Revision: April 14, 2022, 9:18 a.m.
Rep. Ladd, Graf. 4
April 8, 2022
2022-1384h
10/04
Amendment to SB 420-FN-A-LOCAL
Amend the title of the bill by replacing it with the following:
AN ACT establishing an extraordinary need grant for schools and relative to additional adequate education grant amounts for pupils receiving special education services.
Amend the bill by replacing section 1 with the following:
1 New Section; Extraordinary Need Grants for Schools. Amend RSA 198 by inserting after section 40-e the following new section:
198:40-f Extraordinary Need Grants.
I. In addition to aid for the cost of the opportunity for an adequate education provided under RSA 198:40-a, each year the commissioner shall calculate an extraordinary need grant for schools and provide that amount of aid to a municipality's school districts as follows:
(a) A municipality with an equalized valuation per pupil eligible to receive a free or reduced-priced meal of $1,000,000 or less shall receive $650 per pupil eligible to receive a free or reduced-price meal in the municipality's ADMR.
(b) A municipality with an equalized valuation per pupil eligible to receive a free or reduced-price meal between $1,000,001 and $5,999,999 shall receive a grant equal to $0.00013 for each dollar of difference between its equalized valuation per pupil eligible to receive a free or reduced-price meal and $6,000,000, per pupil eligible to receive a free or reduced-price meal in the municipality's ADMR.
(c) A municipality with an equalized valuation per pupil eligible to receive a free or reduced-price meal of $6,000,000 or more shall not receive an extraordinary need grant.
II. In order to receive an extraordinary need grant, the school district shall provide a plan to the department of education outlining how the district intends to improve the educational achievement of students. School districts eligible to receive the grant shall provide the department an accountability plan designed to generate data that measures student academic achievement and growth of knowledge and skills in reading and language arts and/or mathematics in grades 3-8 and at one grade level in high school. A school district receiving a grant award shall submit to the department for approval a grant accountability plan identifying program design elements as required by the department and at what grade levels the funds will be used. The school district, in consultation with the department, shall develop and administer its own grant accountability assessment that identifies a pupil’s range of learning and yields objective data to use in improving instruction and learning, or use the statewide assessment. The school district shall submit to the department an annual grant accountability progress report that includes evidence of satisfactory program implementation and progress toward grant accountability improvement targets. The primary goal of this grant is to improve student achievement and to help the school district to have funding for successful, best practice student learning approaches.
III. Extraordinary need grants shall be distributed pursuant to RSA 198:42.
IV. In this section, "equalized valuation per pupil eligible to receive a free or reduced-price meal" means a municipality's equalized valuation, excluding properties subject to taxation under RSA 82 and RSA 83-F, as determined by the department of revenue administration, that was the basis for the local tax assessment in the determination year, divided by the school district's kindergarten through grade 12 ADMR in the determination year eligible to receive a free or reduced-price meal.
Amend the bill by inserting after section 3 the following and renumbering the original section 4 to read as 5
4 Cost of an Opportunity for an Adequate Education; Special Education. RSA 198:40-a, II(d) is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
(d)(1) An additional $2,037.11 for each pupil in the ADMR who is receiving special education services with a category A disability and $3,367.08 for each pupil in the ADMR who is receiving special education services with a category B disability.
(2) For this subparagraph, "category A disability” applies to pupils receiving special education services with a primary disability that includes developmental delay, specific learning disabilities, and speech or language impairments; and "category B disability” applies to pupils receiving special education services with a primary disability that includes autism, deaf–blindness, emotional disturbance, hearing impairments, multiple disabilities, intellectual disability, other health impairments, orthopedic impairments, traumatic brain injury, acquired brain injury, and visual impairments.
2022-1384h
AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill establishes an extraordinary need grant for schools in addition to regular adequate education grants and relief grants. This bill also provides for categories of special education services which apply to the calculation of adequate education grant amounts.