What's happening
This bill phases in full state funding of special education costs for school districts over five years, reducing local property taxes accordingly.
Why it matters
Reduces the financial burden on local school districts. By shifting the responsibility for funding special education from local property taxes to the state, this bill aims to ease the budget pressure that special education costs place on individual school districts.
Potential for greater equity in special education funding. Statewide funding can help ensure that all students with special needs—regardless of where they live—have more consistent access to necessary programs and services, addressing disparities between wealthier and poorer districts.
Mandates accountability for tax relief. The bill requires school districts to certify that they are actually reducing property tax levies in line with increased state aid, ensuring that taxpayers directly benefit from the change rather than allowing districts to redirect the funds elsewhere.
Long-term implications for state budgeting and education policy. Committing the state to cover all special education costs may require significant increases in the state education budget, potentially affecting funding priorities and prompting discussions about sustainable revenue sources at the state level.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Increase State Aid for Schools
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to education
- Referred to education
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
500
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 9, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. ABINANTI -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. KEARNS -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to state assistance to school districts for each school age child receiving special education programs and services
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Legislative findings and purpose. The legislature finds that the costs to school districts and, indirectly, to real property tax payers for providing special education programs and services is increasingly a burden making the essential educational mission more difficult to carry out. The legislature further finds that special education is a health based service and should more appropriately be borne by the state government. Therefore, it is the purpose of this act to phase-in over five years the assumption by the state of the costs to school districts for each child receiving special education programs and services and to provide that school property taxes be reduced accordingly.
§ 2. Section 3602 of the education law is amended by adding a new subdivision 21 to read as follows:
21. Special supplemental apportionment for school age children receiving special education programs and services. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, each school district shall receive a special supplemental apportionment for school age children receiving special education programs and services beginning July first, two thousand eighteen and thereafter as provided herein. As used in this subdivision, the base year apportionment shall be the amount payable for each school district's claims for school age children receiving special education programs and services for the school year beginning July first, two thousand seventeen. For the school year beginning July first, two thousand eighteen, each school district shall receive their base year apportionment plus not less than twenty percent of the difference
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03320-01-7
A. 500 2
between such apportionment and its total cost for special education programs. For the school year beginning July first, two thousand nineteen, each school district shall receive their base year apportionment plus not less than forty percent of the difference between such apportionment and its total cost for special education programs. For the school year beginning July first, two thousand twenty, each school district shall receive their base year apportionment plus not less than sixty percent of the difference between such apportionment and its total cost for special education programs. For the school year beginning July first, two thousand twenty-one, each school district shall receive their base year apportionment plus not less than eighty percent of the difference between such apportionment and its total cost for special education programs. For the school year beginning July first, two thousand twenty-two and thereafter, each school district receives an apportionment equal to its total cost for special education programs.
b. School districts shall apply the increments in apportionment received pursuant to this subdivision to reducing their tax levy from real property taxes. For each taxable year after the special apportionments commence, each school district shall certify to the commissioner that it has made the reduction to its real property tax levy as required by this paragraph.
c. The legislature shall annually appropriate an amount within the appropriation for general support for public schools sufficient to support all aid payments incurred pursuant to paragraph a of this subdivision.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.