations under section 10-14n of the general statutes, students enrolled in a Crandall school program established pursuant to this section shall be considered residents of the school district in which they attend school.
(j) Within available appropriations, the commissioner may make grants to local or regional boards of education offering Crandall school programs which provide summer school educational programs approved by the commissioner to students participating in such program.
(k) The commissioner may provide grants for children in the Hartford program described in this section to participate in preschool and full-day kindergarten programs. In addition to the subsidy provided to the district for educational services, such grants may be used for the provision of before and after-school care and remedial services for the preschool and full-day kindergarten students participating in such program.
(l) Each local or regional board of education offering a Crandall school program pursuant to this section shall allow out-of-district students enrolled in such program to attend school in the district in which such program is offered until such out-of-district students graduate from high school, pursuant to section 10-266aa of the general statutes, as amended by this act.
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2011) (a) For purposes of this section, "school choice program" means (1) an interdistrict magnet school operating pursuant to section 10-264l of the general statutes, (2) the open choice program pursuant to section 10-266aa of the general statutes, as amended by this act, (3) a regional vocational-technical school, (4) a regional agricultural science and technology education center, or (5) an innovational school that assists the state in meeting the goals of the 2008 stipulation and order for Milo Sheff, et al. v. William A. O'Neill, et al.
(b) The Department of Education shall provide transportation grants to (1) a local or regional board of education, (2) a regional educational service center, (3) the Board of Trustees of the Community-Technical Colleges on behalf of Quinebaug Valley Community College, (4) a cooperative arrangement pursuant to section 10-158a of the general statutes, (5) the Board of Trustees of the Community-Technical Colleges on behalf of a regional community-technical college, (6) the Board of Trustees of the Connecticut State University System on behalf of a state university, (7) the Board of Trustees for The University of Connecticut on behalf of the university, (8) the board of governors for an independent college or university, as defined in section 10a-37 of the general statutes, or the equivalent of such a board, on behalf of the independent college or university, and (9) any other third-party not-for-profit corporation approved by the commissioner, which transports a child to an eligible out-of-district school choice program to assist the state in meeting the goals of the 2008 stipulation and order for Milo Sheff, et al. v. William A. O'Neill, et al., as determined by the commissioner.
(c) The amount of such grant shall not exceed an amount equal to the number of such children transported multiplied by three thousand two hundred fifty dollars.
(d) Grants under this section shall be contingent on documented costs of providing such transportation. Eligible entities identified in subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this section shall submit applications for grants under this section to the Commissioner of Education in such form and at such times as the commissioner prescribes. Grants pursuant to this section shall be paid as follows: In October one-half of the estimated eligible transportation cost and the balance of such cost in May.
Sec. 3. Section 10-266aa of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2011):
(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Receiving district" means any school district that accepts students under the program established pursuant to this section;
(2) "Sending district" means any school district that sends students it would otherwise be legally responsible for educating to another school district under the program; and
(3) "Minority students" means students who are "pupils of racial minorities", as defined in section 10-226a.
(b) There is established, within available appropriations, an interdistrict public school attendance program. The purpose of the program shall be to: (1) Improve academic achievement; (2) reduce racial, ethnic and economic isolation or preserve racial and ethnic balance; and (3) provide a choice of educational programs. [for students enrolled in the public schools.] The Department of Education shall provide oversight for the program, including the setting of reasonable limits for the transportation of students participating in the program, and may provide for the incremental expansion of the program for the school year commencing in 2000 for each town required to participate in the program pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.
(c) The program shall be phased in as provided in this subsection. (1) For the school year commencing in 1998, and for each school year thereafter, the program shall be in operation in the Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport regions. The Hartford program shall operate as a continuation of the program described in section 10-266j. Students who reside in Hartford, New Haven or Bridgeport may attend school in another school district in the region and students who reside in such other school districts may attend school in Hartford, New Haven or Bridgeport, provided, beginning with the 2001-2002 school year, the proportion of students who are not minority students to the total number of students leaving Hartford, Bridgeport or New Haven to participate in the program shall not be greater than the proportion of students who were not minority students in the prior school year to the total number of students enrolled in Hartford, Bridgeport or New Haven in the prior school year. The regional educational service center operating the program shall make program participation decisions in accordance with the requirements of this subdivision. (2) For the school year commencing in 2000, and for each school year thereafter, the program shall be in operation in New London, provided beginning with the 2001-2002 school year, the proportion of students who are not minority students to the total number of students leaving New London to participate in the program shall not be greater than the proportion of students who were not minority students in the prior year to the total number of students enrolled in New London in the prior school year. The regional educational service center operating the program shall make program participation decisions in accordance with this subdivision. (3) The Department of Education may provide, within available appropriations, grants for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2003, to the remaining regional educational service centers to assist school districts in planning for a voluntary program of student enrollment in every priority school district, pursuant to section 10-266p, which is interested in participating in accordance with this subdivision. For the school year commencing in 2003, and for each school year thereafter, the voluntary enrollment program may be in operation in every priority school district in the state. Students from other school districts in the area of a priority school district, as determined by the regional educational service center pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, may attend school in the priority school district, provided such students bring racial, ethnic and economic diversity to the priority school district and do not increase the racial, ethnic and economic isolation in the priority school district.
