Bill Text - SB420 (2022)

(Third New Title) establishing an extraordinary need grant for schools.


Revision: May 13, 2022, 11:32 a.m.

SB 420-FN-A-LOCAL - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE

 

21Apr2022... 1384h

2022 SESSION

22-3110

10/04

 

SENATE BILL 420-FN-A-LOCAL

 

AN ACT establishing an extraordinary need grant for schools and relative to additional adequate education grant amounts for pupils receiving special education services.

 

SPONSORS: Sen. Hennessey, Dist 1; Sen. Birdsell, Dist 19; Sen. Bradley, Dist 3; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Giuda, Dist 2; Sen. Ricciardi, Dist 9; Sen. Avard, Dist 12; Sen. Carson, Dist 14; Sen. Morse, Dist 22; Rep. Shaw, Hills. 16

 

COMMITTEE: Education

 

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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.

 

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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

21Apr2022... 1384h 22-3110

10/04

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Two

 

AN ACT establishing an extraordinary need grant for schools and relative to additional adequate education grant amounts for pupils receiving special education services.

 

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 

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.

2  New Subparagraph; Determination of Final Adequate Education Grants.  Amend RSA 198:41, I by inserting after subparagraph (d) the following new subparagraph:

(e)  Add the municipality's extraordinary need grant pursuant to RSA 198:40-f.

3  Education Aid; Fiscal Year 2023.  Amend 2021, 91:52 to read as follows:

91:52  Conditional Differential Aid Calculation For Pupils Eligible for a Free or Reduced Price Meal; Fiscal Year 2023.

I.  If, as of any of the dates set forth in RSA 198:41, V, VI, or VII, either (a) the state of New Hampshire is in a declared state of emergency pursuant to RSA 4:45 as it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic or (b) the U.S. Department of Agriculture has not rescinded the Child Nutrition Covid-19 Waivers enacted in response to the pandemic, or both, then the department of education shall, in consultation with the governor, determine whether the alternative differential aid calculation set forth in paragraph II is required for fiscal year 2023 when making the required estimate or final determination described in RSA 198:41, V, VI, or VII as applicable.

II.  Upon making a determination that the alternative differential aid calculation applies pursuant to paragraph I, the department of education shall divide each pupil in the ADMA who is eligible for a free or reduced price meal by the average daily member in [attendance (ADMA)] residence (ADMR), defined in RSA 198:38, for each district and town for school year 2019-2020.  The percentage shall be applied to the [ADMA] ADMR for school year 2021-2022 to establish a new calculation of [ADMA] ADMR for who is eligible for a free or reduced price meal.  The greater of the [ADMA] ADMR of pupils who are eligible for a free or reduced price meal for school year 2021-2022 and the new calculation based on the 2019-2020 school year percentage shall be used to calculate the differential aid under RSA 198:40-a, II(b) [and], relief aid under RSA 198:40-e, and extraordinary need grants under RSA 198:40-f.

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.

5  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.

 

LBA

22-3110

Amended 5/13/22

 

SB 420-FN-A-LOCAL- FISCAL NOTE

AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE (AMENDMENTS #2022-1761h and #2022-1925h)

 

AN ACT establishing an extraordinary need grant for schools and relative to eligibility for the education tax credit.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:      [ X ] State              [    ] County               [ X ] Local              [    ] None

 

 

 

Estimated Increase / (Decrease)

STATE:

FY 2022

FY 2023

FY 2024

FY 2025

   Appropriation

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Expenditures

$0

$14,671,976

Grants to Districts

 

Indeterminable DOE Administrative Costs (if any)

$9,646,850

Grants to Districts

 

Indeterminable DOE Administrative Costs (if any)

Indeterminable Increase

Funding Source:

  [ X ] General            [ X ] Education            [   ] Highway           [    ] Other

 

 

 

 

 

LOCAL:

 

 

 

 

   Revenue

$0

$14,671,976

$9,646,850

Indeterminable Increase

   Expenditures

$0

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

 

METHODOLOGY:

