Bill Text: NJ A2921 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Modifies cost thresholds for reimbursement of extraordinary special education costs; requires State to bear full cost of nonpublic school transportation for certain school districts.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 2)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-01-13 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee [A2921 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-A2921-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ALEX SAUICKIE
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Clifton
SYNOPSIS
Modifies cost thresholds for reimbursement of extraordinary special education costs; requires State to bear full cost of nonpublic school transportation for certain school districts.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning State school aid, amending P.L.2007, c.260, and supplementing chapter 39 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 13 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-55) is amended to read as follows:
13. a. Special education categorical aid for each school district and county vocational school district shall be calculated as follows:
SE = (RE x SEACR x AEC x 1/3) x GCA
where
RE is the resident enrollment of the school district or county vocational school district;
SEACR is the State average classification rate for general special education services pupils;
AEC is the excess cost for general special education services pupils; and
GCA is the geographic cost adjustment as developed by the commissioner.
For the 2008-2009 school year the excess cost shall be $10,898 for general special education services pupils. The excess cost amount shall be adjusted by the CPI in the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years as required pursuant to subsection b. of section 4 of [this act] P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-46). For subsequent school years, the excess cost amount shall be established in the Educational Adequacy Report, with the amount adjusted by the CPI for each of the two school years following the first school year to which the report is applicable.
b. Extraordinary special education aid for an individual classified pupil shall be available when the student is educated in a general education classroom, special education program, including but not limited to a resource program or special class program, or any combination of general education and special education programs and services, subject to the requirements and thresholds set forth in this section.
(1) In those instances in which a pupil is educated in an in-district public school program with non-disabled peers, whether run by a public school or by a private school for the disabled, and the cost of providing direct instructional and support services for an individual classified pupil exceeds [$40,000] $35,000, for those direct instructional and support services costs in excess of [$40,000] $35,000 a district shall receive extraordinary special education State aid equal to [90%] 90 percent of the amount of that excess in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (4) of this subsection.
(2) In those instances in which a pupil is educated in a separate public school program for students with disabilities and the cost of providing direct instructional and support services for an individual classified pupil exceeds $40,000, for those direct instructional and support services costs in excess of $40,000 a district shall receive extraordinary special education State aid equal to [75%] 75 percent of the amount of that excess in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (4) of this subsection.
(3) In those instances in which a pupil is educated in a separate private school for students with disabilities and the tuition for an individual classified pupil exceeds $55,000, for tuition costs in excess of $55,000 a district shall receive extraordinary special education State aid equal to [75%] 75 percent of the amount of that excess in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (4) of this subsection.
(4) Extraordinary special education State aid for an individual classified pupil shall be calculated as follows:
EA = ((ADC-[$40,000] $35,000) x .90) + (((AIC - $40,000) + (ASC - $55,000)) x .75)
where
ADC equals the district's actual cost for the direct instructional and support services in an in-district public school program as set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection;
AIC equals the district's actual cost for direct instructional and support services in a separate public school program as set forth in paragraph (2) of this subsection; and
ASC equals the district's actual cost for tuition paid to a separate private school as set forth in paragraph (3) of this subsection.
(5) The receipt of extraordinary special education State aid for an individual classified pupil shall be conditioned upon a demonstration by the district that the pupil's Individualized Education Plan requires the provision of intensive services, pursuant to factors determined by the commissioner.
c. In order to receive funding pursuant to this section, a district shall file an application with the department that details the expenses incurred on behalf of the particular classified pupil for which the district is seeking reimbursement. Additional State aid awarded for extraordinary special education costs shall be recorded by the district as revenue in the current school year and paid to the district in the subsequent school year.
d. A school district may apply to the commissioner to receive emergency special education aid for any classified pupil who enrolls in the district prior to March of the budget year and who is in a placement with a cost in excess of [$40,000 or $55,000, as applicable] the applicable extraordinary special education aid thresholds enumerated in subsection b. of this section. The commissioner may debit from the student's former district of residence any special education aid which was paid to that district on behalf of the student.
e. The department shall review expenditures of federal and State special education aid by a district in every instance in which special education monitoring identifies a failure on the part of the district to provide services consistent with a pupil's Individualized Education Plan.
