ASSEMBLY, No. 294

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

 

 

By Assemblyman ROONEY and Assemblywoman VANDERVALK

 

 

An Act concerning the school district of attendance of certain pupils and supplementing chapter 38 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

 

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

    1. a. There is established a four year public school choice pilot program to enable pupils in certain public school districts to attend a school or program in another public school district. For the 1994-95 and 1995-96 school years pupils in a district designated as a special needs district pursuant to chapter 7D of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes may participate in the public school choice program established under this act. For the 1996-97 and 1997-98 school years pupils in a special needs district and in a district which is designated as in District Factor Group A, B, C, or D may participate in the public school choice program established under this act.

    b. Each board of education shall, by resolution, determine the number of nonresident pupils which may attend its schools or programs pursuant to this section. No district shall be obligated to accept nonresident pupils pursuant to the provisions of this act.

    c. If the number of openings for nonresident pupils determined by the district pursuant to subsection b. of this section is less than 15% of the resident enrollment of the district, the district shall document in a public letter to the Commissioner of Education the basis for the district's decision to accept a lesser number of pupils.

    d. No pupil determined to have a severe disability or requiring out of district placement pursuant to an Individualized Education Program shall participate in the public school choice program established under this act.

 

    2. a. In order for a pupil to attend a school or program in a district outside of the pupil's district of residence, the pupil's parent or guardian shall submit an application to the nonresident district by November 15 for initial enrollment beginning the following school year. The application shall be on a form provided by the Commissioner of Education. Before submitting an application, the pupil and the pupil's parent or guardian shall discuss with a school guidance counselor, or other appropriate staff member of the district of residence, the pupil's academic or other reason for applying to enroll in a school or program of a nonresident district. However, the guidance counselor or other staff member shall not prohibit the pupil from attending the schools of another district. The pupil's application shall identify the reason for seeking enrollment in the nonresident district. A particular school or program may be requested by the pupil's parent or guardian. Once enrolled in a nonresident district, the pupil shall remain enrolled therein for the duration of the pilot project and shall not be required to submit annual or periodic applications for renewal. In order to return to the resident district or to attend the schools of a different nonresident district, the parent or guardian of the pupil shall provide notice to both the resident district and the nonresident district or apply to a different nonresident district by November 15 for enrollment beginning the following school year.

    b. A district receiving an application from a nonresident pupil under this act shall notify the pupil's parent or guardian in writing within 20 days following receipt of an application whether the application has been accepted or rejected. The only basis for rejection of an application by a school district shall be that all openings for nonresident pupils have been filled, as determined by the date a completed application is received by the district. The pupil's parent or guardian shall notify the nonresident district within 20 days following acceptance whether the pupil intends to enroll in the nonresident district. Notice of intent to enroll in the nonresident district obligates the pupil to attend the nonresident district during the following school year, unless the school boards of the resident and the nonresident districts agree in writing to allow the pupil to transfer back to the resident district, or the pupil's residence changes to another district. The nonresident district shall notify the resident district and the Commissioner of Education of the pupil's intent to enroll in the nonresident district. The procedures set forth in this subsection shall also apply to a pupil who applies to transfer from one participating nonresident district to another participating nonresident district.

    c. A nonresident district shall award a diploma to a nonresident pupil participating in the public school choice program if the pupil meets State graduation requirements.

 

    3. a. A school district which has enrolled nonresident pupils pursuant to this act shall submit to the Commissioner of Education on the first day of October, December, February, April and June proof of a pupil's attendance or continued attendance in the nonresident district. If a pupil ceases to attend the school during the school year, the nonresident district shall notify the commissioner immediately. However, a pupil attending a nonresident school district pursuant to this act shall continue to be included in the calculation of the resident enrollment of the district of residence and shall not be included in the resident enrollment of the district of attendance.

    b. The commissioner shall pay to the nonresident school district for each pupil enrolled pursuant to this act an amount equal to the greater of 85% of the foundation aid attributable to a pupil in the district of residence for the year of attendance, as defined pursuant to subsection e. of this section, or 50% of the per pupil local levy budget of the district of residence as determined pursuant to subsection c. of this section. The commissioner shall also pay to the nonresident district any special education aid, aid for bilingual pupils, and at-risk aid attributable to the pupil pursuant to chapter 7D of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes. The amount so calculated shall be paid to the nonresident school district in 10 equal monthly installments on the first day of each month from September through June.

    c. The local levy budget per pupil for the district of residence shall be calculated for each pupil by dividing the sum of the district's foundation aid and local levies for current expense and capital outlay by the resident enrollment of the school district and multiplying the quotient by 1.00 for a pupil in grades kindergarten through fifth, 1.10 for a pupil in grades sixth through eighth and 1.30 for a pupil in grades ninth through twelfth.

    d. The commissioner shall annually reduce the State aid entitlement of the school district of residence by the amount of State aid paid to the district of attendance pursuant to subsection b. of this section.

    e. For the purposes of this section, "foundation aid attributable to a pupil" means an amount equal to the average per pupil foundation aid received by a district for all pupils in the same grade as the pupil seeking enrollment under this act. This amount shall be calculated using the foundation weights for the appropriate grade level set forth in section 6 of P.L.1990, c.52 (C.18A:7D-6).

