Bill > A1280

Introduced Session

This bill establishes the School Funding Commission to study issues related to school funding and issue a report with its findings and recommendations that will be the basis of a new school funding formula in the State. The commission will be composed of 26 members including the Commissioner of Education, nine members appointed by the Governor, five members appointed each by the Senate President and the Speaker of the General Assembly, and three members appointed each by the Minority Leader of the Senate and the Minority Leader of the General Assembly. The members will include persons with knowledge and experience in school finance or State budgeting or finance and members who have been recommended for appointment by various educational organizations in the State. The Commissioner of Education will serve as the chairperson of the commission and staff and related support services for the commission will be provided by the Department Education. The bill provides that it will be the duty of the commission to study:· New Jersey's current school funding formula, the "School Funding Reform Act of 2008," P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-43 et al.), and the various aid categories under the formula, including: preschool aid; transportation aid with a focus on the aid used to provide transportation to students attending charter schools and nonpublic schools; security aid; and special education aid with a focus on the effects of census based funding under the current formula and the feasibility of utilizing a tiered funding system; · the effects of the current funding formula on the education of at-risk students and students with limited English proficiency;· the school funding formulas of the states surrounding New Jersey in order to identify the positive and negatives aspects of each of these funding formulas;· the ability of municipalities in the State to raise adequate taxes for the support of public schools;· the allocation of property taxes for school purposes;· the impact of identified State policies and how they may affect school funding in each county and municipality;· the impact of the use of payments in lieu of taxes and other tax incentive programs on the ability of municipalities to support public schools; and· the benefits of a reorganization of the Department of Education in regard to the implementation of the State's school funding formula. The commission is required to issue a final report containing its findings and recommendations to the Governor and to the Legislature no later than one year after the organizational meeting of the commission. The report will be posted prominently on the Department of Education's Internet website.

Committee Categories

Alex Sauickie (R)*,  Rob Clifton (R), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document