Revision: June 12, 2013, midnight
SB 27 – AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
03/14/13 0736s
5June2013… 1990h
2013 SESSION
04/03
SENATE BILL 27
AN ACT relative to monitoring by the department of education of programs for children with disabilities and relative to the calculation of school building aid grants.
SPONSORS: Sen. Stiles, Dist 24; Sen. Odell, Dist 8; Sen. Bradley, Dist 3; Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 21; Rep. Rosenwald, Hills 30; Rep. DiMartino, Belk 2; Rep. Myler, Merr 10; Rep. Grenier, Sull 7; Rep. Shaw, Hills 16
COMMITTEE: Health, Education and Human Services
This bill requires the department of education to evaluate the effectiveness of the special education program approval and monitoring system in 2015. The bill also provides that certain funds received from charitable trusts, bequests, gifts, insurance policies, or grants shall be subtracted from total project costs in the calculation of school building aid grants.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/14/13 0736s
5June2013… 1990h
13-0748
04/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Thirteen
AN ACT relative to monitoring by the department of education of programs for children with disabilities and relative to the calculation of school building aid grants.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Special Education; Program Monitoring. Amend RSA 186-C:5, IX to read as follows:
IX. The department, with input from the advisory committee on the education of children/students with disabilities, shall select and contract with an independent, nationally recognized organization in program evaluation and quality assurance to evaluate in 2010, 2015, and decennially thereafter, the effectiveness of the program approval and monitoring system, including whether it is carrying out activities in RSA 186-C:5 in an efficient manner. Such organization shall submit recommendations for any improvements to the commissioner, the state board of education, the governor, and the general court within 90 days of completing the program evaluation. On or before September 1, 2013, the department shall submit a written response to the report submitted by the organization that conducted the 2012 independent evaluation. The written response shall include a detailed plan for how the department will address the areas identified as needing improvement and the recommendations made in the initial evaluation required under this section. The written response shall include specific steps the department plans to take, along with a timeline for each step. The written response shall also provide an explanation for any actions the department will not implement or complete during the plan's timeframe. On or before December 30, 2013 and June 30, 2014, the department shall submit a report of its progress toward completing its plan. The plan and reports shall be submitted to the governor, to the chairpersons of the senate and house committees with jurisdiction over education policy, to the state advisory committee for the education of children with disabilities established in RSA 186-C:3-b, and to the state board of education. For the 2015 evaluation, the department shall invite the same organization that conducted the 2012 evaluation to respond to a request for proposals. The 2015 evaluation shall include feedback on the steps the department has taken in response to the recommendations in the 2012 report. The department shall provide unimpeded access to all documents requested by the organization, except as otherwise required by law.
2 School Building Aid; Amount of Grant. Amend RSA 198:15-b, I(a)(2)(E) to read as follows:
(E) Funds received from charitable trusts, bequests, gifts, insurance policies, federal grants, or grants from other state programs shall [not be considered in] be subtracted from total project costs when computing grants under this paragraph.
3 New Subparagraph; School Building Aid; Amount of Grant. Amend RSA 198:15-b, I(a)(2) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the following new subparagraph:
(E) Funds received from charitable trusts, bequests, gifts, insurance policies, federal grants, or grants from other state programs shall be subtracted from total project costs when computing grants under this paragraph.
4 Contingency. If HB 629-FN of the 2013 regular legislative session becomes law, then section 2 of this act shall take effect at 12:01 a.m. on the effective date of HB 629-FN and section 3 of this act shall not take effect. If HB 629-FN does not become law, then section 3 of this act shall take effect as provided in section 5 of this act and section 2 of this act shall not take effect.
5 Effective Date.
I. Sections 2 and 3 of this act shall take effect as provided in section 4 of this act.
II. The remainder of this act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
13-0748
Amended 04/03/13
SB 27 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to monitoring by the department of education of programs for children with disabilities.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Education states this bill, as amended by the Senate (Amendment #2013-0736s), will increase state expenditures by $244,991 in FY 2014, $374,714 in FY 2015, $304,793 in FY 2016, and $310,051 in FY 2017. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county, and local revenues, or county and local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Education states this bill requires the Department to select and contract with an independent organization to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiencies of the program approval and monitoring systems of programs for children with disabilities in 2015 and decennially thereafter. Additionally, the proposed legislation requires the Department to submit a written response to a comparable report summarizing a 2012 evaluation by September 1, 2013. The Department’s written response must detail the Department’s plan to address areas identified as needing improvement and other recommendations within the report including specific steps the Department plans to take to implement the report’s recommendations and a timeline for each step. The proposed legislation also requires the Department to include in the written response an explanation for any recommendations the Department will not implement or complete during the plan’s timeframe. Subsequently, the Department is required to submit a progress report on the plan to the governor, the chairpersons of the senate and house committees with jurisdiction over education policy, to the state advisory committee for the education of children with disabilities, and the state board of education on December 30, 2013 and June 30, 2014.
The Department states the current funding for the state’s educational programs for children with disabilities is derived from federal grants and does not believe the costs to be incurred by the activities associated with the implementation of the proposed legislation to be reimbursable with federal funds. Accordingly, the Department states any costs associated with the proposed legislation would have to be borne by the state’s general fund. Based on the cost of the 2012 evaluation of the state’s education programs for children with disabilities, the Department estimates the 2015 evaluation required in the proposed legislation will increase state expenditures by $75,000 in FY 2015.
The Department states it would require two additional employees, (a full time educational consultant at LG 26 and a part time program assistant at LG 12), to provide the written response to the 2012 evaluation and to subsequently monitor and report on the progress of the Department’s plan to implement the findings and recommendations of the evaluation as detailed in the Department’s written response. The Department assumes the two employees would continue to be needed to oversee the contracting of the 2015 evaluation and subsequently to respond to the 2015 evaluation and oversee the implementation of the recommendations made therein. The Department estimates the two additional employees plus ancillary costs associated with implementation of the Department’s plan would increase state expenditures as follows:
FY2014 |
FY2015 |
FY2016 |
FY2017 | ||
Educational Consultant (LG 26) |
|||||
Salary |
$ 46,722 |
$ 48,770 |
$ 50,915 |
$ 53,138 | |
Benefits |
25,413 |
27,248 |
29,209 |
31,320 | |
Program Assistant (LG 12, 30hrs p/week) |
|||||
Salary |
$ 21,232 |
$ 22,012 |
$ 22,916 |
$ 23,774 | |
Benefits |
1,624 |
1,684 |
1,753 |
1,819 | |
Funds for Implementation |
$ 150,000 |
$ 200,000 |
$ 200,000 |
$ 200,000 | |
Totals: |
$ 244,991 |
$299,714 |
$304,793 |
$310,051 | |
This bill does not contain an appropriation or authorize any positions.