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H.1 OVERVIEW
Absent an Adopted State Budget, the PCEN appropriation presented in this section
is based on the Governor's proposed budget. The Board's spending plan for use of
State Pupils with Compensatory Educational Needs (PCEN) resources are listed on Table H:1.
H.2 SPECIAL NEEDS/ACADEMIC INTERVENTION SERVICES ALLOCATION
Last year community school district PCEN funds were merged with several other allotments
to establish one comprehensive unified service delivery allocation focusing on pupils with
a variety of special needs--Special Needs/Academic Intervention Services (AIS).
This year, a similar action will establish a Special Needs/AIS allocation for High Schools.
Program description, formula methodology, and allocation may be found in Section E.
H.3 BILINGUAL PROGRAMS FOR LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT(LEP) STUDENTS
PCEN allocations described below are based on prior year BESIS data. Districts experiencing
significant growth in their LEP population during FY'02 will be able to request
authorization to hire additional staff to serve additional LEP pupils. This process
will be similar to the tipping procedures currently employed to allow districts with
higher than projected enrollments to open new classes. Upon verification that projected
growth has occurred, additional allocations will be distributed utilizing the LEP excess
cost formulas described below. Any district financial commitment for LEP students not
defrayed by allocations based on verified numbers of eligible and served LEP students
will be charged to district tax levy budgets. Districts wishing to tip should contact
the Budget Office at (718) 935-3709 for further details and requirements.
LEP programs are mandated for all pupils scoring at or below the 40th percentile on
the English Language Assessment Battery (LAB) test.
Community School Districts
In community school districts, PCEN provides supplemental service to LEP pupils in
the form of class organization (excess cost) and ESL teachers. Districts will be able
to organize bilingual classes when the number of LEP pupils is less than the normal
class size. State regulations require a bilingual class formation when there are
sufficient number of LEP pupils scoring at or below the 40th percentile.
Consistent with that regulation, an allocation formula has been developed containing
the following three elements:
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Organization of bilingual classes with a minimum threshold of 15 pupils of the same
language category and grade (districts may be required to organize at contiguous grades).
Maximum class size limitations follow existing Board of Education policy. The allocation
provides for the excess cost of organizing a class below the normal class size.
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Where there are fewer than 15 pupils of the same language category and grade, English
as a Second Language (ESL) teachers will be allotted at the ratio of one teacher per 75 pupils.
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A per capita of $86 per pupil, served by either element 1 or 2, is provided for pupil
support services (bilingual counselors) and other than personal services (funded by LEP
Part 154 aid).
The ESL allocation formula includes all LEP children whose parents opted them out of
bilingual classes. Districts with high concentrations of LEP students of the same language
frequently can organize bilingual classes at no additional cost, i.e., Module 2 instructional
allocations sufficiently cover the teacher costs. However, when parents opt these children
out of the bilingual class, an ESL pull-out service must be provided by the district.
This action results in an additional cost to the district. The allocation formula resolves
this issue.
Special education LEP pupils not served by a bilingual program are entitled to receive
ESL services. Special education ESL services are provided through mainstreaming with the
general education program. Providing ESL resources for both general and special education
LEP students in one ESL allocation, brings the allocation in line with the way pupil ESL
services are delivered.
The New York State Board of Regents has mandated a new English language arts requirement
for LEP pupils. In FY'00, the new policy was implemented in secondary schools. The effect
of this mandate is a doubling of ESL periods for pupils in grades 7 and 8 and tripling for
high school grades.
District allocations for the bilingual programs are summarized on Table H:2.1.
Table H:2.2 contains detail allocation data.
Budget Requirements:
the full bilingual program excess cost teacher allotment
provides fractional positions. As a result, teachers assigned to bilingual classes
that are organized below the normal class size are chargeable to both tax levy and PCEN.
Additionally, the PCEN portion should not be greater than a 0.5 positions. This is grounded
in the fact that the pupils in the class generate Module 2 teacher resources and there will
be at least 15 pupils in the class. The following example demonstrates this method of
allocation:
Grade 4 bilingual classes with 19 pupils on register. The normal class size is 32.
The 19 students generate 19/32 of the funds required to organize the class. PCEN picks
up the excess cost for organizing the class 13 pupils (32 - 19) below the norm.
This produces a 13/32 or 0.41 need. Since an elementary school class requires 1.2
teachers -- 1 homeroom and 0.2 cluster -- the excess cost need is for 0.49 teachers
(= 0.41 x 1.2), a need of nearly half a teacher.
Districts should note that the PCEN allocation provides for the excess cost of the teacher
including preparation period coverage and, in middle schools, administrative/professional
period coverage.
The ESL teacher is intended to serve the LEP students through a pullout program.
Consequently, the entire teacher position may be charged to PCEN. If, however, an ESL
class is organized, the PCEN ESL teacher allocation may fund only the excess cost portion
of organizing the class, as is the case for the excess cost allocation for bilingual
teachers. Pullout programs must supplement ESL services provided in the tax levy classroom
by the ESL trained monolingual teacher and may not be the only source of ESL instruction.
The per capita allocation supported by Part 154 bilingual funds may be used to pay for
base costs of the program and for certain supplementary services for LEP students not
funded through PCEN.
Districts should refer to BOR Circular No. 1, 2001-02, "Cost Factors for Fiscal Year 2002
for All Reimbursable Programs," for budgeting rates and grant numbers. Budgeting guidelines
and procedures can be found in the "District Schedulization" circular, to be issued shortly.
Program Application:
Accompanying the allocation of additional resources is an expectation
that all LEP entitled children to receive appropriate service. Compliance will be monitored
by the Office of Monitoring and School Improvement (OMSI) based upon funding source
requirements and adherence to allocation formulas as described in this memorandum and
guidelines issued by the Office of Bilingual Education regarding the use of Part 154 and
PCEN allocations.
High Schools
Bilingual Program for Limited English Proficient (LEP) Students
PCEN allocations are based on prior year BESIS data. LEP programs are mandated for all
students scoring at or below the 40th percentile on the English Language Assessment Battery
(LAB) test. In high schools, PCEN provides supplementary services for LEP students in the
form of funding classes and bilingual/ESL teachers.
The New York State Board of Regents mandated a new English language art's requirement for
LEP students. The effect of this mandate is tripling of ESL periods for the targeted LEP
high school population. The per capita allocation supported by Part 154 bilingual funds
may be used to pay for base costs of the program and for certain supplementary services
for LEP students not funded through PCEN. All LEP entitled students are to receive appropriate
services.
PCEN allocations for high school English Language Learners (ELL) may be found on Table H:3.
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