NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A1625B
SPONSOR: Zebrowski (MS)
 
TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the education law, in relation to full
day kindergarten
 
PURPOSE OF THE BILL:
This bill expands the full day kindergarten conversion aid to a five
year transition program.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill amends section 3602 of the education law as it
relates to expanded full day kindergarten conversion aid. The enhanced
incentive will provide school districts that have half day or no kinder-
garten programs in the 2017-18 school year with funding over a five year
period to transition to full day. The aid would be equal to the current
conversion aid in the first year, 80% of the aid in year two, 60% of the
aid in year three, 40% of the aid in year four and 20% of the aid in
year five.
Section two of the bill relates to the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
There are only a handful of school districts in New York that have half
day kindergarten programs. This legislation would assist those school
districts in transitioning to full day kindergarten by expanding the
current incentive aid program to be spread out over five years. This
bill will help New York move closer to providing full day kindergarten
to all students in the State regardless of where they live.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.8692-B of 2015-2016.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE:
It is estimated that the legislation will cost an estimated $25 million
if all eligible school districts utilized the transition aid which
includes the estimated $8 million under the current conversion formula.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1625--B
Cal. No. 122
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 12, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ZEBROWSKI, SKOUFIS, JAFFEE, McDONALD, BRONSON,
WOERNER, RAIA, RA, ERRIGO, SEPULVEDA, MORELLE, BUCHWALD, HYNDMAN,
PELLEGRINO -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ENGLEBRIGHT, McDONOUGH,
WALSH -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education --
reported and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee -- ordered to a third reading, amended and ordered
reprinted, retaining its place on the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to full day kindergarten
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 9 of section 3602 of the education law, as
2 amended by section 9 of part A of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 9. Aid for conversion to full day kindergarten. School districts may
5 make available full day kindergarten programs for all children wishing
6 to attend such programs.
7 a. For aid payable in the [two thousand seven--two thousand eight] two
8 thousand eighteen--two thousand nineteen school year and thereafter,
9 school districts which provided any half-day kindergarten programs or
10 had no kindergarten programs in the [nineteen hundred ninety-six--nine-
11 ty-seven] two thousand seventeen--two thousand eighteen school year [and
12 in the base year], and which have not received an apportionment pursuant
13 to this paragraph in any prior school year, shall be eligible for five
14 year transition aid. The aid in the first year of full day kindergarten
15 transition is equal to the product of the district's selected foundation
16 aid calculated pursuant to subdivision four of this section multiplied
17 by the positive difference resulting when the full day kindergarten
18 enrollment of children attending programs in the district in the base
19 year is subtracted from such enrollment in the current year. The remain-
20 ing transition aid shall be apportioned as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02022-04-8
A. 1625--B 2
1 i. Aid in year two shall equal eighty percent of the aid received by
2 the district in year one.
3 ii. Aid in year three shall equal sixty percent of the aid received
4 by the district in year one.
5 iii. Aid in year four shall equal forty percent of the aid received by
6 the district in year one.
7 iv. Aid in year five shall equal twenty percent of the aid received by
8 the district in year one.
9 b. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph a of this subdivision,
10 school districts that have received an apportionment pursuant to this
11 subdivision in a prior school year shall be eligible for an apportion-
12 ment where the department grants a waiver upon cause satisfactory to the
13 department, including but not limited to, satisfactory demonstration of
14 significant economic hardship that would impact the school district's
15 ability to provide full day kindergarten for all children wishing to
16 attend such programs. No school district may be granted such a waiver
17 more than once.
18 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.