Bill Text: CT SB00472 | 2014 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: An Act Concerning State Funding For Education And The Budgets Of Boards Of Education.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-03-13 - Public Hearing 03/17 [SB00472 Detail]

Download: Connecticut-2014-SB00472-Introduced.html

---

General Assembly		Raised Bill No. 472
February Session, 2014		LCO No. 2509
		*02509_______ED_*
Referred to Committee on EDUCATION
Introduced by:
(ED)

AN ACT CONCERNING STATE FUNDING FOR EDUCATION AND THE BUDGETS OF BOARDS OF EDUCATION.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subdivision (4) of subsection (a) of section 10-266m of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2004, to June 30, [2013] 2015, 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.

Sec. 2. Subsection (b) of section 10-65 of the 2014 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(b) Each local or regional board of education not maintaining an agricultural science and technology education center shall provide opportunities for its students to enroll in one or more such centers in a number that is at least equal to the number specified in any written agreement with each such center or centers, or in the absence of such an agreement, a number that is at least equal to the average number of its students that the board of education enrolled in each such center or centers during the previous three school years, provided, in addition to such number, each such board of education shall provide opportunities for its students to enroll in the ninth grade in a number that is at least equal to the number specified in any written agreement with each such center or centers, or in the absence of such an agreement, a number that is at least equal to the average number of students that the board of education enrolled in the ninth grade in each such center or centers during the previous three school years. If a local or regional board of education provided opportunities for students to enroll in more than one center for the school year commencing July 1, 2007, such board of education shall continue to provide such opportunities to students in accordance with this subsection. The board of education operating an agricultural science and technology education center may charge, subject to the provisions of section 10-65b, tuition [for a school year] (1) for the school year commencing July 1, 2013, in an amount not to exceed seven thousand nine hundred ninety-two dollars, and (2) for the school year commencing July 1, 2014, and each school year thereafter, in an amount not to exceed sixty-two and forty-seven one-hundredths per cent of the foundation level pursuant to subdivision (9) of section 10-262f, per student for the fiscal year in which the tuition is paid, except that such board may charge tuition for (1) students enrolled under shared-time arrangements on a pro rata basis, and (2) special education students which shall not exceed the actual costs of educating such students minus the amounts received pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section and subsection (c) of this section. Any tuition paid by such board for special education students in excess of the tuition paid for non-special-education students shall be reimbursed pursuant to section 10-76g.

Sec. 3. Subsections (f) and (g) of section 10-266p of the 2014 supplement to the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(f) In addition to the amounts allocated in subsection (a), and subsections (c) to (e), inclusive, of this section, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006, the State Board of Education shall allocate two million thirty-nine thousand six hundred eighty-six dollars to the towns that rank one to three, inclusive, in population pursuant to subdivision (1) of said subsection (a), and for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2007, to June 30, [2013] 2015, the State Board of Education shall allocate two million six hundred ten thousand seven hundred ninety-eight dollars to the towns that rank one to three, inclusive, in population pursuant to subdivision (1) of said subsection (a).

(g) In addition to the amounts allocated in subsection (a) and subsections (c) to (f), inclusive, of this section, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012, [and each fiscal year thereafter,] the State Board of Education shall allocate three million two hundred sixteen thousand nine hundred eight dollars as follows: Each priority school district shall receive an allocation based on the ratio of the amount it is eligible to receive pursuant to subsection (a) and subsections (c) to (f), inclusive, of this section to the total amount all priority school districts are eligible to receive pursuant to said subsection (a) and said subsections (c) to (f), inclusive. For the fiscal year ending June 30, [2013] 2014, the State Board of Education shall allocate [two million nine hundred twenty-nine thousand three hundred sixty-four dollars] two million nine hundred twenty-five thousand four hundred eighty-one dollars as follows: Each priority school district shall receive an allocation based on the ratio of the amount it is eligible to receive pursuant to subsection (a) of this section and subsections (c) to (f), inclusive, of this section to the total amount all priority school districts are eligible to receive pursuant to subsection (a) of this section and subsections (c) to (f), inclusive, of this section.