f. The commissioner shall commission an independent study of the special education census funding methodology to determine if adjustments in the special education funding formulas are needed in future years to address the variations in incidence of students with severe disabilities requiring high cost programs and to make recommendations for any such adjustments. The study and recommendations shall be completed by June 30, 2010.
g. A school district may apply to the commissioner to receive additional special education categorical aid if the district has an unusually high rate of low-incidence disabilities, such as autism, deaf/blindness, severe cognitive impairment, and medically fragile. In applying for the aid the district shall: demonstrate the impact of the unusually high rate of low-incidence disabilities on the school district budget and the extent to which the costs to the district are not sufficiently addressed through special education aid and extraordinary special education aid; and provide details of all special education expenditures, including details on the use of federal funds to support those expenditures.
h. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary, a school district's receipt of extraordinary special education aid shall be equal to a percent of the amount calculated pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection b. of this section according to the following schedule:
(1) 80 percent in the first full school year following the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill);
(2) 85 percent in the second full school year following the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill);
(3) 90 percent in the third full school year following the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill);
(4) 95 percent in the fourth full school year following the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill); and
(5) 100 percent in the fifth full school year following the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and in each school year thereafter.
(cf: P.L.2007, c.260, s.13)
2. (New section) a. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 2 of P.L.1981, c.57 (C.18A:39-1a) or any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the State shall bear the full cost of transportation supplied by an eligible school district to a nonpublic school student who is required to be transported by the district pursuant to N.J.S.18A:39-1 up to the maximum per pupil amount determined pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1981, c.57 (C.18A:39-1a).
b. As used in this section, "eligible school district" means a school district in which:
(1) the sum of the following values exceeds 5,000 resident students, as of the last school day prior to October 16 of the prebudget year:
(a) the total number of regular education public school students and regular nonpublic school students eligible for transportation pursuant to N.J.S.18A:39-1, excluding preschool students other than students that qualify for free full-day preschool pursuant to section 12 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-54); and
(b) the total number of special education students eligible for transportation pursuant to N.J.S.18A:46-23 with no special transportation requirements; and
(2) regular nonpublic school students eligible for transportation pursuant to N.J.S.18A:39-1 comprise 25 percent or more of the total number of students specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection.
3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to the first full school year following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill modifies the cost thresholds for reimbursement of extraordinary special education costs and requires the State to bear the full cost of nonpublic school transportation for certain school districts.
Pursuant to current law, a school district is reimbursed for certain special education costs in the form of extraordinary special education aid. Eligible costs are: 90 percent of costs in excess of $40,000 for students educated in an in-district public school program with non-disabled peers; 75 percent of costs in excess of $40,000 for students educated in a separate public school program for students with disabilities; and 75 percent of tuition costs in excess of $55,000 for students educated in a separate private school for students with disabilities. The bill decreases the cost threshold from $40,000 to $35,000 for students educated in public school programs that are integrated into the classroom. The bill also provides for a gradual phase-in of full funding of extraordinary special education aid over the span of five years.
Current law requires a school district to provide transportation services to public school students who live remote from school. "Remote" for school transportation purposes means residing more than two miles from the school of attendance for students enrolled in grades kindergarten through eight and more than two and one-half miles for students enrolled in high school. If a school district provides mandatory busing services to public school students, then it is also required to provide transportation to nonpublic school students who live remote, but no more than 20 miles, from school.
The required transportation services for nonpublic school students, however, are to be provided by school districts within a maximum per pupil limit that is established on an annual basis. If a school district is unable to provide the services within the maximum per pupil limit, then the district provides students' parents with an aid-in-lieu-of transportation payment equal to that maximum amount. The State reimburses districts for nonpublic school student transportation costs above $710 per pupil and up to the maximum per pupil amount.
Instead of the current reimbursement structure, this bill requires the State to cover the full costs, up to the maximum per pupil amount, to certain eligible school districts providing required transportation to eligible nonpublic school students. As defined in the bill, an eligible school district is one that is required to provide transportation to more than 5,000 students and in which 25 percent or more of the total number of students requiring transportation is comprised of nonpublic school students.
It is the sponsor's intent to support school districts that experience an undue burden from providing transportation services to an extraordinary number of public school and nonpublic school students. Eligible school districts pursuant to this bill will benefit from the additional financial relief and will better enable them to provide the nonpublic school student transportation services as required by State law.
