Bill Text: NJ S3910 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Codifies preschool expansion aid; expands preschool education aid.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-11-18 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Education Committee [S3910 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S3910-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Codifies preschool expansion aid; expands preschool education aid.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning preschool education, and amending and supplementing P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-43 et al.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 3 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-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 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;
"Preschool expansion aid" means any portion of preschool education aid allocated by the Commissioner of Education for the purpose of expanding free access to preschool for resident three- and four-year old children, or any other State funds appropriated for the same purpose;
"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 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, are residents of the district and are enrolled in: (1) the public schools of the district, excluding evening schools, (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; 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 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)
2. Section 12 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-54) is amended to read as follows:
12. a. [District factor group A and B school districts, and district factor group CD school districts with a concentration of at-risk pupils equal to or greater than 40%,] A school district shall provide universal access to free [access to] full-day preschool for all three- and four-year old pupils by a date that shall be determined by the district. [All other school districts shall provide free access to full-day preschool for at-risk pupils.] A school district shall submit a plan to the Commissioner of Education by July 1, 2025 that details how the district will expand the provision of free access to full-day preschool to all three- and four-year old pupils and by what date the district determines it will provide free access to full-day preschool to all three- and four-year old pupils. A school district that does not offer full-day kindergarten shall include in its submission a plan for the provision of full-day kindergarten. The plan shall be updated in accordance with the provisions of subsection b. of this section, and the commissioner may require a school district to resubmit the district's plan for the provision of free access to full-day preschool at any time following the initial submission. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section to the contrary, any school district that operates a public preschool program may apply to the commissioner for approval to establish tuition for preschool services, which tuition charges are to be conditional on a family's ability to pay. In order to receive approval to charge tuition for preschool services, the district shall demonstrate that the district's finances do not support a free full-day preschool program and that establishing tuition would allow the district to enroll substantially more at-risk students. Any school district that has submitted a plan shall be eligible to apply for and receive preschool expansion aid pursuant to section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) in each school year in which the district does not provide free access to full-day preschool for all three- and four-year old pupils. Preschool education aid shall reflect the cost of the pupil's placement in either a district program, a licensed child care provider program, or a Head Start Program.
(1) Preschool education aid shall be calculated [for district factor group A and B school districts, and for district factor group CD school districts with a concentration of at-risk pupils equal to or greater than 40%,] as follows:
Aid = (IDE x IDA) + (PRE x PRA) + (HSE x HSA)
where
IDE is the number of district pupils, other than preschool disabled pupils, in an in-district preschool program;
IDA is the per pupil aid amount for an in-district preschool program;
PRE is the number of district pupils, other than preschool disabled pupils, in a preschool program operated by a licensed child care provider;
PRA is the per pupil aid amount for a preschool program operated by a licensed child care provider;
HSE is the number of district pupils, other than preschool disabled pupils, in a Head Start Program; and
HSA is the per pupil aid amount for a Head Start Program.
[A CD school district with a concentration of at-risk pupils equal to or greater than 40% shall be eligible to receive preschool education aid pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph for a minimum of three school years from the time of initial determination of eligibility even if the district's concentration of at-risk pupils falls below a 40% concentration of at-risk pupils. In the event that the district falls below a 40% concentration of at-risk pupils for two consecutive school years, in the third school year the district shall receive preschool education aid for each at-risk pupil and for any four-year old pupil for whom the district received preschool education aid in the prior school year, and that pupil shall receive free preschool education.]
(2) [Preschool education aid shall be calculated for all other districts as follows:
Aid = (ARID x IDA) + (ARP x PRA) + (ARHS x HSA)
where
ARID is the number of at-risk district pupils, other than preschool disabled pupils, in an in-district preschool program;
IDA is the per pupil aid amount for an in-district preschool program;
ARP is the number of at-risk district pupils, other than preschool disabled pupils, in a preschool program operated by a licensed child care provider;
PRA is the per pupil aid amount for a preschool program operated by a licensed child care provider;
ARHS is the number of at-risk district pupils, other than preschool disabled pupils, in a Head Start Program; and
HSA is the per pupil aid amount for a Head Start Program.] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)
b. In accordance with regulations adopted by the commissioner, all districts shall submit, by July 1, 2025, a [five-year] plan [that provides for the] to reach full implementation of full-day preschool for all [eligible] three- and four-year olds by the [2013-2014 school year] by a date that shall be determined by the school district. For the purposes of this section, "full implementation" means serving [90%] 90 percent of eligible pupils in accordance with the preschool quality standards adopted by the commissioner or such greater percentage as determined by the commissioner. A school district shall annually update the [five-year] plan based on actual implementation experience and shall revise its pupil projections in accordance with that experience.