This bill establishes extraordinary need grants for schools within the education funding adequacy formula. This grant is calculated based on equalized valuation per free and reduced-price meal pupils (EVFRP). An EVFRP of $1 million or less awards a municipality $650 per F&R pupil, while municipalities with an EVFRP of $6 million or greater are not eligible. Municipalities with an EVFRP between $1 million and $6 million receive a grant between $650 and $150 on a sliding scale basis for each F&R pupil. The Department of Education has provided the following estimates of this bill’s impact on state education trust fund expenditures and local revenue for FY 2023 and FY 2024 (FY 2025 and beyond is indeterminable due to variability in pupil and equalized valuation data):

 

Preliminary Estimates Only 

TOTAL FINAL STATE GRANT*
(State Total – See Town-By-Town Below)

FY 2023

FY 2024

Current Law

$954,654,750

$951,581,686

Proposed

$969,326,726

$961,228,536

Increase

$14,671,976

$9,646,850

* Includes Statewide Education Property Tax (SWEPT) raised and retained locally

 

 

FY 2023

FY 2024

State Total

$14,671,976

$9,646,850

Acworth

17,137

5,781

Albany

10,345

7,116

Alexandria

7,520

0

Allenstown

105,134

45,876

Alstead

37,325

21,893

Alton

0

0

Amherst

0

0

Andover

33,941

3,689

Antrim

40,189

31,806

Ashland

29,605

25,770

Atkinson

0

0

Auburn

0

0

Barnstead

53,490

31,056

Barrington

0

0

Bartlett

0

0

Bath

6,209

5,433

Bedford

0

0

Belmont

153,884

111,718

Bennington

28,762

18,810

Benton

2,639

0

Berlin

377,415

300,708

Bethlehem

32,604

22,986

Boscawen

75,249

30,801

Bow

0

0

Bradford

10,392

6,375

Brentwood

0

0

Bridgewater

0

0

Bristol

41,113

14,294

Brookfield

0

0

Brookline

0

0

Cambridge

0

0

Campton

26,913

21,944

Canaan

53,048

8,562

Candia

0

0

Canterbury

0

0

Carroll

0

0

Center Harbor

0

0

Charlestown

184,487

103,220

Chatham

0

0

Chester

0

0

Chesterfield

0

0

Chichester

0

0

Claremont

489,872

355,188

Clarksville

4,368

2,211

Colebrook

69,847

48,230

Columbia

5,800

1,375

Concord

519,921

482,405

Conway

58,998

0

Cornish

0

0

Croydon

1,280

0

Dalton

24,386

14,538

Danbury

20,141

8,426

Danville

0

0

Deerfield

0

0

Deering

26,299

13,679

Derry

279,038

66,012

Dix's Grant

0

0

Dixville

0

0

Dorchester

5,144

1,889

Dover

221,079

122,248

Dublin

0

0

Dummer

0

0

Dunbarton

0

0

Durham

0

0

East Kingston

0

0

Easton

0

0

Eaton

0

0

Effingham

56,023

28,583

Ellsworth

1,519

1,519

Enfield

0

0

Epping

0

0

Epsom

6,942

6,942

Errol

0

0

Exeter

0

0

Farmington

226,178

133,610

Fitzwilliam

21,246

0

Francestown

0

0

Franconia

0

0

Franklin

350,346

265,168

Freedom

0

0

Fremont

0

0

Gilford

0

0

Gilmanton

0

0

Gilsum

18,291

15,441

Goffstown

30,199

0

Gorham

20,586

1,292

Goshen

13,112

10,665

Grafton

23,758

18,098

Grantham

0

0

Greenfield

19,652

7,821

Greenland

0

0

Greenville

48,403

43,564

Groton

10,501

1,140

Hale's Location

0

0

Hampstead

0

0

Hampton

0

0

Hampton Falls

0

0

Hancock

0

0

Hanover

0

0

Harrisville

0

0

Hart's Location

0

0

Haverhill

122,773

86,233

Hebron

0

0

Henniker

31,201

0

Hill

7,759

0

Hillsboro

159,061

125,272

Hinsdale

131,254

120,893

Holderness

0

0

Hollis

0

0

Hooksett

0

0

Hopkinton

0

0

Hudson

0

0

Jackson

0

0

Jaffrey

106,622

84,386

Jefferson

8,706

6,956

Keene

381,646

249,073

Kensington

0

