General Assembly Raised Bill No. 364
February Session, 2018 LCO No. 1058
*01058_______ED_*
Referred to Committee on EDUCATION
Introduced by:
(ED)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 364
February Session, 2018
LCO No. 1058
*01058_______ED_*
Referred to Committee on EDUCATION
Introduced by:
(ED)
AN ACT CONCERNING SPECIAL EDUCATION FUNDING.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 10-76g of the 2018 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2018):
(b) Any local or regional board of education which provides special education pursuant to the provisions of sections 10-76a to 10-76g, inclusive, for any exceptional child described in subparagraph (A) of subdivision (5) of section 10-76a, under its jurisdiction, excluding (1) children placed by a state agency for whom a board of education receives payment pursuant to the provisions of subdivision (2) of subsection (e) of section 10-76d, and (2) children who require special education, who reside on state-owned or leased property, and who are not the educational responsibility of the unified school districts established pursuant to sections 17a-37 and 18-99a, shall be financially responsible for the reasonable costs of special education instruction, as defined in the regulations of the State Board of Education, in an amount equal to (A) for any fiscal year commencing prior to July 1, 2005, five times the average per pupil educational costs of such board of education for the prior fiscal year, determined in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) of section 10-76f, [and] (B) for the fiscal [year commencing July 1, 2005, and each fiscal year thereafter] years ending June 30, 2006, to June 30, 2018, inclusive, four and one-half times such average per pupil educational costs of such board of education, and (C) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019, and each fiscal year thereafter, two times such average per pupil educational costs of such board of education. The State Board of Education shall, within available appropriations, pay on a current basis any costs in excess of the local or regional board's basic contribution paid by such board in accordance with the provisions of this subsection. Any amounts paid by the State Board of Education on a current basis pursuant to this subsection shall not be reimbursable in the subsequent year. Application for such grant shall be made by filing with the Department of Education, in such manner as prescribed by the commissioner, annually on or before December first a statement of the cost of providing special education pursuant to this subsection, provided a board of education may submit, not later than March first, claims for additional children or costs not included in the December filing. Payment by the state for such excess costs shall be made to the local or regional board of education as follows: Seventy-five per cent of the cost in February and the balance in May. The amount due each town pursuant to the provisions of this subsection shall be paid to the treasurer of each town entitled to such aid, provided the treasurer shall treat such grant, or a portion of the grant, which relates to special education expenditures incurred in excess of such town's board of education budgeted estimate of such expenditures, as a reduction in expenditures by crediting such expenditure account, rather than town revenue. Such expenditure account shall be so credited no later than thirty days after receipt by the treasurer of necessary documentation from the board of education indicating the amount of such special education expenditures incurred in excess of such town's board of education budgeted estimate of such expenditures.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2018 10-76g(b)
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
July 1, 2018
10-76g(b)
Statement of Purpose:
To lower the excess cost threshold from four and one-half times to two times the average per pupil educational costs of a board of education.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]