SENATE, No. 1453
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
INTRODUCED SEPTEMBER 19, 1996
By Senator PALAIA
An Act concerning State aid for special education services, amending P.L.1990, c.52, supplementing chapter 7D of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes and repealing section 15 of P.L.1990, c.52 (C.18A:7D-17).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. New Jersey has been a pioneer in providing special education services beginning with the enactment of the so called Beadleston Act of 1954, and as a result federal law, including the "Education of the Handicapped Act," now known as the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act," 20 U.S.C.A. §1400 et seq., was modeled in large measure on New Jersey law;
b. The New Jersey Department of Education has for may years played a leadership role in advocating and requiring that a greater level of services be provided to special education pupils than federal regulations require. These services include: more categories for pupil classification, as well as less restrictive terminology for others; a greater level of professionalism for members of child study teams and a greater number of evaluations per year required of the teams; and mandated limited class size for each condition;
c. This level of advocacy and services has had a significant impact on both the cost to districts of providing special education services and the level of pupil classification. In addition, the increasing severity of disabilities being noted in pupils in recent years has added to these costs;
d. Despite these increased costs, State aid for special education has been virtually frozen since fiscal year 1993 which has resulted in a growing tension in the State between the needs of regular education pupils and the needs of special education pupils;
e. There has been a change in the thinking of many special education professionals toward supporting a funding system that incorporates a programmatic design based on pupil educational needs;
f. There is also a growing consensus on the need to provide State special education categorical aid to school districts to support excess costs related to the provision of special education instruction and related services provided to pupils with disabilities who are educated in regular education classes and of the need to provide school districts with relief from unusual and extraordinary costs associated with the education of some pupils with severe or low incidence disabilities;
g. Ten years ago the State of New Jersey authorized a study by the New Jersey Special Education Study Commission which reached similar conclusions about the importance of a more simplified, program-driven funding system which supports the principle of funding based on severity of need, as well as a State presence to assure district compliance with special education requirements; and
h. The conclusion of that study, read in conjunction with the findings of the Legislature's Task Force on Special Education created pursuant to P.L.1995, c.56, will provide the State with needed reforms in this crucial area of special education pupil services.
2. Section 14 of P.L.1990, c.52 (C.18A:7D-16) is amended to read as follows:
As used in this section:
"Support services only" means an Individual Education Program format that provides a pupil with educational disabilities with related services only including, but not limited to, transportation, physical therapy, occupational therapy, hourly aides, intermittent nursing services, counseling, and remediation in speech or language.
"Part-time special education" means an Individual Education Program format that provides special education instructional or support services for pupils with educational disabilities on a daily basis for up to one-half the school day.
"Full-time special education" means an Individual Education Program format that provides special education instructional or support services for pupils with educational disabilities on a daily basis for more than one-half the school day.
"Unusual and extraordinary costs" means those excess special education costs which, for a single pupil, exceed $50,000 per year; or for a school district, the ratio of special education instruction costs to district's total instruction costs exceeds 1.5 times the ratio of State average special education instruction costs to total State instruction costs.
Each district's special education aid shall be determined in accordance with the following calculations:
a. To provide early preventive and intervention services for pupils who show evidence of school difficulties and to reduce unnecessary special education classifications, each local school district shall receive a dedicated flat grant in an amount equal to the district's resident enrollment multiplied by .03. The services provided under the grant shall include, but not be limited to, consultation with school staff and educationally related support services for the families of pupils receiving preventive and intervention services.
The number of special education aid units shall be determined by adding the products obtained by multiplying the pupils in each [category] program format by the appropriate additional cost factors. The additional cost factors shall be the following:
[ Special Education Categories Additional Cost Factors
Educable............................. 0.60
Trainable............................ 0.99
Orthopedically handicapped........... 1.70
Neurologically impaired.............. 0.42
Perceptually impaired................ 0.12
Visually handicapped................. 2.79
Auditorily handicapped............... 1.63
Communication handicapped............ 0.84
Emotionally disturbed................ 1.09
Socially maladjusted................. 0.67
Chronically ill...................... 2.23
Multiply handicapped................. 1.05
Resource room........................ 0.45
Autistic............................. 1.84
Preschool Handicapped, half day...... 0.30
Preschool Handicapped, full day...... 0.60
County special services school district 1.38
Regional Day schools................. 1.38
County Vocational School, Special Education Services.. 0.59
Residential facility for the retarded...... 1.72
Day training center........................ 2.37
Residential youth center................... 1.39
Training school or correctional facility... 0.56
Child treatment center or psychiatric hospital... 1.03
Supplementary and speech instruction....... 0.18
based on the
number of
pupils
actually
receiving
such
instruction
in the prior
school year]
Program Formats Additional Cost Factors
Support services only .08
Part-time special education .40
Full-time special education 1.29
The calculations shall be based on the number of pupils actually receiving instruction within the program format in the current school year. The program formats and cost factors shall be reviewed by the Task Force on Special Education Funding established pursuant to P.L. , c. (now pending before the Legislature as Senate Bill No. of 1996) which shall make a recommendation to the Legislature on any necessary adjustments to the cost factors established in this subsection. The Legislature shall review those recommendations and make any adjustments it deems necessary. Thereafter, the Department of Education shall periodically review the cost factors, but at least once every three years, to ensure that the cost factors reflect actual program costs.
