§ 10-76g — State aid for special education.

Connecticut § 10-76g

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 10: Education and Culture
• Ch. 164: Educational Opportunities

Text

(a)(1) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1984, and each fiscal year thereafter, in any case in which special education is being provided at a private residential institution, including the residential components of regional educational service centers, to a child for whom no local or regional board of education can be found responsible under subsection (b) of section 10-76d, the Department of Children and Families shall pay the costs of special education to such institution pursuant to its authority under sections 17a-1 to 17a-26, inclusive, 17a-28 to 17a-49, inclusive, 17a-52 and 17a-861. (2) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1993, and each fiscal year thereafter, any local or regional board of education which provides special education and related services for any child (A) who is placed by a public agency, including, but not limited to, offices of a government of a federally recognized Native American tribe, in a private residential facility or who is placed in a facility or institution operated by the Department of Children and Families and who receives such special education at a program operated by a regional education service center or program operated by a local or regional board of education, and (B) for whom no local or regional board of education can be found responsible under subsection (b) of section 10-76d, shall be eligible to receive one hundred per cent of the reasonable costs of special education for such child as defined in the regulations of the State Board of Education. Any such board eligible for payment shall file with the Department of Education, in such manner as prescribed by the Commissioner of Education, annually, on or before December first a statement of the cost of providing special education for such child, provided a board of education may submit, not later than March first, claims for additional children or costs not included in the December filing. Payment by the state for such costs shall be made to the local or regional board of education as follows: Seventy-five per cent of the cost in February and the balance in May. (b) Any local or regional board of education which provides special education pursuant to the provisions of sections 10-76a to 10-76g , inclusive, for any exceptional child described in subparagraph (A) of subdivision (5) of section 10-76a , under its jurisdiction, excluding (1) children placed by a state agency for whom a board of education receives payment pursuant to the provisions of subdivision (2) of subsection (e) of section 10-76d , and (2) children who require special education, who reside on state-owned or leased property, and who are not the educational responsibility of the unified school districts established pursuant to sections 17a-37 and 18-99a , shall be financially responsible for the reasonable costs of special education instruction, as defined in the regulations of the State Board of Education, in an amount equal to for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2023, and each fiscal year thereafter, four and one-half times the net current expenditures per pupil of such board of education. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (d) of this section, the State Board of Education shall, within available appropriations, pay on a current basis any costs in excess of the local or regional board's basic contribution paid by such board in accordance with the provisions of this subsection. Any amounts paid by the State Board of Education on a current basis pursuant to this subsection shall not be reimbursable in the subsequent year. Application for such grant shall be made by filing with the Department of Education, in such manner as prescribed by the commissioner, annually on or before December first a statement of the cost of providing special education pursuant to this subsection, provided a board of education may submit, not later than March first, claims for additional children or costs not included in the December filing. Payment by the state for such excess costs shall be made to the local or regional board of education as follows: Seventy-five per cent of the cost in February and the balance in May. The amount due each town pursuant to the provisions of this subsection shall be paid to the treasurer of each town entitled to such aid, provided the treasurer shall treat such grant, or a portion of the grant, which relates to special education expenditures incurred in excess of such town's board of education budgeted estimate of such expenditures, as a reduction in expenditures by crediting such expenditure account, rather than town revenue. Such expenditure account shall be so credited no later than thirty days after receipt by the treasurer of necessary documentation from the board of education indicating the amount of such special education expenditures incurred in excess of such town's board of education budgeted estimate of such expenditures. (c) Commencing with the fiscal year ending June 30, 1996, and for each fiscal year thereafter, within available appropriations, each town whose ratio of (1) net costs of special