ASSEMBLY, No. 905
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION
By Assemblyman ROCCO
An Act concerning the use of unclaimed State Lottery prize money for certain education programs and amending P.L.1970, c.13.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 17 of P.L.1970, c.13 (C.5:9-17) is amended to read as follows:
17. a. Unclaimed prize money for the prize on a winning ticket or share shall be retained by the director for the person entitled thereto for [1] one year after the drawing in which the prize was won. If no claim is made for [said] the prize money within such year, the prize money shall be allocated to State institutions and State aid for education in the same manner as lottery revenues are allocated for such purposes under this act; except that the first $3,000,000 of unclaimed prize money which becomes available during the remainder of the fiscal year in which P.L. , c. (C. ) (now pending before the Legislature as this bill) takes effect and in each fiscal year thereafter shall be allocated to the Department of Education pursuant to subsections b. and c. of this section.
b. $2,000,000 of unclaimed prize money shall annually be appropriated to the Department of Education to be used by the department to award grants to public school districts to establish and implement Reading Recovery Programs. The programs shall assist first grade students who are diagnosed as being at risk of reading failure. A school district may use the grant to fund the salaries of teacher leaders, to provide teacher leader training support, to support the salaries of Reading Recovery teachers, and to provide site support, evaluation, and other administrative and training support. The department shall not use more than three percent of the amounts it receives under this subsection to pay the costs it incurs in administering the Reading Recovery grant program. Funds distributed under this subsection shall not be used to reduce expenditures from funds received by school districts and the department for Reading Recovery Programs from any other sources.
The Department of Education shall annually report to the Governor and the Legislature on progress in establishing and implementing Reading Recovery Programs. The annual report shall include an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Reading Recovery Programs in bringing first grade students up to reading grade level.
c. $1,000,000 of unclaimed prize money shall annually be appropriated to the Department of Education to be used by the department to award grants to public school districts to establish gifted and talented programs within the district. The department shall not use more than three percent of the amounts it receives under this subsection to pay the costs it incurs in administering the gifted and talented grant program. Funds distributed under this subsection shall not be used to reduce expenditures from funds received by school districts and the department for gifted and talented programs from any other source.
The Department of Education shall annually report to the Governor and the Legislature on progress in establishing and implementing gifted and talented programs in public school districts.
(cf: P.L.1970, c.13, s.17)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill amends the "State Lottery Law," P.L.1970, c.13, to provide that annually $3 million of unclaimed prize money shall be appropriated to the Department of Education to award grants to public school districts to establish Reading Recovery Programs and gifted and talented programs.
Under the bill's provisions, annually $2 million is to be used for the establishment of Reading Recovery Programs. A Reading Recovery Program is an early intervention program that enables the lowest 20% of first graders at risk of reading failure to develop strategies to read at average classroom levels. Research on the program indicates a high success rate in raising the reading levels of such students and that upon completion of the program they require no further remediation.
The bill also provides that annually $1 million is to be used for the establishment of gifted and talented programs within school districts.
The bill stipulates that no more than 3% of the funds received by the department under the bill's provisions shall be used to cover administrative costs. Also, funds distributed under the bill's provisions shall not be used to reduce expenditures from funds received by school districts and the department for Reading Recovery Programs or gifted and talented programs from any other source.
Provides that $3 million of unclaimed State Lottery prize money be used annually for the establishment of Reading Recovery Programs and gifted and talented programs in public school districts.