c. (1) In the case of a school district that did not receive any form of preschool aid in the 2007-2008 school year, the 2008-2009 school year shall be a preschool planning year. Beginning in the 2009-2010 school year, the school district shall receive preschool education aid calculated in accordance with the provisions of subsection a. of this section based upon projected preschool enrollment.
In the 2009-2010 school year the school district may also receive start-up funds in accordance with regulations adopted by the commissioner.
(2) In the case of a school district that received Early Launch to Learning Initiative aid in the 2007-2008 school year, for the 2008-2009 school year the district shall receive preschool education aid in an amount equal to the district's allocation of Early Launch to Learning Initiative aid in the 2007-2008 school year. Beginning in the 2009-2010 school year, the school district shall receive preschool education aid calculated in accordance with the provisions of subsection a. of this section based upon projected preschool enrollment.
In the 2009-2010 school year the school district may also receive start-up funds in accordance with regulations adopted by the commissioner.
(3) In the case of a school district that received early childhood program aid in the 2007-2008 school year but did not receive preschool expansion aid or education opportunity aid in that year, for the 2008-2009 school year the district shall receive preschool education aid equal to the greater of the district's 2007-2008 amount of early childhood program aid for preschool or the district's 2007-2008 per pupil allocation of early childhood program aid as included in the district's original 2007-2008 budget certified for taxes, inflated by the CPI, and multiplied by the district's projected preschool enrollment; except that if the district is able to demonstrate in the five-year plan submitted to the commissioner that it has the capacity to offer a full-day three- or four-year-old program, or a full-day three- and four-year-old program, in the 2008-2009 school year, the commissioner may approve the funding of the full-day program calculated in accordance with the provisions of subsection a. of this section based upon projected preschool enrollment. The district shall be informed of the commissioner's determination upon approval of the five-year plan. Beginning in the 2009-2010 school year, the school district shall receive preschool education aid calculated in accordance with the provisions of subsection a. of this section based upon projected preschool enrollment.
In the 2009-2010 school year the school district may also receive start-up funds in accordance with regulations adopted by the commissioner.
(4) In the case of a school district that received preschool expansion aid or education opportunity aid in the 2007-2008 school year, for the 2008-2009 school year the district shall receive preschool education aid in an amount equal to the preschool budget approved by the commissioner for the 2008-2009 school year. Preschool education aid for the 2008-2009 school year shall be adjusted following receipt of the Application for State School Aid in October 2008. Beginning in the 2009-2010 school year, the school district shall receive preschool education aid calculated in accordance with the provisions of subsection a. of this section based upon projected preschool enrollment; except that for any school year the district shall not receive preschool aid in an amount less than either the total amount of preschool aid the district received in the 2008-2009 school year after the State aid adjustment or the district's 2008-2009 school year preschool per pupil aid amount multiplied by the projected number of preschool pupils after the State aid adjustment, whichever is greater.
In the 2009-2010 school year the school district may also receive start-up funds in accordance with regulations adopted by the commissioner.
