Bill Text: NJ S2959 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires second enrollment count for determining State school aid.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-14 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Education Committee [S2959 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S2959-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JAMES BEACH
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
Senator NILSA I. CRUZ-PEREZ
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
SYNOPSIS
Requires second enrollment count for determining State school aid.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning school district resident enrollment, supplementing P.L.2007, c.260, and amending various parts of the statutory law.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) a. Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, for the purposes of determining State school aid pursuant to P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-43 et al.), a school district's resident enrollment shall be determined by taking the average of the number of students enrolled in the district on:
(1) the last school day prior to October 16 of the current school year; and
(2) the last school day prior to February 2 of the current school year.
b. A student shall be included in the enrollment counts conducted pursuant to subsection a. of this section if the student is a resident of the district and is enrolled in:
(1) the public schools of the district, excluding evening schools; or
(2) another school district, other than a county vocational school district in the same county on a full-time basis, or a State college demonstration school or private school to which the district of residence pays tuition.
c. A student shall be included in the enrollment counts conducted pursuant to subsection a. of this section if the student is a resident of the district and is:
(1) receiving home instruction; or
(2) in a shared-time vocational program and is regularly attending a school in the district and a county vocational school district.
Students in a shared-time vocational program shall be counted on an equated full-time basis in accordance with procedures to be established by the Commissioner of Education.
d. A student shall be included in the enrollment counts conducted pursuant to subsection a. of this section regardless of nonresidence if the student is an enrolled child of a teaching staff member of the school district or county vocational school district who is permitted, by contract or local district policy, to enroll their children in the educational program of the school district or county vocational school district without payment of tuition.
e. Disabled children between three and five years of age and receiving programs and services pursuant to N.J.S.18A:46-6 shall be included in the enrollment counts conducted pursuant to subsection a. of this section.
f. A preschool student, post-graduate student, and post-secondary vocational student shall not be included in the enrollment counts conducted pursuant to subsection a. of this section.
g. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section or of any other law to the contrary, for State facilities, resident enrollment shall only include the number of students who, on the last school day prior to October 16 of the prebudget year, are residents of the district and in a State facility in which they were placed by either the district or the State. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require an additional count of such students during the prebudget year.
2. Section 6 of P.L.1979, c.207 (C.18A:7B-2) is amended to read as follows:
6. a. For each State-placed child who is resident in a district and in a State facility on the last school day prior to October 16 of the prebudget year, and for each district-placed child who is resident in a district and in a State facility on the last school day prior to October 16 of the [budget] prebudget [CA1] year, the Commissioner of Education shall deduct from the State aid payable to that district an amount equal to the approved per pupil cost established pursuant to the provisions of section 24 of P.L.1996, c.138 (C.18A:7F-24); except that for a child in a county juvenile detention center, no deduction shall be made until Fiscal Year 1999, in which year and thereafter 50% of the per pupil cost shall be deducted.
b. If, for any district, the amount to be deducted pursuant to subsection a. of this section is greater than State aid payable to the district, the district shall pay to the Department of Education the difference between the amount to be deducted and the State aid payable to the district.
c. The amount deducted pursuant to subsection a. of this section and the amount paid to the Department of Education pursuant to subsection b. of this section shall be forwarded to the Department of Human Services or the Department of Children and Families, as applicable, if the facility is operated by or under contract with that department, or to the Department of Corrections if the facility is operated by or under contract with that department, or to the Juvenile Justice Commission established pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1995, c.284 (C.52:17B-170) if the facility is operated by or under contract with that commission, and shall serve as payment by the district of tuition for the child. In the case of county juvenile detention centers, the tuition shall be deemed to supplement funds currently provided by the county for this purpose under chapter 10 and chapter 11 of Title 9 of the Revised Statutes. In Fiscal Year 1998, a county shall not decrease its level of contribution as a result of the payment of tuition pursuant to this section. In Fiscal Year 1999 and thereafter, a county shall be required to pay 50% of the approved per pupil costs established pursuant to the provisions of section 24 of P.L.1996, c.138 (C.18A:7F-24) for the purpose of implementing chapters 10 and 11 of Title 9 of the Revised Statutes. Amounts so deducted shall be used solely for the support of educational programs and shall be maintained in a separate account for that purpose. No district shall be responsible for the tuition of any child admitted by the State to a State facility after the last school day prior to October 16 of the prebudget year.
