N.Y. Education Law § 3604: Conditions under which districts are entitled to apportionment

§ 3604. Conditions under which districts are entitled to

apportionment. Apportionment of state funds shall be made subject to

the following conditions:

4. The apportionments provided for in section thirty-six hundred two

of this chapter are for the purpose of aiding school districts in paying

the salaries of teachers and the cost of school maintenance, and the

sums so apportioned to such school districts shall be applied for such

purposes and such sums shall not in any case be placed in the city

treasury of any city to the credit of the general fund of such city for

the reduction of taxation therein, notwithstanding any provision to the

contrary contained in the charter of such city or in any act relating to

such city or in any general, special or local law.

5. a. State aid adjustments. All errors or omissions in the

apportionment shall be corrected by the commissioner. Whenever a school

district has been apportioned less money than that to which it is

entitled, the commissioner may allot to such district the balance to

which it is entitled. Whenever a school district has been apportioned

more money than that to which it is entitled, the commissioner may, by

an order, direct such moneys to be paid back to the state to be credited

to the general fund local assistance account for state aid to the

schools, or may deduct such amount from the next apportionment to be

made to said district, provided, however, that, upon notification of

excess payments of aid for which a recovery must be made by the state

through deduction of future aid payments, a school district may request

that such excess payments be recovered by deducting such excess payments

from the payments due to such school district and payable in the month

of June in (i) the school year in which such notification was received

and (ii) the two succeeding school years, provided further that there

shall be no interest penalty assessed against such district or collected

by the state. Such request shall be made to the commissioner in such

form as the commissioner shall prescribe, and shall be based on

documentation that the total amount to be recovered is in excess of one

percent of the district's total general fund expenditures for the

preceding school year. The amount to be deducted in the first year shall

be the greater of (i) the sum of the amount of such excess payments that

is recognized as a liability due to other governments by the district

for the preceding school year and the positive remainder of the

district's unreserved fund balance at the close of the preceding school

year less the product of the district's total general fund expenditures

for the preceding school year multiplied by five percent, or (ii)

one-third of such excess payments. The amount to be recovered in the

second year shall equal the lesser of the remaining amount of such

excess payments to be recovered or one-third of such excess payments,

and the remaining amount of such excess payments shall be recovered in

the third year. Provided further that, notwithstanding any other

provisions of this subdivision, any pending payment of moneys due to

such district as a prior year adjustment payable pursuant to paragraph c

of this subdivision for aid claims that had been previously paid as

current year aid payments in excess of the amount to which the district

is entitled and for which recovery of excess payments is to be made

pursuant to this paragraph, shall be reduced at the time of actual

payment by any remaining unrecovered balance of such excess payments,

and the remaining scheduled deductions of such excess payments pursuant

to this paragraph shall be reduced by the commissioner to reflect the

amount so recovered. The commissioner shall certify no payment to a

school district based on a claim submitted later than three years after

the close of the school year in which such payment was first to be made.

For claims for which payment is first to be made in the nineteen hundred

ninety-six--ninety-seven school year, the commissioner shall certify no

payment to a school district based on a claim submitted later than two

years after the close of such school year. For claims for which payment

is first to be made in the nineteen hundred ninety-seven--ninety-eight

school year and thereafter, the commissioner shall certify no payment to

a school district based on a claim submitted later than one year after

the close of such school year. Provided, however, no payments shall be

barred or reduced where such payment is required as a result of a final

audit of the state. It is further provided that, until June thirtieth,

nineteen hundred ninety-six, the commissioner may grant a waiver from

the provisions of this section for any school district if it is in the

best educational interests of the district pursuant to guidelines

developed by the commissioner and approved by the director of the

budget.