(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection to the contrary, beginning with the first full school year next following the date of enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and for a period of five school years, a school district that receives an allocation of preschool education aid based on the amount of Early Launch to Learning Initiative aid received in a previous school year or the amount of Early Childhood Program Aid received in a previous school year shall have the proportion of its preschool education aid based on the amount of Early Launch to Learning Initiative aid previously received or the amount of Early Childhood Program Aid previously received reduced in each year and the proportion of its preschool education aid calculated pursuant to subsection a. of this section increased in each year. This transition shall be done in a manner determined by the Commissioner of Education, except that the commissioner shall ensure that at the end of five full school years following the date of enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), all school districts receive allocations of preschool education aid calculated pursuant to subsection a. of this section, and no school district receives an allocation of preschool education aid based on the amount of Early Launch to Learning Initiative aid received in a previous school year or the amount of Early Childhood Program Aid received in a previous school year.
d. For the 2008-2009 school year, the preschool per pupil aid amounts shall be $11,506 for pupils enrolled in an in-district program, $12,934 for pupils enrolled in a licensed child care provider program, and $7,146 for pupils enrolled in a Head Start Program. The preschool per pupil aid amounts shall be adjusted by the CPI in the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years as required pursuant to subsection b. of section 4 of this act. For subsequent school years, the preschool per pupil aid amounts shall be established in the Educational Adequacy Report, with the amounts adjusted by the CPI for each of the two school years following the first school year to which the report is applicable.
e. A district shall appropriate preschool education aid in a special revenue fund for expenditure. In the event that any preschool education aid is not expended during the budget year, the aid may be carried forward in accordance with regulations adopted by the commissioner.
f. In the event that a district has fully implemented a full-day preschool program for three- and four-year old pupils in accordance with its five-year plan and meets the preschool quality standards or has provided preschool education to the number of eligible students to be served during a school year in accordance with that plan and its annual updates and the preschool quality standards, the district may appropriate preschool education aid [to support kindergarten through grade 12 or to provide preschool education for three- and four-year old pupils for whom the district is not required to provide preschool education upon the approval of the commissioner] for additional purposes that may be designated by the commissioner, which purposes shall include, but need not be limited to, providing summer programming for preschool students, professional development for preschool staff, and preschool facilities improvements. The district shall request approval in its annual plan update and any approval granted by the commissioner shall be made during the annual school budget process.
g. A school district shall maintain the preschool quality standards as adopted by the commissioner as a condition of receipt of preschool education aid.
h. The commissioner shall prepare and make public a Statewide strategic plan to achieve full implementation of full-day preschool education. The plan shall be based on the plans submitted by each school district pursuant to subsection a. of this section. The plan shall be posted on the department's Internet website and shall be submitted to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1) no later than July 1, 2026.
(cf: P.L.2007, c.260, s.12)
3. (New section) a. A school district shall be eligible to apply for and receive preschool expansion aid if the district provides full-day kindergarten at the time of application and meets any other criteria the Commissioner of Education deems appropriate. The commissioner may waive the requirement for a district to offer full-day kindergarten if there is sufficient funding to offer additional preschool expansion aid awards.
b. In determining preschool expansion aid award amounts and recipients, the commissioner shall give preference to districts in accordance with the concentration of at-risk pupils, as defined in section 3 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-45).
c. The Department of Education, the Department of Children and Families, and the Department of Human Services shall maintain on the departments' Internet websites a page that includes;
(1) a list of all districts receiving preschool education aid for the school year;
(2) a list of all districts eligible to apply for preschool expansion aid for the school year;
(3) a list of all licensed child care providers and Head Start programs in each district's community, as well as in neighboring communities; and
(4) the contact information for all district-operated preschool programs, licensed child care providers, and Head Start programs.
The department shall update the required information for each school year no later than July 14 of each year.
4. (New section) a. A school district that receives preschool education aid pursuant to section 12 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-54) or preschool expansion aid pursuant to section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall implement a mixed delivery method, whereby a mix of district programs, licensed child care provider programs, and Head Start Programs are utilized in the delivery of preschool education. In establishing a mixed delivery method, a school district shall partner with any licensed child care provider that is able to demonstrate an ability to meet the Elements of High Quality Preschool Programs promulgated by the Department of Education and all applicable Preschool Program Implementation Guidelines. The district shall ensure that free preschool opportunities are first provided to at-risk pupils, as defined in section 3 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-45).
b. A school district that receives preschool education aid shall provide to a licensed child care provider with which it partners to deliver preschool education, payments that shall be based on the maximum number of contracted seats agreed upon by the school district and the licensed child care provider, provided that average provider enrollment exceeds 95 percent of contracted slots and that providers are permitted to enroll children directly via a centralized system shared with the district in which the licensed child care provider is operating. The payments to a licensed child care provider pursuant to this subsection shall not, during the term of the preschool education program contract, be adjusted based on average daily enrollment or average daily attendance.
