Bill > S1329

Introduced Session

Under this bill, the State would assume the responsibility of entering into a contract with, and making payments to, entities that provide special education and related services to certain students with disabilities. If a school district anticipates that the cost of providing the special education and related services included in a student's Individualized Education Program (IEP) will exceed $55,000, then that student is considered to require a high needs placement. A school district would forward the IEP to the newly-created Office of High Needs Placement Funding within the Department of Education. That office would be responsible for entering into contracts with, and making payments to, providers of the special education and related services for these students. The office would make 10 equal monthly payments, starting on the first business day of October of that school year. Payments for summer and extended year programs will be paid on a monthly basis following submission of an invoice for services rendered. Additionally, the office would be responsible for:· establishing and maintaining a directory of providers of special education and related services, including information regarding performance and cost; and· implementing a quality rating system that will be developed for providers, ensuring that each provider undergoes a quality rating review at least once every three years. The bill establishes a High Needs Placement Committee in the Office of High Needs Placement Funding. The committee members will include the commissioner and State Treasurer, or their designees, and 15 public members. Seven of the public members will be appointed the Governor, and the Senate President, Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the General Assembly, and Minority Leader of the General Assembly will each have two appointments. The committee would be responsible for:· developing the quality rating system that will be used by the office to assess the performance of providers in terms of measurable outcomes in providing special education and related services to students who require a high needs placement;· collecting, analyzing, and reporting data regarding the provision of special education and related services;· providing recommendations in the event that the committee's analysis determines that school districts are identifying students as requiring special education and related services at an inappropriately high rate or failing to provide services in the least restrictive environment;· conducting a longitudinal study on students with disabilities who cease to require a high needs placement; and· examining the threshold criteria used to define "high needs placement." Under the bill, a portion of the cost of educating students who require a high needs placement would be supported by deducting a portion of a school district's State aid payable by an amount of the general fund tax levy, equalization aid, special education categorical aid, and security categorical aid attributable to those students. The State aid payable to a district would also be reduced by the amount of federal funding awarded under the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" and the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965" attributable to the students. In the event that the amount to be deducted exceeds the district's total State aid payable, then the district would pay the difference to the State. Under current law, extraordinary special education costs aid is awarded to school districts as a reimbursement of costs incurred in the prior school year in educating individual special education students whose costs exceed certain thresholds. This bill eliminates this category of State aid. However, in the first year in which the State would assume the costs of high needs placements, the State would continue to provide the extraordinary special education costs aid reimbursement for costs incurred in the prior school year.

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Joe Pennacchio (R)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Education Committee (on 01/13/2026)

Official Document