CHAPTER 289
HB 1188-FN-LOCAL - FINAL VERSION
24feb00.....3432h
29march00.....3897h
31may00.....4715-CofC
2000 SESSION
04/01
HOUSE BILL 1188-FN-LOCAL
This bill inserts provisions regarding the establishment of an alternative kindergarten program within a school district, and provides that school districts operating an approved alternative kindergarten program shall be eligible to receive adequate education grant distributions. This bill also provides that alternative kindergarten programs which were approved and in effect prior to April 29, 1999 may continue to operate and receive per pupil adequate education grant amounts pursuant to RSA 198:40 through 198:42.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
24feb00.....3432h
29march00.....3897h
31may00.....4715-CofC
00-2131
04/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand
AN ACT relative to alternative kindergarten programs.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
289:1 New Section; State Aid for Educational Adequacy; Alternative Kindergarten Programs. Amend RSA 198 by inserting after section 48 the following new section:
198:48-a Alternative Kindergarten Programs.
I. A school district that currently does not operate a kindergarten program within an approved public school maintained by the local district or currently does not contract with another established public kindergarten program for the education of its resident kindergarten pupils, may submit to the commissioner of the department of education a local plan for an alternative kindergarten program based upon contractual arrangements with one or more nonpublic, non-sectarian schools or facilities. An alternative kindergarten program shall be:
(a) Offered immediately preceding the other elementary grades.
(b) Designed primarily for 5-year-olds.
(c) Available at district expense to all kindergarten-aged children who reside in the district.
II. An alternative kindergarten program shall satisfy the same criteria established for public kindergarten programs in the New Hampshire standards for school approval.
III. A local plan for an alternative kindergarten program shall be approved by the school board and the legislative body of the district. A local plan for an alternative kindergarten program shall be submitted to the commissioner of the department of education at times established by the commissioner.
IV. A local plan shall contain the following information:
(a) A description of the alternative kindergarten program.
(b) A list of the nonpublic, non-sectarian schools or facilities to be utilized.
(c) Evidence that the alternative kindergarten program satisfies the same criteria established for public kindergarten programs in the New Hampshire minimum standards for the approval of schools.
(d) Procedures for coordinating and articulating curriculum, instruction, and support services provided under the alternative kindergarten program with curriculum, instruction, and support services provided in the other elementary grades.
(e) An explanation of how students will be transported to and from the schools or facilities to be utilized.
V. The plan shall be reviewed by the department of education for compliance with statutory requirements.
VI. If an approved alternative kindergarten program utilizes more than one school or facility, the school board or the superintendent or other administrative officer designated by the school board may take into consideration parental preference when assigning students to schools or facilities in accordance with the provisions of RSA 193:14.
VII. (a) Upon the effective date of this paragraph, and for each fiscal year through June 30, 2003, an adequate education grant of $750 per pupil shall be distributed to school districts, from the education trust fund created in RSA 198:39, for the education of its resident kindergarten pupils enrolled in an approved alternative kindergarten program established under this section.
(b) Once pupils enrolled in an approved alternative kindergarten program have been counted in the average daily membership in residence, school districts shall receive, for each such pupil, an adequate education grant calculated in accordance with RSA 198:40 through RSA 198:42.
VIII. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, alternative kindergarten programs which were approved and in effect prior to April 29, 1999 may continue to operate and shall continue to receive per pupil adequate education grant amounts in accordance with RSA 198:40 through RSA 198:42.
289:2 Public Kindergarten Programs; Per Pupil Reimbursement. 1999, 65:9, I is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
I.(a) If a school district implements a public kindergarten program during school year 1998-1999 through school year 2002-2003 inclusive, the school district maintaining such a kindergarten program shall receive reimbursement at the rate of $750 per pupil for each fiscal year through June 30, 2003.
(b) Notwithstanding 1999, 65:9, I(a), once pupils enrolled in a public kindergarten program have been counted in the average daily membership in residence, school districts shall receive, for each such pupil, an adequate education grant calculated in accordance with RSA 198:40 through RSA 198:42.
289:3 Repeal. RSA 1999, 65:9, II, relative to reimbursement for public kindergarten programs implemented in the 2000-2001 school year, is repealed.
289:4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
(Approved: June 21, 2000)
(Effective Date: June 21, 2000)
LBAO
00-2131
11/22/99
HB 1188-FN-LOCAL - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to alternative kindergarten programs.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Education indicates this bill may increase state education trust fund expenditures and local revenue and expenditures by an indeterminable amount beginning in FY 2001 and continuing each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state and county revenue or county expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department states this bill provides a procedure for local districts to establish alternative kindergarten programs. The pupils enrolled in alternative programs shall be considered weighted pupils for the purposes of adequate education grants. The minimum grant payment for each child will be one half the base per pupil cost ($1,601). The Department cannot estimate how many of the 29 districts that do not have kindergarten will implement an alternative kindergarten program, and is unable to calculate the resulting increase in state education trust fund expenditures and local revenue and expenditures.