5. The Department of Education, the Department of Children and Families, and the Department of Human Services shall, in consultation with school districts, licensed child care providers, Head Start program providers, and other stakeholders identified by the Commissioner of Education, submit a report to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1) no later than March 1 next following the date of enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) on the status of preschool education in the State and the efficacy of the mixed delivery method of preschool education. The Department of Education may utilize up to $250,000 of any appropriation for preschool education aid to contract temporary staff to assist with the preparation of the report issued pursuant to this section.
6. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill defines preschool expansion aid, establishes eligibility criteria for the aid, and creates requirements for recipients of preschool expansion aid. Additionally, the bill makes changes to the calculation of preschool education aid.
Under current law, school districts are required to provide certain thresholds of free preschool education opportunities based on the district's district factor group (DFG) and concentration of at-risk students. DFGs are determined using multiple indicators of socioeconomic status, including attainment rates for high school diplomas and college education, occupational status, unemployment rate, poverty rate, and median family income. DFGs have not been updated since 2004.
This bill removes the distinction between DFGs for both the determination of preschool education aid and the thresholds of free preschool education opportunities that are required under current law. Under the bill, all districts would be required to provide free preschool education opportunities for all three- and four-year old pupils in the district, to the extent possible based on the amount of preschool education aid provided to the district, by a date determined by each school district. The Commissioner of Education may require a school district to resubmit the district's plan for the provision of free access to full-day preschool at any time following the initial submission. The bill allows any district that operates a preschool program to apply to the commissioner for approval to establish tuition based on a family's ability to pay if the district is able to demonstrate that the district's finances would not support a free full-day preschool program and that establishing tuition would allow the district to enroll substantially more at-risk students. Under the bill, preschool expansion aid would be provided to a district in any year in which free preschool opportunities are not provided to all three- and four- year olds in the district.
The bill provides that each school district is required to submit a plan to the Commissioner of Education by July 1, 2025 to reach free access to full-day preschool for all three- and four-year old pupils by a date determined by the district. A school district that does not offer full-day kindergarten is to include in its submission a plan for the provision of full-day kindergarten. Subsequently, the commissioner is required to prepare and make public a Statewide strategic plan to achieve full implementation of full-day preschool education. The plan is to be based on the plans submitted by each school district and is required to be posted on the department's Internet website and submitted to the Governor, and to the Legislature no later than July 1, 2026.
Preschool expansion aid is defined under the bill as any portion of Preschool Education Aid allocated by the Commissioner of Education for the purpose of expanding free access to preschool for resident three- and four-year old children, or any other State funds appropriated for the same purpose. To be eligible to receive preschool expansion aid, a district is required to offer full-day kindergarten, however, the commissioner may waive this requirement if there is sufficient funding. In determining preschool expansion aid award amounts and recipients, the commissioner is to give preference to districts in accordance with the concentration of at-risk students.
Recipients of preschool expansion aid would be required to implement a mixed delivery method, whereby a mix of district programs, licensed child care provider programs, and Head Start Programs are utilized in the delivery of preschool education. In establishing a mixed delivery method, a school district is to partner with any licensed child care provider that is able to demonstrate an ability to meet the Elements of High Quality Preschool Programs promulgated by the Department of Education and all applicable Preschool Program Implementation Guidelines. The district is required to ensure that free preschool opportunities are first provided to at-risk students. In addition, a school district is required under the bill to provide payments to a partnering licensed child care provider that are only based on the contracted number of seats agreed upon by the school district and the licensed child care provider, provided that average provider enrollment exceeds 95 percent of contracted slots and providers are permitted to enroll children directly via a centralized system shared with the district in which the licensed child care provider is operating.
Finally, the bill requires the Department of Education, the Department of Children and Families, and the Department of Human Services, in consultation with school districts, licensed child care providers, Head Start program providers, and other stakeholders, to submit a report to the Legislature regarding the status of preschool education in the State and the efficacy of the mixed delivery method of preschool education.
