New Jersey-2010-A217-Introduced

An Act concerning State aid for public school adult high school programs and supplementing P.L.1996, c.138 (C.18A:7F-1 et seq.).

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

1. The Legislature finds and declares that:

a. adult high school programs have been an essential part of New Jersey's educational offerings supported by the Legislature through statute and through funding in the Department of Education's budget at least since the enactment of the "Public School Education Act of 1975" (PSEA), P.L.1975, c.212;

b. currently, adult high school programs offered by school districts provide a critical safety net for over 8,000 dropouts, recent immigrants and other disadvantaged New Jersey residents who seek to earn a high school diploma based on the State's rigorous core curriculum content standards;

c. adult high school students are predominately minority residents under age 25, many of whom are unemployed or underemployed because of the lack of a high school diploma;

d. the demand for adult high school programs has increased dramatically over the past decade, as a growing number of young adults seek a second chance to earn a high school diploma and the opportunity for meaningful employment and economic self-sufficiency;

e. State funding policy should support these educational programs to give these adult high school students the chance to develop critical academic skills, earn a high school diploma and continue their education or gain employment;

f. from the enactment of the PSEA (1975) until the 2003-04 school year, funding for adult education programs was targeted funding based on the number of pupils enrolled in the adult high school programs;

g. for fiscal year 2003-04, the Department of Education created a new line item of State aid, Consolidated Aid, and funded this line item with new money and also by taking the fiscal year 2002-03 line item amounts for Distance Learning Network Aid, aid for approved adult high schools and post-graduate programs, and academic achievement rewards;

h. as a result of the department's decision to create Consolidated Aid and the manner in which it funded this aid, adult education pupils essentially vanished from the department's consideration in providing State aid to school districts -- adult high school students no longer generate State aid targeted to these critical second chance programs, and they were not included in the resident enrollment count used by the department to allocate Consolidated Aid to school districts;

i. in the face of minimal State aid increases since the 2001-02 school year and other fiscal constraints, it is difficult for school districts to maintain adult high school programs;

j. despite a 32% increase in adult high school enrollment since 1993, the number of programs has decreased from 55 to 47 and additional programs face the threat of closure if State aid for adult high schools is not restored;

k. therefore pursuant to this act, the Legislature restores specific funding for approved adult high school programs.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary, for the 2007-08 school year, State aid shall be distributed to school districts with approved adult high schools on an unweighted per pupil basis for pupils enrolled in approved adult high schools. For the 2007-08 school year, districts shall receive $1,734 for each adult pupil. For the 2008-09 school year, State aid shall be distributed on an unweighted per pupil basis for pupils enrolled in approved adult high schools at a per pupil amount equal to the 2007-08 per pupil amount as inflated by the CPI. Thereafter, per pupil funding amounts shall be established in a supplement to the Biennial Report on the Cost of Providing a Thorough and Efficient Education or shall be a per pupil amount based on the previous year's per pupil amount inflated by the CPI, whichever is greater. For the purposes of this section, "districts with approved adult high schools" shall include any school district which operated an approved adult high school in the 2001-02 school year, the last year in which the Department of Education calculated State aid under the "Comprehensive Educational Improvement and Financing Act of 1996," P.L.1996, c.138 (C.18A:7F-1 et seq.).

3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first be applicable to the 2007-08 school year.

STATEMENT

This bill requires the State to fund approved adult high school programs at a per pupil amount of $1,734 in school year 2007-08. This amount is to be increased for school year 2008-09 by the increase in the CPI. Each year thereafter the per pupil amount will be either the amount established in the Biennial Report on the Cost of Providing a Thorough and Efficient Education, or the previous year's per pupil amount inflated by the CPI, whichever is greater. Any district which operated an approved adult high school program in the 2001-02 school year, the last year in which the department calculated State aid under CEIFA, is eligible for this State aid.

Adult education programs have long been supported in New Jersey through statute, department policy and funding, and the offerings of school districts. These programs currently provide a critical safety net for over 8,000 dropouts, recent immigrants and other disadvantaged New Jersey residents who seek to earn a high school diploma based on the State's rigorous core curriculum content standards. Since at least 1975, adult education students have been included in a district's pupil count in various ways in the calculation and allocation of State aid to that school district. The calculation for Adult and Postsecondary Education Grants under CEIFA for the 2001-02 school year used the amount of $1,433 per adult student which generated $18.4 million for districts with adult education programs. The department created Consolidated Aid as a new line item of State aid in the 2003-04 school year and used $18.4 million from Adult and Postsecondary Education Grants to help fund this new line item. In the calculation of Consolidated Aid, students enrolled in district adult high schools were not included in the district enrollment counts that were used to determine the calculation and allocation of Consolidated Aid to school districts. In effect adult education students have essentially vanished from the calculation and distribution of State aid to school districts.