education, as defined in subsection (h) of section 10-76f , for the fiscal year prior to the year in which the grant is to be paid to (2) the product of its total need students, as defined in section 10-262f , and the average regular program expenditures, as defined in section 10-262f , per need student for all towns for such year exceeds the state-wide average for all such ratios shall be eligible to receive a supplemental special education grant. Such grant shall be equal to the product of a town's eligible excess costs and the town's base aid ratio, as defined in section 10-262f , provided each town's grant shall be adjusted proportionately if necessary to stay within the appropriation. Payment pursuant to this subsection shall be made in June. For purposes of this subsection, a town's eligible excess costs are the difference between its net costs of special education and the amount the town would have expended if it spent at the state-wide average rate. (d) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, and each fiscal year thereafter, if the total of the amount of the grants payable to local or regional boards of education in accordance with (1) subsections (a) to (c), inclusive, of this section, except grants paid in accordance with subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section, (2) subdivision (2) of subsection (e) of section 10-76d , and (3) subsection (b) of section 10-253 , in any fiscal year exceeds the amount appropriated for the purposes of the grants described in subdivisions (1) to (3), inclusive, of this subsection for such fiscal year, then each town shall be ranked in descending order from one to one hundred sixty-nine according to such town's adjusted equalized net grand list per capita, as defined in section 10-261 , and the state board shall pay such grant to the local or regional board of education for a town as follows: (A) For any town ranked one hundred fifteen to one hundred sixty-nine, inclusive, ninety-one per cent of the amount of such town's eligible excess costs, (B) for any town ranked fifty-nine to one hundred fourteen, inclusive, eighty-eight per cent of the amount of such town's eligible excess costs, and (C) for any town ranked one to fifty-eight, inclusive, eighty-five per cent of the amount of such town's eligible excess costs. In the case of a regional board of education, such ranking shall be determined by (i) multiplying the total population, as defined in section 10-261 , of each town in the regional school district by such town's ranking, as determined in this subsection, (ii) adding together the figures determined under clause (i) of this subparagraph, and (iii) dividing the total computed under clause (ii) of this subparagraph by the total population of all towns in the district. The ranking of each regional board of education shall be rounded to the next higher whole number. If the total amount of the grants payable to local and regional boards of education calculated under subparagraphs (A) to (C), inclusive, of this subsection in any fiscal year exceeds the total amount appropriated for the grants described in subdivisions (1) to (3), inclusive, of this subsection for such fiscal year, the amount of the grants payable under this subsection shall be reduced proportionately. (e) (1) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, and each fiscal year thereafter, if the total amount appropriated in any fiscal year for the grants described in subdivisions (1) to (3), inclusive, of subsection (d) of this section exceeds the total of the amount of the grants payable to local and regional boards of education under subsection (d) of this section, for such fiscal year, such excess amount shall be distributed to each local and regional board of education as follows: (A) Subtract the sum of all grants paid to local and regional boards of education in such fiscal year under subsection (d) of this section from the sum of all grants calculated under subsections (a) to (c), inclusive, of this section, subdivision (2) of subsection (e) of section 10-76d and subsection (b) of section 10-253 ; (B) Subtract the sum of all grants paid to local and regional boards of education in such fiscal year under subsections (a) to (d), inclusive, of this section from the total amount appropriated in such fiscal year for all grants under this section; (C) Divide the amount calculated under subparagraph (B) of this subdivision by the amount calculated under subparagraph (A) of this subdivision; and (D) To determine the amount of such excess to be distributed to each local and regional board of education, multiply the amount calculated under subparagraph (A) of this subdivision that is attributable to such local or regional board of education by the per cent calculated under subparagraph (C) of this subdivision. (2) Any grants paid in accordance with subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section shall be excluded from the calculations described in subdivision (1) of this subsection. See Sec. 10-76hh re prohibition on deduction of Medicaid reimbursement in determination of grant payments. See Sec. 10-184a re exemption of local or regional boards of education or State Board of Education from providing special education for children being educated at home or in private school.