Sec. 4. Subdivision (20) of section 10-262f of the 2014 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(20) "Regular program expenditures" means (A) total current educational expenditures less (B) expenditures for (i) special education programs pursuant to subsection (h) of section 10-76f, (ii) pupil transportation eligible for reimbursement pursuant to section 10-266m, as amended by this act, (iii) land and capital building expenditures, and equipment otherwise supported by a state grant pursuant to chapter 173, including debt service, [(iii)] (iv) health services for nonpublic school children, [(iv)] (v) adult education, (C) expenditures directly attributable to (i) state grants received by or on behalf of school districts except grants for the categories of expenditures listed in subparagraphs (B)(i) to (B)(iv), inclusive, of this subdivision and except grants received pursuant to section 10-262i and section 10-262c of the general statutes, revision of 1958, revised to January 1, 1987, and except grants received pursuant to chapter 173, (ii) federal grants received by or on behalf of school districts except for adult education and federal impact aid, and (iii) receipts from the operation of child nutrition services and student activities services, (D) expenditures of funds from private and other sources, and (E) tuition received on account of nonresident students. The town of Woodstock may include as part of the current expenses of its public schools for each school year the amount expended for current expenses in that year by Woodstock Academy from income from its endowment funds upon receipt from said academy of a certified statement of such current expenses. The town of Winchester may include as part of the current expenses of its public school for each school year the amount expended for current expenses in that year by the Gilbert School from income from its endowment funds upon receipt from said school of a certified statement of such current expenses.

Sec. 5. Subdivision (43) of section 10-262f of the 2014 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(43) "Median household income adjustment factor" means the ratio of the median household income of the town to one and one-half times the median household income of the town with the median of the median household income when all towns are ranked according to median household income.

Sec. 6. Subsections (b) to (d), inclusive, of section 10-66ee of the 2014 supplement to the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(b) (1) The local board of education of the school district in which a student enrolled in a local charter school resides shall pay, annually, in accordance with its charter, to the fiscal authority for the charter school for each such student the amount specified in its charter, including the reasonable special education costs of students requiring special education. The board of education shall be eligible for reimbursement for such special education costs pursuant to section 10-76g.

(2) The local or regional board of education of the school district in which the local charter school is located shall be responsible for the financial support of such local charter school at a level that is at least equal to the product of (A) the per pupil cost for the [prior fiscal year, less the reimbursement pursuant to section 10-76g for the current fiscal year] fiscal year two years prior to the fiscal year for which support will be provided, and (B) the number of students attending such local charter school in the current fiscal year. As used in this subdivision, "per pupil cost" means, for a local or regional board of education, the quotient of the [net current expenditures] current program expenditures, as defined in [subdivision (3) of section 10-261] subdivision (35) of section 10-262f, divided by the [average daily membership, as defined in subdivision (2) of section 10-261,] number of resident students, as defined in subdivision (22) of section 10-262f, of such local or regional board of education.

(c) (1) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, and each fiscal year thereafter, the State Board of Education may approve, within available appropriations, a per student grant to a local charter school described in subsection [(b)] (c) of section [10-66nn] 10-66bb in an amount not to exceed three thousand dollars for each student enrolled in such local charter school, provided the local or regional board of education for such local charter school and the representatives of the exclusive bargaining unit for certified employees, chosen pursuant to section 10-153b, mutually agree on staffing flexibility in such local charter school, and such agreement is approved by the State Board of Education. [For the purposes of equalization aid grants pursuant to section 10-262h, the] The state shall make such payments, in accordance with this subsection, to the town in which a local charter school is located as follows: Twenty-five per cent of the amount not later than July fifteenth and September first based on estimated student enrollment on May first, and twenty-five per cent of the amount not later than January first and the remaining amount not later than April [fifteenth] first, each based on student enrollment on October first.

(2) The town shall pay to the fiscal authority for a local charter school the portion of the amount paid to the town pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection attributable for students enrolled in such local charter school. Such payments shall be made as follows: Twenty-five per cent of the amount not later than July twentieth and September fifteenth and twenty-five per cent of the amount not later than January fifteenth and the remaining amount not later than April fifteenth.

