BILL NUMBER: S6622
SPONSOR: WALCZYK
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to authorizing school
districts to establish reserve funds for special services or programs
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Permits school districts to create a special education reserve fund.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends Section 3651 of the education law by adding
subsections 1-c and 3-b.
Section 2: Effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The right to a sound education is enshrined in the New York State
Constitution. However, school districts face many obstacles to achieving
this goal for students with special needs. The difficulties are espe-
cially acute in rural districts, which have smaller budgets and a short-
age of qualified special education teachers. The addition of even one
child with special needs could cause enormous strain on a district's
budget. This bill would allow school districts to set up a reserve
account specifically for special education, with authorization from
their school board. School superintendents have indicated that such a
fund would help them pay for the education of this population.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AN LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None to local governments.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE: :
This act shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S6622: 3651 education law