Legislative History

(1967, P.A. 627, S. 8, 11; 1972, P.A. 182; P.A. 75-587, S. 1, 2; P.A. 78-218, S. 66; 78-248, S. 2; P.A. 79-128, S. 17, 36; 79-408, S. 1, 2, 5; P.A. 80-154, S. 4, 5; 80-473, S. 1, 3; P.A. 81-420, S. 1, 4; 81-432, S. 9, 11; P.A. 82-91, S. 1, 38; 82-301, S. 1, 5; P.A. 83-495, S. 1, 2; P.A. 84-385, S. 1, 3; P.A. 85-393, S. 1, 2; 85-476, S. 2, 6; P.A. 88-136, S. 5, 37; P.A. 89-355, S. 5, 20; P.A. 90-225, S. 1, 2, 10; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-7, S. 7, 22; P.A. 92-262, S. 12, 23, 42; P.A. 93-91, S. 1, 2; 93-133, S. 1, 3; 93-353, S. 9, 52; P.A. 95-226, S. 5, 30; P.A. 96-146, S. 6, 12; P.A. 98-252, S. 9, 80; P.A. 00-220, S. 40, 43; P.A. 01-173, S. 64, 67; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1, S. 5, 54; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7, S. 1; P.A. 03-76, S. 1, 10; 03-174, S. 8; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 20, 21; P.A. 05-245, S. 13, 19; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-6, S. 46; P.A. 11-48, S. 180; P.A. 13-40, S. 10; 13-247, S. 162; P.A. 14-231, S. 65; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5, S. 250; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-2, S. 172, 579; P.A. 19-117, S. 267; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-2, S. 368; P.A. 22-118, S. 265; P.A. 23-1, S. 8; 23-150, S. 10.) History: 1972 act amended Subsec. (a) to include deadlines for applications and payments and to consider private institutions as school districts in cases where no school district is responsible for a child in the institution; P.A. 75-587 deleted former Subsecs. (b) and (c) re reimbursement for education of hearing-impaired children and exclusion of costs incurred before July 1, 1967, for special education and inserted new Subsec. (b) concerning reimbursement to districts where state wards have been placed in foster or group homes; P.A. 78-218 substituted “local or regional board of education” for “school district” in Subsec. (a) and “local” for “town” school district in Subsec. (b); P.A. 78-248 made no changes; P.A. 79-128 amended Subsec. (a) to delete reference to repealed Sec. 10-94a, to replace reimbursement percentage formula with formula applicable only to year ending June 30, 1980, and to all 50% reimbursement for private institutions for that year, inserted new Subsecs. (b) to (e) concerning special education grants, designated former Subsec. (b) as Subsec. (f), making provisions applicable to fiscal year ending June 30, 1980, and allowing 50% rather than 66 2/3% reimbursement for education costs while child placed in health care facility or institution, and added Subsec. (g) guaranteeing payments at least equal to amount received in 1979; P.A. 79-408 excluded state-operated school districts from provisions of Subsec. (a) and (b); P.A. 80-154 deleted reference to regional educational service centers in Subsec. (g); P.A. 80-473 substituted “adopted” for “made” throughout section, amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) to add provisions concerning grants for excess costs and to add one year to year dates mentioned and to increase in Subsec. (a) the percentage from 20% to 25%, deleted Subsec. (d)(1) and renumbered remaining Subdivs., and amended Subsecs. (e) and (f) to increase year dates by one year; P.A. 81-420 delayed current funding for one year, added Subsec. (h) making districts which incur special education costs in excess of 120% of the prior fiscal year's costs to be eligible to receive a grant for a percentage of the excess costs and authorizing the state board of education to pay its share of the special education costs of no-nexus children on a current basis; P.A. 81-432 repealed Subsecs. (e) and (f) re grants for fiscal years ending June 30, 1981, and June 30, 1982; P.A. 82-91 amended section to provide that school districts are to be reimbursed for costs of providing special education in accordance with a special formula for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1983, only, that payment to the department of children and youth services be 100% of the net cost of special education provided at private residential institutions with payment by the department to the institutions for fiscal year ending June 30, 1983, and each fiscal year thereafter and, in Subsec. (h), that grants to school districts incurring excess special education costs for fiscal year ending June 30, 1983, continue and that town treasurers be required to treat such grants as a reduction of expenditures; P.A. 82-301 repealed Subsec. (g), effective July 1, 1983, eliminating the “hold-harmless” payments to towns for special education costs, relettering former Subsec. (h) accordingly; P.A. 83-495 delayed current funding for one year and in Subsec. (d)(2) and (3) corrected reference to “total population as defined in section 10-261”; P.A. 84-385 repealed former Subsecs. (a) and (b)(1) re payment of reimbursements for special education provided during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1982, and the fiscal year ending June 30, 1983, relettered former Subsec. (b)(2) as