0

Kingston

0

0

Laconia

354,991

289,944

Lancaster

131,068

100,355

Landaff

3,538

3,538

Langdon

1,729

0

Lebanon

0

0

Lee

0

0

Lempster

20,241

2,344

Lincoln

0

0

Lisbon

88,658

66,263

Litchfield

0

0

Littleton

158,145

151,725

Londonderry

0

0

Loudon

15,235

0

Lyman

63

0

Lyme

0

0

Lyndeborough

0

0

Madbury

0

0

Madison

0

0

Manchester

3,945,040

2,546,080

Marlborough

47,103

33,905

Marlow

13,170

1,248

Martin's Location

0

0

Mason

0

0

Meredith

0

0

Merrimack

0

0

Middleton

48,225

13,908

Milan

24,390

17,917

Milford

28,342

20,434

Millsfield

0

0

Milton

73,481

16,742

Monroe

0

0

Mont Vernon

0

0

Moultonborough

0

0

Nashua

1,696,039

1,145,427

Nelson

0

0

New Boston

0

0

New Castle

0

0

New Durham

0

0

New Hampton

5,899

0

New Ipswich

37,703

15,902

New London

0

0

Newbury

0

0

Newfields

0

0

Newington

0

0

Newmarket

28,238

0

Newport

248,656

245,978

Newton

0

0

North Hampton

0

0

Northfield

96,758

87,703

Northumberland

79,964

64,483

Northwood

0

0

Nottingham

0

0

Odell

0

0

Orange

0

0

Orford

16,862

16,862

Ossipee

121,845

63,557

Pelham

0

0

Pembroke

69,113

25,498

Penacook

110,314

89,294

Peterborough

43,512

0

Piermont

0

0

Pinkham's Grant

0

0

Pittsburg

0

0

Pittsfield

151,219

89,670

Plainfield

0

0

Plaistow

0

0

Plymouth

79,507

49,559

Portsmouth

0

0

Randolph

483

483

Raymond

74,536

0

Richmond

21,785

18,570

Rindge

34

0

Rochester

843,453

561,954

Rollinsford

0

0

Roxbury

2,990

1,494

Rumney

8,626

0

Rye

0

0

Salem

0

0

Salisbury

43

0

Sanbornton

0

0

Sandown

0

0

Sandwich

0

0

Seabrook

0

0

Sharon

0

0

Shelburne

3,471

3,471

Somersworth

306,129

251,522

South Hampton

0

0

Springfield

0

0

Stark

2,690

2,138

Stewartstown

20,128

11,899

Stoddard

0

0

Strafford

0

0

Stratford

31,991

30,386

Stratham

0

0

Success

0

0

Sugar Hill

0

0

Sullivan

15,070

2,921

Sunapee

0

0

Surry

3,414

0

Sutton

813

0

Swanzey

157,014

95,995

Tamworth

55,384

44,232

Temple

0

0

Thornton

10,601

0

Tilton

45,427

45,427

Troy

72,294

64,830

Tuftonboro

0

0

Unity

18,252

6,823

Wakefield

26,336

0

Walpole

25,814

0

Warner

19,096

898

Warren

21,088

21,088

Washington

0

0

Waterville Valley

0

0

Weare

9,834

0

Webster

0

0

Wentworth

12,403

1,757

Wentworth's Location

0

0

Westmoreland

0

0

Whitefield

80,428

51,155

Wilmot

0

0

Wilton

34,045

22,126

Winchester

151,031

108,647

Windham

0

0

Windsor

0

0

Wolfeboro

0

0

Woodstock

8,870

0

 

This bill also requires school districts to provide an accountability plan to the Department of Education, including an outline as to how the district intends to improve the educational achievement of students, in order to receive an extraordinary needs grant.  The Department has not yet provided information on this provision's potential impact to state or local school district expenditures.

 

Additionally, this bill changes the income eligibility for education tax credit (ETC) scholarships from 300% to 500% of the federal poverty guidelines.  While this may increase eligible students, ETC program expenditures are subject to donations made.  Therefore, since this bill makes no changes to program donations, it is not expected to have an impact on state revenue or expenditures.

 

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Department of Education and Department of Revenue Administration