A 2545: Increases foundation aid for school districts that meet five variables impacting academic success: free or reduced lunch, English language learners, wealth ratio, enrollment, special education, and being located in a high wealth ratio county.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2545 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY January 17, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SAYEGH, FORREST, SIMON, ZINERMAN, COOK, BRABENEC, GIGLIO, LEMONDES, CRUZ, SHIMSKY, BROOK-KRASNY -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. LEVENBERG -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to increasing foundation aid to school districts located in a high wealth ratio county that meet five variables impacting academic success: free or reduced lunch, English language learners, wealth ratio, enrollment, and special education The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "school aid 2 equity act". 3 § 2. Section 3602 of the education law is amended by adding a new 4 subdivision 42 to read as follows: 5 42. Foundation aid to address school district funding inequity. 6 Commencing with aid payable in the two thousand twenty-six--two thousand 7 twenty-seven school year, the commissioner shall increase the amount of 8 foundation aid, at a rate determined by the commissioner, for school 9 districts that all of the following conditions and criteria apply: 10 a. a three-year average free and reduced price lunch percent greater 11 than two-thirds or sixty-seven percent (0.67); 12 b. an English language learner count that totals above thirteen 13 percent (0.13) of the entire school district population; 14 c. a combined wealth ratio greater than seven-tenths percent (0.7); 15 d. an increase in enrollment of at least two percent (0.02) since the 16 two thousand fifteen--two thousand sixteen school year; and 17 e. a special education count that totals above eight percent (0.08) of 18 the entire school district population. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD04263-01-5 
 A. 2545 2 1 Nothing in this subdivision shall reduce the amount of foundation aid 2 to any school district in which this subdivision's conditions and crite- 3 ria do not apply. 4 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.