(d) School districts which received students from New London under the program during the 2000-2001 school year shall allow such students to attend school in the district until they graduate from high school. The attendance of such students in such program shall not be supported by grants pursuant to subsections (f) and (g) of this section but shall be supported, in the same amounts as provided for in said subsections, by interdistrict cooperative grants pursuant to section 10-74d to the regional educational service centers operating such programs.
(e) Once the program is in operation in the region served by a regional educational service center pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, the Department of Education shall provide an annual grant to such regional educational service center to assist school districts in its area in administering the program and to provide staff to assist students participating in the program to make the transition to a new school and to act as a liaison between the parents of such students and the new school district. Each regional educational service center shall determine which school districts in its area are located close enough to a priority school district to make participation in the program feasible in terms of student transportation pursuant to subsection (f) of this section, provided any student participating in the program prior to July 1, 1999, shall be allowed to continue to attend the same school such student attended prior to said date in the receiving district until the student completes the highest grade in such school. Each regional educational service center shall convene, annually, a meeting of representatives of such school districts in order for such school districts to report, by March thirty-first, the number of spaces available for the following school year for out-of-district students under the program. Annually, each regional educational service center shall provide a count of such spaces to the Department of Education by April fifteenth. If there are more students who seek to attend school in a receiving district than there are spaces available, the regional educational service center shall assist the school district in determining attendance by the use of a lottery or lotteries designed to preserve or increase racial, ethnic and economic diversity, except that the regional educational service center shall give preference to siblings and to students who would otherwise attend a school that has lost its accreditation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges or has been identified as in need of improvement pursuant to the No Child Left Behind Act, P.L. 107-110. The admission policies shall be consistent with section 10-15c and this section. No receiving district shall recruit students under the program for athletic or extracurricular purposes. Each receiving district shall allow out-of-district students it accepts to attend school in the district until they graduate from high school.
(f) [The] Except as provided in section 2 of this act, the Department of Education shall provide grants to regional educational service centers or local or regional boards of education for the reasonable cost of transportation for students participating in the program. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2003, and each fiscal year thereafter, the department shall provide such grants within available appropriations, provided the state-wide average of such grants does not exceed an amount equal to three thousand two hundred fifty dollars for each student transported, except that the Commissioner of Education may grant to regional educational service centers additional sums from funds remaining in the appropriation for such transportation services if needed to offset transportation costs that exceed such maximum amount. The regional educational service centers shall provide reasonable transportation services to high school students who wish to participate in supervised extracurricular activities. For purposes of this section, the number of students transported shall be determined on September first of each fiscal year.
(g) [The] (1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, the Department of Education shall provide, within available appropriations, an annual grant to the local or regional board of education for each receiving district in an amount not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars for each out-of-district student who attends school in the receiving district under the program.
(2) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012, and each fiscal year thereafter, the department shall provide, within available appropriations, an annual grant to the local or regional board of education for each receiving district that assists the state in meeting the goals of the 2008 stipulation and order for Milo Sheff, et al. v. William A. O'Neill, et al., as determined by the commissioner, an amount not to exceed (A) three thousand dollars for each out-of-district student who attends school in the receiving district under the program if the number of such out-of-district students is less than two per cent of the total student population of such receiving district, (B) four thousand dollars for each out-of-district student who attends school in the receiving district under the program if the number of such out-of-district students is greater than or equal to two per cent but less than three per cent of the total student population of such receiving district, and (C) six thousand dollars for each out-of-district student who attends school in the receiving district under the program if the number of such out-of-district students is greater than or equal to three per cent of the total student population of such receiving district.
(3) Each town which receives funds pursuant to this subsection shall make such funds available to its local or regional board of education in supplement to any other local appropriation, other state or federal grant or other revenue to which the local or regional board of education is entitled.
(h) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, each sending district and each receiving district shall divide the number of children participating in the program who reside in such district or attend school in such district by two for purposes of the counts for subdivision (22) of section 10-262f and subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 10-261.
(i) In the case of an out-of-district student who requires special education and related services, the sending district shall pay the receiving district an amount equal to the difference between the reasonable cost of providing such special education and related services to such student and the amount received by the receiving district pursuant to subsection (g) of this section and in the case of students participating pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, the per pupil amount received pursuant to section 10-74d. The sending district shall be eligible for reimbursement pursuant to section 10-76g.