 

    4. Each district in which resides pupils eligible to participate in the public school choice program established under this act shall make available to its pupils and parents and guardians of pupils by November 1 of each school year a list of the public school districts, along with the number of openings for nonresident pupils for each district, which the pupil would be authorized to attend under the bill. The list shall be annually prepared by the Commissioner of Education and provided to each school district.

    All public school districts accepting nonresident pupils pursuant to this act shall make available to interested persons information about the district, schools, programs, policies and procedures.


    5. Transportation shall be provided by the school district of residence to the nonresident school of attendance for which the school district of residence shall be eligible to receive State transportation aid pursuant to section 16 of P.L.1990, c.52 (C.18A:7D-18). However, if the lowest bid received for providing such transportation exceeds $675, or the amount determined for nonpublic school transportation costs per pupil pursuant to N.J.S.18A:39-1a, the district shall not be required to provide transportation, and the parent or guardian of the pupil to be transported shall be eligible to receive $675, or the amount determined for nonpublic school transportation costs per pupil pursuant to N.J.S.18A:39-1a. If the school district of residence does not provide transportation to public school pupils pursuant to N.J.S.18A:39-1, the school district of attendance shall provide the transportation required pursuant to this section and shall receive transportation aid as provided herein. If neither the school district of residence nor the school district of attendance provides transportation to public school pupils pursuant to N.J.S.18A:39-1, neither district shall be required to provide transportation pursuant to this section, and the parent or guardian of the pupil to be transported shall be eligible to receive $675, or the amount determined for nonpublic school transportation costs per pupil pursuant to N.J.S.18A:39-1a.

 

    6. For the purposes of calculating each district's maximum permissible net budget pursuant to section 85 of P.L.1990, c.52 (C.18A:7D-28), a district's local levy budget shall include its foundation aid entitlement prior to any deductions made as a result of P.L. , c. (C. ) (now pending before the Legislature as this bill). The Commissioner of Education shall make any adjustments to a district's maximum permissible net budget or equity spending cap which may be necessary as a result of that act.

 

    7. The Commissioner of Education shall evaluate the public school choice pilot program established by this act and shall report to the Legislature and the Governor by September 1, 1997 as to the effectiveness of the program along with a recommendation as to whether the program should be continued, modified or expanded to allow other pupils, in addition to those residing in districts designated as in District Factor Group A, B, C, or D, to participate.

 

    8. This act shall take effect immediately.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

    This bill establishes a four year public school choice pilot program to give pupils in certain school districts expanded educational opportunities.

    The bill provides that any pupil residing in a special needs district may attend a school or program in any public school district outside the pupil's district of residence beginning in the 1994-95 school year. The program will be expanded to any pupil in a district designated as in District Factor Group A, B, C or D in the 1996-97 school year.

    Each board of education shall decide how many nonresident pupils will be accepted into the schools of the district, but if the number of openings is less than 15% of the district's resident enrollment, the district must state in a letter to the Commissioner of Education the basis for the district's decision to accept a lesser number of pupils. The nonresident district will then receive State aid equal to the greater of 85% of the foundation aid per pupil at the district of residence or 50% of the local levy budget per pupil, weighted by grade level, for the district of residence. The State aid provided should be adequate to compensate the district of attendance for the marginal regular education costs for additional pupils given the district's unused facilities. This distribution of State aid would benefit the district of residence by allowing it to retain a substantial portion of the State and local revenues for pupils exercising the school choice option. The district of residence could then use the remaining State aid and local levies on behalf of those pupils to bolster spending on the education of the other pupils in the school district. The nonresident district will also receive any special education, bilingual or at-risk aid which is attributable to the pupil. A deduction would be made from the State aid entitlement of the district of residence equal to the amount of any State aid paid to the district of attendance on behalf of the pupil.

    The resident district must provide the pupil with transportation to the school of attendance or, if the costs of the transportation exceed $675, the parent or guardian of the pupil will be eligible to receive $675 to defray the costs of transportation. The district of residence will be eligible to receive State transportation aid for this transportation. If the district of residence does not provide transportation to pupils, then the district of attendance must provide transportation and will be eligible to receive transportation aid. If neither the district of attendance nor district of residence provide transportation to pupils, then the parent of the pupil will be eligible to receive $675 to defray the costs of transportation.

    The pilot program established under the bill will terminate after the 1997-98 school year. However, the Commissioner of Education is to report to the Legislature and the Governor as to the effectiveness of the program and recommend whether the program should be continued or expanded.


 

Establishes a public school choice pilot program for pupils residing in certain school districts.