New Jersey § 18a:7f-54

§ 18a:7f-54.

a. District factor group A and B school districts, and district factor group CD school

districts with a concentration of at-risk pupils equal to or greater than 40%, shall

provide free access to full-day preschool for all three-and four-year old pupils. All other school districts shall provide free access to full-day preschool for at-risk

pupils. Preschool education aid shall reflect the cost of the pupil's placement in either

a district program, a licensed child care provider program, or a Head Start Program. (1) Preschool education aid shall be calculated for district factor group A and B

school districts, and for district factor group CD school districts with a concentration

of at-risk pupils equal to or greater than 40%, as follows: Aid = (IDE x IDA) + (PRE x PRA) + (HSE x HSA) where IDE is the number of district pupils, other than preschool disabled pupils, in an

in-district preschool program; IDA is the per pupil aid amount for an in-district preschool program; PRE is the number of district pupils, other than preschool disabled pupils, in a preschool

program operated by a licensed child care provider; PRA is the per pupil aid amount for a preschool program operated by a licensed child

care provider; HSE is the number of district pupils, other than preschool disabled pupils, in a Head

Start Program; and HSA is the per pupil aid amount for a Head Start Program. A CD school district with a concentration of at-risk pupils equal to or greater than

40% shall be eligible to receive preschool education aid pursuant to the provisions

of this paragraph for a minimum of three school years from the time of initial determination

of eligibility even if the district's concentration of at-risk pupils falls below

a 40% concentration of at-risk pupils. In the event that the district falls below a 40% concentration of at-risk pupils

for two consecutive school years, in the third school year the district shall receive

preschool education aid for each at-risk pupil and for any four-year old pupil for

whom the district received preschool education aid in the prior school year, and that

pupil shall receive free preschool education. (2) Preschool education aid shall be calculated for all other districts as follows: Aid = (ARID x IDA) + (ARP x PRA) + (ARHS x HSA) where ARID is the number of at-risk district pupils, other than preschool disabled pupils,

in an in-district preschool program; IDA is the per pupil aid amount for an in-district preschool program; ARP is the number of at-risk district pupils, other than preschool disabled pupils,

in a preschool program operated by a licensed child care provider; PRA is the per pupil aid amount for a preschool program operated by a licensed child

care provider; ARHS is the number of at-risk district pupils, other than preschool disabled pupils,

in a Head Start Program; and HSA is the per pupil aid amount for a Head Start Program. b. In accordance with regulations adopted by the commissioner, all districts shall

submit a five-year plan that provides for the full implementation of full-day preschool

for all eligible three-and four-year olds by the 2013-2014 school year. For the purposes of this section, “ full implementation ” means serving 90% of eligible pupils in accordance with the preschool quality standards

adopted by the commissioner or such greater percentage as determined by the commissioner. A school district shall annually update the five-year plan based on actual implementation

experience and shall revise its pupil projections in accordance with that experience. c. (1) In the case of a school district that did not receive any form of preschool

aid in the 2007-2008 school year, the 2008-2009 school year shall be a preschool planning

year. Beginning in the 2009-2010 school year, the school district shall receive preschool

education aid calculated in accordance with the provisions of subsection a. of this

section based upon projected preschool enrollment. In the 2009-2010 school year the school district may also receive start-up funds in

accordance with regulations adopted by the commissioner. (2) In the case of a school district that received Early Launch to Learning Initiative

aid in the 2007-2008 school year, for the 2008-2009 school year the district shall

receive preschool education aid in an amount equal to the district's allocation of

Early Launch to Learning Initiative aid in the 2007-2008 school year. Beginning in the 2009-2010 school year, the school district shall receive preschool

education aid calculated in accordance with the provisions of subsection a. of this

section based upon projected preschool enrollment. In the 2009-2010 school year the school district may also receive start-up funds in

accordance with regulations adopted by the commissioner. (3) In the case of a school district that received early childhood program aid in

the 2007-2008 school year but did not receive preschool expansion aid or education

opportunity aid in that year, for the 2008-2009 school year the district shall receive

preschool education aid equal to the greater of the district's 2007-2008 amount of

early childhood program aid for preschool or the district's 2007-2008 per pupil allocation

of early childhood program aid as included in the district's original 2007-2008 budget

certified for taxes, inflated by the CPI, and multiplied by the district's projected

preschool enrollment; except that if the district is able to demonstrate in the five-year

plan submitted to the commissioner that it has the capacity to offer a full-day three-or

four-year-old program, or a full-day three-and four-year-old program, in the 2008-2009

school year, the commissioner may approve the funding of the full-day program calculated

in accordance with the provisions of subsection a. of this section based upon projected

preschool enrollment. The district shall be informed of the commissioner's determination upon approval

of the five-year plan. Beginning in the 2009-2010 school year, the school district shall receive preschool

education aid calculated in accordance with the provisions of subsection a. of this

section based upon projected preschool enrollment. In the 2009-2010 school year the school district may also receive start-up funds in

accordance with regulations adopted by the commissioner. (4) In the case of a school district that received preschool expansion aid or education

opportunity aid in the 2007-2008 school year, for the 2008-2009 school year the district

shall receive preschool education aid in an amount equal to the preschool budget approved

by the commissioner for the 2008-2009 school year. Preschool education aid for the 2008-2009 school year shall be adjusted following

receipt of the Application for State School Aid in October 2008. Beginning in the 2009-2010 school year, the school district shall receive preschool

education aid calculated in accordance with the provisions of subsection a. of this

section based upon projected preschool enrollment; except that for any school year

the district shall not receive preschool aid in an amount less than either the total

amount of preschool aid the district received in the 2008-2009 school year after the

State aid adjustment or the district's 2008-2009 school year preschool per pupil aid

amount multiplied by the projected number of preschool pupils after the State aid

adjustment, whichever is greater. In the 2009-2010 school year the school district may also receive start-up funds in

accordance with regulations adopted by the commissioner. d. For the 2008-2009 school year, the preschool per pupil aid amounts shall be $11,506

for pupils enrolled in an in-district program, $12,934 for pupils enrolled in a licensed

child care provider program, and $7,146 for pupils enrolled in a Head Start Program. The preschool per pupil aid amounts shall be adjusted by the CPI in the 2009-2010

and 2010-2011 school years as required pursuant to subsection b. of section 4 of this

act. For subsequent school years, the preschool per pupil aid amounts shall be established

in the Educational Adequacy Report, with the amounts adjusted by the CPI for each

of the two school years following the first school year to which the report is applicable. e. A district shall appropriate preschool education aid in a special revenue fund

for expenditure. In the event that any preschool education aid is not expended during the budget

year, the aid may be carried forward in accordance with regulations adopted by the

commissioner. f. In the event that a district has fully implemented a full-day preschool program

for three-and four-year old pupils in accordance with its five-year plan and meets

the preschool quality standards or has provided preschool education to the number

of eligible students to be served during a school year in accordance with that plan

and its annual updates and the preschool quality standards, the district may appropriate

preschool education aid to support kindergarten through grade 12 or to provide preschool

education for three-and four-year old pupils for whom the district is not required

to provide preschool education upon the approval of the commissioner. The district shall request approval in its annual plan update and any approval granted

by the commissioner shall be made during the annual school budget process. g. A school district shall maintain the preschool quality standards as adopted by

the commissioner as a condition of receipt of preschool education aid.