(j) Nothing in this section shall prohibit school districts from charging tuition to other school districts that do not have a high school pursuant to section 10-33.
(k) On or before October fifteenth of each year, the Commissioner of Education shall determine if the enrollment in the program pursuant to subsection (c) of this section for the fiscal year is below the number of students for which funds were appropriated. If the commissioner determines that the enrollment is below such number, the additional funds shall not lapse but shall be used by the commissioner in accordance with this subsection. (1) Any amount up to five hundred thousand dollars of such nonlapsing funds shall be used for supplemental grants to receiving districts on a pro rata basis for each out-of-district student in the program pursuant to subsection (c) of this section who attends the same school in the receiving district as at least nine other such out-of-district students, not to exceed one thousand dollars per student; [. (2) Any] (2) any amount up to five hundred thousand dollars of such nonlapsing funds shall be used for supplemental grants on a pro rata basis to receiving districts that report to the commissioner on or before March first of the current school year that the number of spaces for out-of-district students exceeds the number of such spaces for such receiving district in the prior school year; and (3) any remaining nonlapsing funds shall be used for interdistrict cooperative grants pursuant to section 10-74d.
(l) For purposes of the state-wide mastery examinations under section 10-14n, students participating in the program established pursuant to this section shall be considered residents of the school district in which they attend school.
(m) Within available appropriations, the commissioner may make grants to regional education service centers which provide summer school educational programs approved by the commissioner to students participating in the program.
(n) The Commissioner of Education may provide grants for children in the Hartford program described in this section to participate in preschool and all day kindergarten programs. In addition to the subsidy provided to the receiving district for educational services, such grants may be used for the provision of before and after-school care and remedial services for the preschool and kindergarten students participating in the program.
(o) Within available appropriations, the commissioner may make grants for academic student support for programs pursuant to this section that assist the state in meeting the goals of the 2008 stipulation and order for Milo Sheff, et al. v. William A. O'Neill, et al., as determined by the commissioner.
Sec. 4. Section 10-264i of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2011):
(a) (1) (A) A local or regional board of education, (B) regional educational service center, (C) the Board of Trustees of the Community-Technical Colleges on behalf of Quinebaug Valley Community College, or (D) cooperative arrangement pursuant to section 10-158a, [or (E) to assist the state in meeting the goals of the 2008 stipulation and order for Milo Sheff, et al. v. William A. O'Neill, et al., as determined by the Commissioner of Education, (i) the Board of Trustees of the Community-Technical Colleges on behalf of a regional community-technical college, (ii) the Board of Trustees of the Connecticut State University System on behalf of a state university, (iii) the Board of Trustees for The University of Connecticut on behalf of the university, (iv) the board of governors for an independent college or university, as defined in section 10a-37, or the equivalent of such a board, on behalf of the independent college or university, and (v) any other third-party not-for-profit corporation approved by the commissioner] which transports a child to an interdistrict magnet school program, as defined in section 10-264l, in a town other than the town in which the child resides shall be eligible pursuant to section 10-264e to receive a grant for the cost of transporting such child in accordance with this section.
(2) [Except as provided in subdivisions (3) and (4) of this subsection, the] The amount of such grant shall not exceed an amount equal to the number of such children transported multiplied by one thousand three hundred dollars.
[(3) For districts assisting the state in meeting the goals of the 2008 stipulation and order for Milo Sheff, et al. v. William A. O'Neill, et al., as determined by the commissioner, (i) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010, the amount of such grant shall not exceed an amount equal to the number of such children transported multiplied by one thousand four hundred dollars, and (ii) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, the amount of such grant shall not exceed an amount equal to the number of such children transported multiplied by two thousand dollars.
(4) For the fiscal years ending June 30, 2009, and June 30, 2010, in addition to the grants otherwise provided pursuant to this section, the Commissioner of Education may provide supplemental transportation grants to regional educational service centers for the purposes of transportation to interdistrict magnet schools. Any such grant shall be provided within available appropriations and after the commissioner has reviewed and approved the total interdistrict magnet school transportation budget for a regional education service center, including all revenue and expenditure estimates. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010, in addition to the grants otherwise provided pursuant to this section, the Commissioner of Education, with the approval of the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, may provide supplemental transportation grants to the Hartford school district and the Capitol Region Education Council for the purposes of transportation of students who are not residents of Hartford to interdistrict magnet schools operated by the Capitol Region Education Council or the Hartford school district.]
[(5)] (3) The Department of Education shall provide such grants within available appropriations. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent a local or regional board of education, regional educational service center or cooperative arrangement from receiving reimbursement under section 10-266m for reasonable transportation expenses for which such board, service center or cooperative arrangement is not reimbursed pursuant to this section.