Variations in the cost of the delivery of special education services including, but not limited to, local differences in salary ranges and other service costs over which the district has no control, shall be reflected as add-ons to the cost factors established pursuant to this subsection.
b. The number of special education aid units for home instruction shall be determined by multiplying the number of hours of instruction actually provided in the prior school year by 0.0025.
c. For the purposes of this section, special education aid shall be paid to the districts in which the pupils reside except in the case of home, supplementary or speech instruction where aid shall be paid to the district providing the service. No tuition may be charged for such home, supplementary or speech instruction. [For the 1991-92 school year special education aid for pupils enrolled in resource room programs in county vocational schools or county special services schools and for home, supplementary or speech instruction shall be paid to the districts in which the pupils reside.]
d. Special education aid shall equal the number of special education aid units multiplied by the State foundation amount, as defined pursuant to section 6 of P.L.1990, c.52 (C.18A:7D-6).
e. [ For the 1991-92 school year, aid for all pupils in preschool handicapped classes shall be calculated using the additional cost factor for half day programs. Beginning with the 1992-93 school year, both half day and full day cost factors shall be utilized.] Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. ).
f. Aid for pupils in State approved half-day special education class programs at the preschool, prekindergarten and kindergarten levels shall be calculated using .5 of the additional cost factor for full-time special education.
g. When a classified pupil is placed in a regular education class with special education support services or in a part-time special education program format or a part-time support services only format, and the school district is able to document that the special education aid which the pupil's placement would generate if the pupil had been placed in a full-time special education program format, or any part of that aid, is necessary to support the pupil in the regular class or part-time special education program, the department shall forward that aid to the district for the provision of services on behalf of that pupil.
h. A school district may receive at its option, special education aid equal to the greater of the special education aid calculated pursuant to subsection b. of this section or an amount equal to 80% of the difference between the cost to the district for the pupil's special education services and the Statewide average cost for educating a regular education pupil. A school district may also receive additional aid for unusual and extraordinary costs.
(cf: P.L.1991, c.62, s.10)
4. (New section) The State Board of Education shall adopt pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.
5. Section 15 of P.L.1990, c.52 (C.18A:7D-17) is repealed.
6. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to State aid for the 1997-98 school year.
STATEMENT
This bill amends the "Quality Education Act of 1990," P.L.1990, c.52, to revise the formula for the calculation of State aid for special education. The bill establishes a simplified program-driven funding system for special education based on three special education program formats and eliminates categorical aid based on special education categories. The bill also provides funding for early prevention and intervention services for students who show evidence of school difficulties as a mechanism to reduce unnecessary special education classifications. Each school district would receive a dedicated grant to fund such services in an amount equal to the district's resident enrollment multiplied by .03.
Under the bill's provisions, the program formats and cost factors established within the bill will be studied by the Task Force on Special Education Funding which is established under companion legislation. The task force will make its recommendations to the Legislature which is directed to review the recommendations and make any necessary adjustments to the cost factors which it deems necessary.
The bill also provides that a school district, at its option, shall receive special education aid equal to the greater of the special education aid calculated under the applicable program formats and cost factors or in an amount equal to 80% of the difference between the cost to the district for the pupil's special education services and the Statewide average cost for educating a regular education pupil.
Finally, the bill provides special education aid for unusual and extraordinary costs which for a single pupil are defined as those special education costs which exceed $50,000 and which for a school district are defined as the amount by which the ratio of the special education instruction costs to total district instruction costs exceeds 1.5 of the ratio of State average special education instruction costs to total State average instruction costs.
Revises calculation of State aid for special education services pupils.