b. Claims resulting from court orders or judgments. Any payment which

would be due as the result of a court order or judgment shall not be

barred, provided that, commencing January first, nineteen hundred

ninety-six, such court order or judgment and any other data required

shall be filed with the comptroller within one year from the date of the

court order or judgment, and provided further that the commissioner

shall certify no payment to a school district for a specific school year

that is based on a claim that results from a court order or judgement so

filed with the comptroller unless the total value of such claim, as

determined by the commissioner, is greater than one percent of the

school district's total revenues from state sources as previously

recorded in the general fund and reported to the comptroller in the

annual financial report of the school district for such school year.

c. Payment of moneys due for prior years. State aid payments due for

prior years in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision shall

be paid within the limit of the appropriation designated therefor

provided, however, that each eligible claim shall be payable in the

order that it has been approved for payment by the commissioner, but in

no case shall a single claim draw down more than forty percent of the

appropriation so designated for a single year, and provided further that

no claim shall be set aside for insufficiency of funds to make a

complete payment, but shall be eligible for a partial payment in one

year and shall retain its priority date status for appropriations

designated for such purposes in future years.

6. The commissioner of education may also in his discretion excuse the

default of a trustee or a board of education in employing a teacher not

legally qualified, legalize the time so taught and authorize the payment

of the salary of such teacher.

7. No district shall be entitled to any portion of such school moneys

on such apportionment unless the report of the trustees or board of

education for the preceding school year shall show that the public

schools were actually in session in the district and taught by a

qualified teacher or by successive qualified teachers or by qualified

teachers for not less than one hundred eighty days. The moneys payable

to a school district pursuant to section thirty-six hundred nine-a of

this part in the current year shall be reduced by one one-hundred

eightieth of the district's total foundation aid for the base year for

each day less than one hundred eighty days that the schools of the

district were actually in session, except that the commissioner may

disregard such reduction in the apportionment of public money: (i) for

any day or days on which session had been previously scheduled but the

superintendent was required to close the school or schools due to a

properly executed declaration of a state or local state of emergency

pursuant to article two-B of the executive law; or (ii) for up to five

days if he or she finds that the schools of the district were not in

session for one hundred eighty days because of extraordinarily adverse

weather conditions, impairment of heating facilities, insufficiency of

water supply, shortage of fuel, lack of electricity, natural gas

leakage, unacceptable levels of chemical substances, a credible threat

to student safety as reasonably determined by a lead school official or

the destruction of a school building either in whole or in part, and if,

further, the commissioner finds that such district cannot make up such

days of instruction by using for the secondary grades all scheduled

vacation days which occur prior to the first scheduled regents

examination day in June, and for the elementary grades all scheduled

vacation days which occur prior to the last scheduled regents

examination day in June; or (iii) for any day or days in the two

thousand nineteen -- two thousand twenty school year on which session

had been previously scheduled but the chancellor of the city school

district of the city of New York or the superintendent of a district

closed the school or schools due to a determination by the chancellor or

superintendent that it was in the best interest of public health or

safety of the school district to close the school or schools in response

to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. For the purposes of this

subdivision, "scheduled vacation days" shall mean days on which the

schools of the district are not in session and for which no prohibition

exists in subdivision eight of this section for them to be in session.

8. No school shall be in session on a Saturday, the first day of the

second lunar month after the winter solstice in the preceding calendar

year known as Asian Lunar New Year, or a legal holiday, except general

election day, Washington's birthday and Lincoln's birthday, and except

that driver education classes may be conducted on a Saturday. A

deficiency not exceeding four days during any school year caused by

teachers' attendance upon conferences held by superintendents of schools

of city school districts or other school districts employing

superintendents of schools shall be excused by the commissioner,

notwithstanding any provision of law, rule or regulation to the

contrary, a school district may elect to schedule such conference days

in the last two weeks of August, subject to collective bargaining

requirements pursuant to article fourteen of the civil service law, and

such days shall be counted towards the required one hundred eighty days

of session, provided however, that such scheduling shall not alter the

obligation of the school district to provide transportation to students

in non-public elementary and secondary schools or charter schools. At

least two such conference days during such school year shall be

dedicated to staff attendance upon conferences providing staff

development relating to implementation of the new high learning

standards and assessments, as adopted by the board of regents.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation to the