(cf: P.L.2006, c.47, s.81)
3. Section 33 of P.L.1996, c.138 (C.18A:7F-33) is amended to read as follows:
33. a.[CA2] Annually, on or before October 20, the secretary of the board of education, with approval of the superintendent of schools, or if there is no superintendent of schools, with the approval of the executive county superintendent of schools, shall file with the commissioner a report prescribed by the commissioner containing all data necessary to effectuate the aid provisions of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-43 et al.), which shall include but not be limited to, the number of pupils enrolled by grade, the number of these pupils classified as eligible for special education services and speech-only services, the number of pupils in approved programs for bilingual education, the number of at-risk pupils, the number of combination pupils, and the number of pupils in State facilities, county vocational schools, State college demonstration schools, evening schools, other public or private schools to which the district is paying tuition, or who are receiving home instruction on the last school day prior to October 16. In addition, districts shall file annual reports providing such information as the commissioner may require for pupils receiving special education services.
b. Annually, on or before February 5, the secretary of the board of education, with approval of the superintendent of schools, or if there is no superintendent of schools, with the approval of the executive county superintendent of schools, shall file with the commissioner an update to the report required pursuant to subsection a. of this section, which update shall include enrollment counts conducted pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).[CA3]
(cf: P.L.2007, c.260, s.34)
4. Section 3 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:4F-45) is amended to read as follows:
3. As used in this act and P.L.1996, c.138, unless the context clearly requires a different meaning:
"At-risk pupils" means those resident pupils from households with a household income at or below the most recent federal poverty guidelines available on [October 15 of the prebudget year] the day of an enrollment count conducted pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) [CA4] multiplied by 1.85;
"Base per pupil amount" means the cost per elementary pupil of delivering the core curriculum content standards and extracurricular and cocurricular activities necessary for a thorough and efficient education;
"Bilingual education pupil" means a resident pupil enrolled in a program of bilingual education or in an English as a second language program approved by the State Board of Education;
"Budgeted local share" means the district's local tax levy contained in the budget certified for taxation purposes;
"Capital outlay" means capital outlay as defined in GAAP;
"Combination pupil" means a resident pupil who is both an at-risk pupil and a bilingual education pupil;
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Education;
"Concentration of at-risk pupils" shall be based on prebudget year pupil data and means, for a school district or a county vocational school district, the number of at-risk pupils among those counted in resident enrollment, divided by resident enrollment;
"County special services school district" means any entity established pursuant to article 8 of chapter 46 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes;
"County vocational school district" means any entity established pursuant to article 3 of chapter 54 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes;
"CPI" means the increase, expressed as a decimal, in the average annualized consumer price index for the New York City and Philadelphia areas in the fiscal year preceding the prebudget year relative to the previous fiscal year as reported by the United States Department of Labor;
"Debt service" means payments of principal and interest upon school bonds and other obligations issued to finance the purchase or construction of school facilities, additions to school facilities, or the reconstruction, remodeling, alteration, modernization, renovation or repair of school facilities, including furnishings, equipment, architect fees, and the costs of issuance of such obligations and shall include payments of principal and interest upon bonds heretofore issued to fund or refund such obligations, and upon municipal bonds and other obligations which the commissioner approves as having been issued for such purposes;
"District income" means the aggregate income of the residents of the taxing district or taxing districts, based upon data provided by the Division of Taxation in the New Jersey Department of the Treasury and contained on the New Jersey State Income Tax forms for the calendar year ending two years prior to the prebudget year. The commissioner may supplement data contained on the State Income Tax forms with data available from other State or federal agencies in order to better correlate the data to that collected on the federal census. With respect to regional districts and their constituent districts, however, the district income as described above shall be allocated among the regional and constituent districts in proportion to the number of pupils resident in each of them;
"Equalized valuation" means the equalized valuation of the taxing district or taxing districts, as certified by the Director of the Division of Taxation on October 1, or subsequently revised by the tax court by January 15, of the prebudget year. With respect to regional districts and their constituent districts, however, the equalized valuations as described above shall be allocated among the regional and constituent districts in proportion to the number of pupils resident in each of them. In the event that the equalized table certified by the director shall be revised by the tax court after January 15 of the prebudget year, the revised valuations shall be used in the recomputation of aid for an individual school district filing an appeal, but shall have no effect upon the calculation of the property value rate, Statewide average equalized school tax rate, or Statewide equalized total tax rate;