(b) Grants under this section shall be contingent on documented costs of providing such transportation. Eligible entities identified in subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section shall submit applications for grants under this section to the Commissioner of Education in such form and at such times as he prescribes. Grants pursuant to this section shall be paid as follows: In October one-half of the estimated eligible transportation costs and the balance of such costs in May.
(c) Each eligible entity identified in subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section participating in the grant program shall prepare a financial statement of expenditures which shall be submitted to the Department of Education on or before September first of the fiscal year immediately following each fiscal year in which the school district, regional educational service center or cooperative arrangement participates in the grant program. Based on such statement, any underpayment or overpayment may be calculated and adjusted by the Department of Education in the grant for any subsequent year.
Sec. 5. Subsection (a) of section 10-266m of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2011):
(a) A local or regional board of education providing transportation in accordance with the provisions of sections 10-54, 10-66ee, 10-97, 10-158a, 10-273a, 10-277 and 10-281 shall be reimbursed for a percentage of such transportation costs as follows:
(1) The percentage of pupil transportation costs reimbursed to a local board of education shall be determined by (A) ranking each town in the state in descending order from one to one hundred sixty-nine according to such town's adjusted equalized net grand list per capita, as defined in section 10-261; (B) based upon such ranking, and notwithstanding the provisions of section 2-32a, (i) except as otherwise provided in this subparagraph, a percentage of zero shall be assigned to towns ranked from one to thirteen and a percentage of not less than zero nor more than sixty shall be determined for the towns ranked from fourteen to one hundred sixty-nine on a continuous scale, except that any such percentage shall be increased by twenty percentage points in accordance with section 10-97, where applicable, and (ii) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1997, and for each fiscal year thereafter, a percentage of zero shall be assigned to towns ranked from one to seventeen and a percentage of not less than zero nor more than sixty shall be determined for the towns ranked from eighteen to one hundred sixty-nine on a continuous scale.
(2) The percentage of pupil transportation costs reimbursed to a regional board of education shall be determined by its ranking. Such ranking shall be determined by (A) multiplying the total population, as defined in section 10-261, of each town in the district by such town's ranking, as determined in subdivision (1) of this section, (B) adding together the figures determined under subparagraph (A) of this subdivision, and (C) dividing the total computed under subparagraph (B) of this subdivision by the total population of all towns in the district. The ranking of each regional board of education shall be rounded to the next higher whole number and each such board shall receive the same reimbursement percentage as would a town with the same rank, provided such percentage shall be increased in the case of a secondary regional school district by an additional five percentage points and, in the case of any other regional school district by an additional ten percentage points.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (1) and (2) of this section, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1997, and for each fiscal year thereafter, no local or regional board of education shall receive a grant of less than one thousand dollars.
(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2004, to June 30, 2011, inclusive, the amount of transportation grants payable to local or regional boards of education shall be reduced proportionately if the total of such grants in such year exceeds the amount appropriated for such grants for such year.
[(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the Commissioner of Education may provide grants, within available appropriations, in an amount not to exceed two thousand dollars per pupil, to local and regional boards of education and regional educational service centers that transport (A) out-of-district students to technical high schools located in Hartford, or (B) Hartford students attending a technical high school or a regional agricultural science and technology education center outside of the district, to assist the state in meeting the goals of the 2008 stipulation and order for Milo Sheff, et al. v. William A. O'Neill, et al., as determined by the commissioner, for the costs associated with such transportation.]
[(6)] (5) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012, in addition to the reimbursements and grants payable under subdivisions (1) to (5), inclusive, of this subsection, the Commissioner of Education shall provide a grant when (A) two or more boards of education enter into a cooperative agreement in accordance with section 10-158a to transport students to schools operated by the boards of education during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, and (B) such cooperative arrangement results in a savings, as determined by the commissioner, over the transportation costs incurred by the boards of education during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010. This grant, which shall be returned to the municipalities in which the participating boards of education are located in accordance with the terms of the written cooperative arrangement, shall be equal to half of the difference in the amount the boards of education would have been reimbursed in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012, for pupil transportation costs but for the savings realized in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, pursuant to the cooperative arrangement.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: | ||
Section 1 |
July 1, 2011 |
New section |
Sec. 2 |
July 1, 2011 |
New section |
Sec. 3 |
July 1, 2011 |
10-266aa |
Sec. 4 |
July 1, 2011 |
10-264i |
Sec. 5 |
July 1, 2011 |
10-266m(a) |
Statement of Purpose:
To establish and provide grants for districts offering Crandall school programs that will assist the state in meeting the goals of the 2008 stipulation and order for Milo Sheff, et al. v. William A. O'Neill, et al.; to create a three-tiered grant program for receiving districts of students participating in the Open Choice Program; to provide supplemental grants to receiving districts participating in the Open Choice Program that increased the number of available spaces from the previous school year; to provide grants to eligible entities that provide transportation to students participating in the Open Choice Program.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]