contrary, school districts may elect to use one or more of such

allowable conference days in units of not less than one hour each to

provide staff development activities relating to implementation of the

new high learning standards and assessments. A district making such

election may provide such staff development on any day during which

sessions are allowed and apply such units to satisfy a deficiency in the

length of one or more daily sessions of instruction for pupils as

specified in regulations of the commissioner. The commissioner shall

assure that such conference days include appropriate school violence

prevention and intervention training, and may require that up to one

such conference day be dedicated for such purpose.

8-b. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision eight of this

section, a trustee or board of trustees or a board of education of a

school district having fewer than six hundred pupils in grades

kindergarten through twelve may provide for classes to be held on any

day of the week in connection with educational programs for the

disadvantaged operated under the elementary and secondary education act;

provided, however, no pupils or teachers shall be required to attend

such classes if they observe any such day as a Sabbath or a holy day in

accordance with the requirements of their religion.

9. Whenever it shall appear that any school district has had an

average daily attendance of five or less during the three years

immediately preceding the first of July, if such district continues to

maintain a school the succeeding year, it shall be entitled to receive

for such year an amount equivalent to the average daily attendance of

pupils in such district divided by fifteen and multiplied by the amount

it would be entitled to receive under the provisions of this chapter.

Provided, however, whenever the commissioner of education is satisfied

that the closing of the school in any district is impracticable or that

the cost to such district of contracting for the education of its pupils

would exceed the cost involved in maintaining a school in the district

and such district maintains a school, he may apportion to such district

the total amount of state aid to which it is entitled.

10. No school district shall be eligible to receive the full

apportionment of state aid to which it is entitled under other

provisions of this chapter unless the trustees or board of education

comply with the requirements of article eighty-nine of this chapter. If

the trustees or board of education of a school district fail to comply

with such requirements or reduce the programs provided thereunder below

the corresponding programs provided during the school year commencing

July first, nineteen hundred sixty-one, except as a result of a

reduction in the number of pupils affected, the commissioner of

education shall withhold from the full apportionment of such state aid

an amount equal to the difference between (i) the expenditures which he

estimates the district would have had to make or incur during the school

year upon which such apportionments are based if the district had fully

complied with such requirements or if the district had maintained such

programs, and (ii) the expenditures actually made or incurred by the

district for such programs during the same school year.

11. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the commissioner shall

withhold the general fund apportionment due to any school district when

such school district fails to submit by the date specified in section

thirty-six hundred one of this part the reports required by the

commissioner to calculate such apportionments, until the time such

reports have been submitted in proper fashion.

12. All the acts done and proceedings heretofore had and taken or

caused to be had and taken by the Center Moriches Union Free School

district and by all its officers or agents relating to or in connection

with certain transportation contractual obligations for regular student

transportation of the nineteen hundred ninety-nine--two thousand school

year, which was part of the two thousand--two thousand one state aid

claim submitted to the department by such school district, are hereby

legalized, validated, ratified and confirmed, notwithstanding any

failure to comply with the approval and filing provisions of this

chapter or any other law or any other statutory authority, rule or

regulation, other than those filing provisions defined in paragraph a of

subdivision five of this section, in relation to any omission, error,

defect, irregularity or illegality in such proceeding had and taken. For

the purpose of those filing provisions defined in such paragraph a of

subdivision five of this section, the district shall be deemed to have

filed such contract within one year after the close of the two

thousand--two thousand one school year, and aid due and payable for such

filing shall be deemed to be state aid payments due for prior years and

shall be paid pursuant to paragraph c of subdivision five of this

section.

13. For purposes of this chapter, "limited English proficient" and

"limited English proficiency" shall mean "English language learner".