"Full-day preschool" means a preschool day consisting of a six-hour comprehensive educational program in accordance with the district's kindergarten through grade 12 school calendar;
"GAAP" means the generally accepted accounting principles established by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board as prescribed by the State board pursuant to N.J.S.18A:4-14;
"General special education services pupil" means a pupil receiving specific services pursuant to chapter 46 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes;
"Geographic cost adjustment" means an adjustment that reflects county differences in the cost of providing educational services that are outside the control of the district;
"Household income" means income as defined in 7 CFR ss.245.2 and 245.6 or any subsequent superseding federal law or regulation;
"Net budget" means the sum of the district's general fund tax levy, State aid received pursuant to the provisions of this act other than preschool education aid, miscellaneous revenue estimated pursuant to GAAP, and designated general fund balance;
"Prebudget year" means the school fiscal year preceding the year in which the school budget is implemented;
"Nonpreschool ECPA" means the amount of early childhood program aid, excluding prior year carry-forward amounts, included in a district's 2007-2008 school year budget certified for taxes that was allocated to grades K through 3;
"Report" means the Educational Adequacy Report issued by the commissioner pursuant to section 4 of this act;
"Resident enrollment" means the average of the number of pupils other than preschool pupils, post-graduate pupils, and post-secondary vocational pupils who, on the last school day prior to October 16 of the current school year and on the last school day prior to February 2 of the current school year, [CA5] are residents of the district and are enrolled in: (1) the public schools of the district, excluding evening schools, or (2) another school district, other than a county vocational school district in the same county on a full-time basis, or a State college demonstration school or private school to which the district of residence pays tuition[, or (3) a State facility in which they are placed by the district][CA6] ; or are residents of the district and are: (1) receiving home instruction, or (2) in a shared-time vocational program and are regularly attending a school in the district and a county vocational school district. In addition, resident enrollment shall include the number of pupils who, on the last school day prior to October 16 of the prebudget year, are residents of the district and in a State facility in which they were placed by the district or the [CA7] State. Pupils in a shared-time vocational program shall be counted on an equated full-time basis in accordance with procedures to be established by the commissioner. Resident enrollment shall include regardless of nonresidence, the enrolled children of teaching staff members of the school district or county vocational school district who are permitted, by contract or local district policy, to enroll their children in the educational program of the school district or county vocational school district without payment of tuition. Disabled children between three and five years of age and receiving programs and services pursuant to N.J.S.18A:46-6 shall be included in the resident enrollment of the district;
"School district" means any local or regional school district established pursuant to chapter 8 or chapter 13 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes;
"State facility" means a State developmental center, a State Division of Youth and Family Services' residential center, a State residential mental health center, a Department of Children and Families Regional Day School, a State training school/secure care facility, a State juvenile community program, a juvenile detention center or a boot camp under the supervisional authority of the Juvenile Justice Commission pursuant to P.L.1995, c.284 (C.52:17B-169 et seq.), or an institution operated by or under contract with the Department of Corrections, Children and Families or Human Services, or the Juvenile Justice Commission;
"Statewide equalized school tax rate" means the amount calculated by dividing the general fund tax levy for all school districts, which excludes county vocational school districts and county special services school districts as defined pursuant to this section, in the State for the prebudget year by the equalized valuations certified in the year prior to the prebudget year of all taxing districts in the State except taxing districts for which there are not school tax levies;
"Tax levy growth limitation" means the permitted annual increase in the adjusted tax levy for a school district as calculated pursuant to sections 3 and 4 of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.18A:7F-38 and 18A:7F-39).
(cf: P.L.2010, c.44, s.6)
5. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full school year next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill revises requirements for enrollment counts used to determine State aid to school districts to include a second enrollment count. The bill stipulates that a school district's resident enrollment would be equal to the average of both enrollment counts.
Under current law, school districts are required to report resident enrollment to the Department of Education as of the school day prior to October 16. The bill would require a second enrollment count to be conducted on the school day prior to February 2 of each year. The bill provides that, for the purposes of determining State aid, a district's resident enrollment would be equal to the average of the enrollment determined by each of the counts conducted.
Additionally, the bill provides that in the case of students placed in a State facility by the district or the State, enrollment counts would only occur on the last school day prior to October 16 of the prebudget year.