(d) (1) For the purposes of equalization aid grants pursuant to section 10-262h, the state shall pay in accordance with this subsection, to the town in which a state charter school is located for each student enrolled in such school, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, ten thousand two hundred dollars, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, ten thousand five hundred dollars, and for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015, and each fiscal year thereafter, eleven thousand dollars. Such payments shall be made as follows: Twenty-five per cent of the amount not later than July fifteenth and September first based on estimated student enrollment on May first, and twenty-five per cent of the amount not later than January first and the remaining amount not later than April [fifteenth] first, each based on student enrollment on October first. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivision, the payment of the remaining amount made not later than April 15, 2013, shall be within available appropriations and may be adjusted for each student on a pro rata basis.

(2) The town shall pay to the fiscal authority for a state charter school the portion of the amount paid to the town pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection attributable for students enrolled in such state charter school. Such payments shall be made as follows: Twenty-five per cent of the amount not later than July twentieth and September fifteenth and twenty-five per cent of the amount not later than January fifteenth and the remaining amount not later than April fifteenth.

(3) In the case of a student identified as requiring special education, the school district in which the student resides shall: (A) Hold the planning and placement team meeting for such student and shall invite representatives from the charter school to participate in such meeting; and (B) pay the state charter school, on a quarterly basis, an amount equal to the difference between the reasonable cost of educating such student and the sum of the amount received by the state charter school for such student pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection and amounts received from other state, federal, local or private sources calculated on a per pupil basis. Such school district shall be eligible for reimbursement pursuant to section 10-76g. The charter school a student requiring special education attends shall be responsible for ensuring that such student receives the services mandated by the student's individualized education program whether such services are provided by the charter school or by the school district in which the student resides.

Sec. 7. Subsection (b) of section 10-10c of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(b) For the fiscal year ending June 30, [2015] 2016, and each fiscal year thereafter, each local or regional board of education, regional educational service center and state charter school shall implement such uniform system of accounting by completing and filing annual financial reports with the department using the chart of accounts and meet the provisions of section 10-227.

Sec. 8. Subsection (c) of section 10-262i of the 2014 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(c) All aid distributed to a town pursuant to the provisions of this section and section 10-262u, as amended by this act, shall be expended for educational purposes only and shall be expended upon the authorization of the local or regional board of education and in accordance with the provisions of section 10-262u, as amended by this act. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1999, and each fiscal year thereafter, if a town receives an increase in funds pursuant to this section over the amount it received for the prior fiscal year, such increase shall not be used to supplant local funding for educational purposes. The budgeted appropriation for education in any town receiving an increase in funds pursuant to this section shall be not less than the amount appropriated for education for the prior year plus such increase in funds.

Sec. 9. Subsection (c) of section 10-262u of the 2014 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(c) (1) (A) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, the Comptroller shall withhold from a town designated as an alliance district any increase in funds received over the amount the town received for the prior fiscal year pursuant to section 10-262h. The Comptroller shall transfer such funds to the Commissioner of Education. (B) For the fiscal years ending June 30, 2014, and June 30, 2015, the Comptroller shall withhold from a town designated as an alliance district any increase in funds received over the amount the town received for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012, pursuant to subsection (a) of section 10-262i. The Comptroller shall transfer such funds to the Commissioner of Education.

(2) Upon receipt of an application pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, the Commissioner of Education may pay such funds to the town designated as an alliance district and such town shall pay such funds to the local or regional board of education for such town on the condition that such funds shall be expended in accordance with the plan described in subsection (d) of this section, the provisions of subsection (c) of section 10-262i, as amended by this act, and any guidelines developed by the State Board of Education for such funds. Such funds shall be used to improve student achievement in such alliance district and to offset any other local education costs approved by the commissioner.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	from passage	10-266m(a)(4)
Sec. 2	from passage	10-65(b)
Sec. 3	from passage	10-266p(f) and (g)
Sec. 4	from passage	10-262f(20)
Sec. 5	from passage	10-262f(43)
Sec. 6	from passage	10-66ee(b) to (d)
Sec. 7	from passage	10-10c(b)
Sec. 8	from passage	10-262i(c)
Sec. 9	from passage	10-262u(c)

Statement of Purpose:

To make revisions to the statutes regarding state funding for education, to delay the implementation of the uniform chart of accounts and to prohibit the supplanting of ECS aid and alliance district funding.

[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.]