THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

TO:

Subcommittee on State Aid

 

FROM:

James A. Kadamus

SUBJECT:

Regents 2006-07 Proposal on State Aid to School Districts

 

DATE:

June 8, 2005

 

STRATEGIC GOAL:

2 and 5

 

AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

 

Summary

 

Issue for Discussion

 

          How should the Regents proposal address funding for early childhood education and special education in their 2006-07 State Aid proposal?

 

Reason for Consideration

 

          Review of policy.

 

Proposed Handling

 

          This question will come before the Subcommittee on June 20, 2005 for discussion.  The development of the Regents State Aid proposal is before the State Aid Subcommittee at its May, June and July meetings for discussion.  It will come before the full Board for final action at the October Regents meeting.

 

Procedural History

 

          In May, the Subcommittee discussed the enacted budget as it relates to State Aid to school districts.  It affirmed goals and directions for the Regents 2006-07 proposal and discussed the importance of early childhood education and options for special education funding.  Staff reviewed the May Subcommittee materials with the Education Finance Advisory Group on May 17 and the Commissioner’s Advisory Panel on Special Education on May 20.

 

Background Information

 

          The attached materials discuss directions for funding early childhood education and special education in a manner that complements and strengthens the Regents proposal for a Foundation Aid program, tied to the cost of meeting State learning standards for general education instruction.  For early childhood education, funding for pre-kindergarten is provided in a single funding stream parallel to but separate from funding for general education instruction in grades kindergarten through 12.  For special education funding, a separate excess cost aid formula is proposed that applies a single weighting for all pupils with disabilities multiplied by a State share of the foundation amount for general education instruction.

 

Recommendation

 

          The Regents should incorporate the proposed recommendations for funding special education and early childhood education in their 2006-07 proposal, a draft of which will be available for review by the Regents at their July meeting, because they:

 

 

 

Timetable for Implementation

 

          Once the Regents approve their State Aid proposal, they will have the opportunity to advocate for its inclusion in the Executive’s budget proposal and enactment in the Legislative budget signed into law by the Governor.  Once school funding is in place, the Department will continue to work with school districts on the most cost-effective practices to raise student achievement so that virtually all students meet State learning standards.

 

 

 

Attachment

 

 

 

 

Early Childhood Education

Needs, Policy and Funding

 

Need for Statewide Pre-kindergarten Programs

 

 

Status of Regents Policy Paper

 

 

Policy Directions

 

 

Early Childhood Education Funding Issues

 

In order to support the move to universal access to pre-kindergarten and quality early childhood education, the Regents support aligning funding for pre-kindergarten education programs with the Regents Foundation Aid proposal for elementary and secondary education programs.

 

Because the majority of pre-kindergarten programs are operated by private providers including community-based organizations[1], and because attendance in pre-kindergarten is not mandatory, a consolidation of funding for pre-kindergarten programs and funding for elementary and secondary education programs is neither practical nor desirable.

 

Funding Directions

 

A more practical direction that is compatible with the Regents goal of providing a simplified and adequate funding stream for educational programs, while emphasizing the importance of early childhood education, is to propose two parallel funding programs: one to support  pre-kindergarten programs and one to support K-12 elementary and secondary education. 

 

For example, pre-kindergarten grants can be appropriated based on a State share of the general education Foundation amount multiplied by a count of pre-kindergarten pupils.  Grants between school districts and private providers would provide a portion of these funds to nonpublic program providers.

 

The advantage of an early childhood education funding stream, compared with a pre-kindergarten—grade 12 funding stream, is that it focuses public and school district attention on the importance of early childhood education and provides an incentive for school districts to enroll students in pre-kindergarten programs.  It targets funding for those programs, helping school districts to support these programs in times of fiscal stress.  Care will be taken to balance the need for sustainability of State and local support for quality early childhood education programs with the long-term cost savings that these programs provide.  Enrollment trends and facilities needs will be considered as pre-kindergarten programs grow.

 

 

Special Education Funding

 

The following approach maintains a separate special education funding stream based on a count of students with disabilities.  It aligns that funding with the Regents proposal for Foundation Aid for general education instruction.

 

The proposal is this: Calculate the Foundation amount for general education students (e.g., General Education Foundation Cost x Pupil Needs Index x Regional Cost Index). This would be divided into an expected local contribution and State Aid in order to provide support for general education instruction, as it was proposed in the 2003-04 and 2004-05 Regents State Aid proposals.

 

For Public Excess Cost Aid, that same Foundation amount would be multiplied by a single weighting for all classified students with disabilities to determine an expense upon which to base excess cost aid per pupil.  Thus, each student with a disability would generate operating aid based on a portion of the general education Foundation amount and, separately, excess cost aid based on a portion of the special education weighted general education Foundation amount. The excess cost aid would be tied to the cost of successful districts by basing it on the Foundation amount from our original successful schools study.  High cost aid and private excess cost aid could be continued separately and the Regents proposal for a current-year aid for new high cost students with disabilities would be carried forward.

 

The following is an example of this proposal in a hypothetical school district. The amounts used are made up and are intended to illustrate how the formula would work, and not its specific details. 

 

Calculate the Foundation amount for general education students (e.g., $1,000 x Pupil Needs Index x Regional Cost Index or by example a district with moderate pupil needs and moderate costs, $1,000 x 1.5 x 1.2 = $1,800/pupil).  Divide this into State Aid and an expected local contribution to provide State support for general education instruction.  For this hypothetical school district, assume the expected local contribution was $1,000 per pupil and State Aid was $800 per pupil.

 

Take the same Foundation amount ($1,800/pupil) multiplied by a single weighting for all classified students with disabilities to determine excess cost expense per pupil. (For example, $1,800 x 1.1 = $1,980 of excess cost expense per special education pupil.)  A State and local share of this expense can then be calculated.  Thus each student with a disability would generate Foundation Aid and excess cost aid.

 

 

 


[1] Approximately 65 percent in 2003-04.