Subsec. (a)(1), added new Subsec. (a)(2) re payment of reimbursement for special education provided during fiscal year ending June 30, 1985, relettered former Subsec. (c) as Subsec. (b) and delayed current funding for an additional year, relettered former Subsec. (d) as Subsec. (c), deleted reference to repealed Subsecs. (e) and (f), relettered former Subsec. (g) as Subsec. (d), and added new Subsec. (e) re state share of placements made in out-of-district private residential facilities; P.A. 85-393 deleted former Subsecs. (a)(1), (b)(1), (d) and (e)(2) re computation of reimbursements for special education costs for fiscal year 1983-84, re application for and disbursement of special education grants for fiscal year 1985-86 and thereafter, re grants for excess costs of special education and re education department's duty to develop data assessing costs of implementing section and to report data to special education study committee, relettering Subsecs. and deleting Subdiv. indicators as necessary, applied former Subsec. (e)(1), now (d), so as to exclude children placed by a state agency for whom a board of education receives payment under Sec. 10-76d(e)(2), deleting reference to placement of children in out-of-district private residential placements, deleted provision re adjustment of reimbursements for grants received and substituted provision disallowing reimbursement in subsequent year of amounts paid by state board on a current basis and required submission of cost estimates by October first, rather than by September first; P.A. 85-476 amended Subsec. (c) to specify that reimbursement percentage is determined by ranking, to provide that ranking is to be rounded to next higher whole number and to provide for reimbursement at same percentage as for a town with the same rank; P.A. 88-136 deleted obsolete provisions in Subsec. (a) re reimbursement received during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1986, and made a technical change; P.A. 89-355 in Subsec. (c) changed the reimbursement percentage sliding scale of 30% to 70% to 25% to 70%; P.A. 90-225 in Subsec. (c) changed the reimbursement percentage sliding scale of 25% to 70% to 10% to 70% and added new Subsecs. (e) and (f) re reimbursement for costs of providing special education to certain children requiring special education and an additional grant payment for certain towns for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1991, respectively; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-7 amended Subsec. (e)(1) to extend to June 30, 1992, the applicability of the method described therein for special education reimbursement; P.A. 92-262 amended Subsecs. (a), (c) and (d) to add reference to child described in Sec. 10-76a(e)(1), amended Subsec. (b) to make the existing Subsec. Subdiv. (1) and add Subdiv. (2), amended Subsec. (c)(1) to add reference to Sec. 2-32a, to substitute zero for ten and to add exception that no town receive less than 2% and deleted former Subsecs. (e) and (f) as obsolete; P.A. 93-91 substituted commissioner and department of children and families for commissioner and department of children and youth services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-133 amended Subdiv. (1) of Subsec. (b) to remove the requirement that the state board of education pay the department of children and youth services for 100% of the net cost of special education for the children described in said Subdiv., effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-353 added Subsec. (d)(2) re children residing on state-owned property or in permanent family residences, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-226 deleted former Subsecs. (a) and (c) re special education reimbursement for any exceptional child described in Sec. 10-76a(e)(1), relettered remaining Subsecs. and added new Subsec. (c) re supplemental special education grants, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-146 amended Subsec. (b) to make a technical change, effective July 1, 1996 (Revisor's note: A reference to “subdivision (2) of subsection (e)” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “subparagraph (B) of subdivision (5)” to conform with the designation changes made by said act); P.A. 98-252 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) to change the time frames for submission of the statement from October to December, submission of claims for additional children or costs from April to February and payments from December and June to February and April, to increase the amount of the first payment from 50% to 75% and to make technical changes, effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 00-220 amended Subsec. (b) to add the requirement for the expenditure account to be credited no later than 30 days after receipt by the treasurer of the necessary documentation from the board of education, effective July 1, 2000; P.A. 01-173 amended Subsec. (b) to change the time limit for the submission of claims from February to March first and to change the time for the payment of the balance from April to May, effective July 1, 