Relates to amount of apportionments and deficiencies in apportionments of state monies to certain nonpublic schools to reimburse them for their expenses in complying

2 Co-sponsors

• Andrew J. Lanza
• David Storobin

BILL NUMBER:S3810A

Title of bill

An act relating to apportionment of state monies to certain nonpublic schools to reimburse them for their expenses in complying with certain state requirements for the administration of state testing and evalu- ation programs and for participation in state programs for the reporting of basic educational data

Purpose

This bill would demonstrate the state's commitment to reimbursing inde- pendent and religious schools their actual costs in complying with state administrative mandates and participating in the state's testing and evaluation program.

Summary of provisions

Section one of the bill reiterates statutory intent to reimburse inde- pendent and religious schools for their actual costs under the program.

Justification

The Mandated Services Reimbursement program requires that independent and religious schools be reimbursed for their actual costs in providing services to the state, most of which are required by statute and/or regulation. These services include the administration of state testing and evaluation programs and participating in state programs for report- ing basic educational data.

Over its 35-year history, the program has experienced a number of defi- ciencies, in some cases due to the state's poor fiscal climate. In every case, however, those deficiencies were eventually made whole when the economy permitted doing so. The state's 2008-09 enacted state budg- et, however, for the first time, limited the state's liability for reimbursement under the program to less than 100 percent.

The state's independent and religious schools provide significant savings to state taxpayers by virtue of their educating nearly a half million of New York's children. A reduction in Mandated Services reimbursement will be devastating to the already fragile budgets of the vast majority of these schools. Not only have hundreds of these schools closed over the years, more are closing at the end of the current school year. Their closing only exacerbates the fiscal stress on the state budget as well as the burden faced by property tax payers. It is in the state's interest, at least financially, to maintain its long standing commitment to reimburse these schools for their state-mandated expenses.

Legislative history

S.8197-C of 2007-08

Fiscal implications

This measure re-establishes the State's obligation to reimburse reli- gious and independent schools for approximately $11 million that was

renounced in the 2008-09 State Budget as Chapters 53 and 496 of the Laws of 2008. The measure does not require the state to appropriate such funds in any given fiscal year.

Effective date

The act takes effect immediately.