Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024
(a) Funds will be made available to school
districts, boards of co-operative educational services, county vocational
education and extension boards and area centers for co-operative educational
services, within the limits of annual appropriations (L. 1966, ch. 46), in
partial reimbursement for approved costs for new programs initiated in these
areas, which costs are incurred by reason of such new or additional
programs.
(b) Programs to be
considered for such reimbursement are:
(1)
pre-kindergartens for children in disadvantaged areas;
(2) experimentation and innovation in
improvement of instruction;
(3)
elimination of racial imbalance and improvement of integrated
education.
(c)
Applications for aid for such programs shall be submitted to the commissioner
by the district or other applicant on forms prescribed by the commissioner.
Such applications shall be filed by May 15 prior to the school year in which
the program is to be carried out. Upon application and justification and within
the limits of appropriations, the commissioner may accept applications
subsequent to such date in the year 1966.
(d) The criteria for review of such
applications shall be as follows:
(1)
Significance of proposed program.
(i) Will
the program test important proposals for improving education for all students
of the district or districts, or for some categories of students having special
educational needs?
(ii) Will the
results of the program, if successful, show the suitability of such program for
improvement of educational offerings in other districts?
(2) Adequacy of planning.
(i) Does the proposal reflect knowledge of
available research?
(ii) Are the
purposes and goals clearly stated?
(iii) Are the procedures to be followed
clearly outlined?
(iv) Is provision
made for suitable evaluation of results?
(v) Does the plan provide for qualified
personnel, adequate facilities and resources to carry out the
program?
(3) Economic
efficiency.
(i) Are anticipated expenditures
reasonable in relation to procedures to be followed and anticipated
results?
(ii) Are the proposed
expenditures over and above those which the district would make in its regular
instructional program?
(e) The application for aid shall indicate
the budgeted amount of the proposed program which shall be in addition to
existing programs or in addition to the normal cost of instruction provided by
the district for children in the area covered by the experimental program. If
such program is approved, the State aid shall be computed as follows:
(1) In the case of a school district, the
approved excess costs of the program shall be multiplied by the aid ratio of
the district, but not less than 50 per cent.
(2) In the case of a board of co-operative
educational services, county vocational education and extension board or an
area center for co-operative educational services, the aid ratio shall be
determined by dividing the total true valuation of taxable real property of the
school districts participating in the program by the total weighted average
daily attendance of such districts. The aid shall be the approved excess costs
of the program multiplied by such aid ratio, but not less than 50 per cent. All
districts participating in such a project must be listed by legal designation
in the application.
(3) Except in
(5) below, all allowances for the purchase of equipment shall be determined by
prorating the cost on the basis of the reasonable life expectancy of the item
and the expected period of time it will be used in the proposed experiment. The
total cost of equipment must be shown in the application.
(4) Capital expenditures for construction or
major alterations of buildings cannot be aided. The rental of approved
temporary quarters may be aidable as an excess cost.
(5) State aid for approved purchases of
equipment in the first year of operation of a pre-kindergarten class shall be
at the district's aid ratio plus 10 percentage points, but not less than 60 per
cent. The commissioner shall determine the amount and type of pre-kindergarten
equipment to be approved for aid.
(6) A limited number of experimental
pre-kindergarten programs may be designated by the commissioner as
demonstration and in-service teacher education centers for specified regions,
and in such cases the district or other applicant shall be entitled to the full
cost of services specifically required for such regional demonstration and
teacher education functions.
(7)
Approved expenditures for initial planning for a limited time may be considered
part of the excess cost and approvable for aid.
(8) The commissioner may modify the above aid
provisions if in his judgment highly unusual circumstances prevail which
warrant such modification.
(f) There shall be no duplication of aid, and
districts or other applicants shall not submit costs for approval which will be
reimbursed from Federal aid, or from other special State aid programs. If a
district is submitting or has submitted the same project for funding in whole
or in part under a Federal program of aid; or under another special State aid
program; or a private grant program, this should be noted in the plan and the
amount and source of such aid specified. Estimated excess costs must be limited
to expenditures which would not be incurred unless the proposed experimental
program were undertaken.
(g) If the
project is approved for aid, said aid will be distributed to the district based
on the following schedule:
(1) twenty-five
percent at the time of project approval;
(2) quarterly payments as requested by local
districts for projects of less than $100,000;
(3) monthly payments as requested by local
districts for projects of more than $100,000;
(4) but no more than 90 percent of the total
project cost until after receipt and audit of the final expense report at which
time the balance will be paid.
(h) Each district receiving State aid for an
experimental project shall maintain records and make a report of expenditures
and of progress no later than July 31, following the close of the school
year.