2001; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1 amended Subsec. (b) to designate provision re five times the average per pupil educational costs as Subpara. (A) and apply it to fiscal years commencing prior to July 1, 2002, and to add Subpara. (B) re four and one-half times the average per pupil educational costs, effective July 1, 2001; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7 amended Subsec. (b) by delaying until July 1, 2003, a decrease in financial responsibility from five times to four and one-half times the average per pupil educational costs, effective August 15, 2002; P.A. 03-76 made technical changes in Subsec. (a), effective June 3, 2003; P.A. 03-174 amended Subsec. (a) to substitute March first for February first as the latest date boards of education may update December statements of costs of providing special education for a child, to substitute May for April for the final payment of the balance and to make a technical change, effective July 1, 2003; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 amended Subsec. (b) by delaying until July 1, 2005, a decrease in financial responsibility from five times to four and one-half times the average per pupil educational costs and added Subsec. (d) re proportional reduction of grants for fiscal years ending June 30, 2004, and June 30, 2005, effective August 20, 2003; P.A. 05-245 amended Subsec. (a)(2) to replace “state agency” with “public agency” and to include offices of a government of a federally recognized Native American tribe as a public agency making placements and amended Subsec. (d) to extend the proportional reduction of grants through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007, and to create an exception for grants paid in accordance with Subsec. (a)(2), effective July 1, 2005; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-6 amended Subsec. (d) to add provisions extending proportional reduction of grants through fiscal years ending June 30, 2010, and June 30, 2011, effective October 5, 2009; P.A. 11-48 amended Subsec. (d) to extend proportional reduction of grants through fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 13-40 amended Subsec. (b) by deleting reference to permanent family residences; P.A. 13-247 amended Subsec. (d) by extending proportional reduction of grants through fiscal year ending June 30, 2015, effective July 1, 2013; P.A. 14-231 amended Subsec. (b) by deleting reference to Sec. 17a-240, effective July 1, 2014; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5 amended Subsec. (d) to extend proportional reduction of grants through fiscal year ending June 30, 2017, effective July 1, 2015; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-2 amended Subsec. (b) by adding “within available appropriations” re payment of costs and amended Subsec. (d) to extend proportional reduction of grants through fiscal year ending June 30, 2019, effective October 31, 2017; P.A. 19-117 amended Subsec. (d) to extend proportional reduction of grants through fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, effective July 1, 2019; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-2 amended Subsec. (d) to extend proportional reduction of grants through fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, effective July 1, 2021; P.A. 22-118 amended Subsec. (b) by adding “Except as otherwise provided in subsection (d) of this section, the” and making a conforming change and amended Subsec. (d) by replacing provision re proportional reduction of grants if total amount of grants payable exceed amount appropriated with provision re tiers of payments of grants if total amount of grants payable exceeds amount appropriated, effective July 1, 2022; P.A. 23-1 amended Subsec. (d) by including internal references to Subsecs. (a) to (c), Sec. 10-76d(e)(2) and Sec. 10-253(b)(3) and designating same as new Subdivs. (1) to (3), redesignating existing Subdivs. (1) to (3) as new Subparas. (A) to (C) and amending same to replace “seventy-six and one-quarter” with “ninety-one” in new Subpara. (A), “seventy-three” with “eighty-eight” in new Subpara. (B) and “seventy” with “eighty-five” in new Subpara. (C), redesignating existing Subparas. (A) to (C) as Subsec. (d)(i) to (iii), adding provision re proportional reduction of grants if total amount payable exceed amount appropriated with provision and making technical and conforming changes throughout, and added Subsec. (e) re distribution of excess amounts if total amount appropriated exceeds total amount payable, effective February 14, 2023; P.A. 23-150 amended Subsec. (b) by deleting former Subpara. (A) re five times the average per pupil educational costs, deleting Subpara. (B) designator, replacing “July 1, 2005” with “July 1, 2023” and replacing “such average per pupil educational costs” with “the net current expenditures per pupil”, effective July 1, 2023. Cited. 172 C. 615; 179 C. 694; 187 C. 187; 195 C. 24; 228 C. 699; 229 C. 1. Violates Art. I, Sec. 20 and Art. VIII, Sec. 1 of Connecticut Constitution. 31 CS 379. Cited. 34 CS 257; 35 CS 501; 36 CS 285, 291; 44 CS 527.