BILL NUMBER: S1633A

SPONSOR: GOLDEN
 
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 evaluation programs and for participation in state
programs for the reporting of basic educational data

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

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 in complying with
state administrative mandates and participating in the state's testing
              

and evaluation program.

Section two of the bill provides that this act shall take effect imme-
diately.

 
EXISTING LAW:

Current law does not provide for cost reimbursement.

 
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.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017: S.1633 - Referred to Education
2016: S.1863-A - Referred to Education
2015: S.1863 - Referred to Education
2013-4: S.4385 - Referred to Education
2011-2: S.3810 - Referred to Education
2010: S.2998 - Referred to Education
2009: S.2998 - Reported to Finance
2008: S.8197-C - Passed Senate

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
The act shall take effect immediately.