1. (a) Each local or regional school district operating an agricultural science and technology education center approved by the State Board of Education for program, educational need, location and area to be served shall be eligible for the following grants:

   1. (1) In accordance with the provisions of chapter 173, through progress payments in accordance with the provisions of section 10-287i, (A) for projects for which an application was filed prior to July 1, 2011, ninety-five per cent, and (B) for projects for which an application was filed on or after July 1, 2011, eighty per cent of the net eligible costs of constructing, acquiring, renovating and equipping approved facilities to be used exclusively for such agricultural science and technology education center, for the expansion or improvement of existing facilities or for the replacement or improvement of equipment therein, and (2) subject to the provisions of section 10-65b and within available appropriations, in an amount equal to four thousand two hundred dollars per student for every secondary school student who was enrolled in such center on October first of the previous year.
2. (b) Each local or regional board of education not maintaining an agricultural science and technology education center shall provide opportunities for its students to enroll in one or more such centers in a number that is at least equal to the number specified in any written agreement with each such center or centers, or in the absence of such an agreement, a number that is at least equal to the average number of its students that the board of education enrolled in each such center or centers during the previous three school years, provided, in addition to such number, each such board of education shall provide opportunities for its students to enroll in the ninth grade in a number that is at least equal to the number specified in any written agreement with each such center or centers, or in the absence of such an agreement, a number that is at least equal to the average number of students that the board of education enrolled in the ninth grade in each such center or centers during the previous three school years. If a local or regional board of education provided opportunities for students to enroll in more than one center for the school year commencing July 1, 2007, such board of education shall continue to provide such opportunities to students in accordance with this subsection. The board of education operating an agricultural science and technology education center may charge, subject to the provisions of section 10-65b, tuition for a school year in an amount not to exceed fifty-nine and two-tenths per cent of the foundation level pursuant to subdivision (9) of section 10-262f, per student for the fiscal year in which the tuition is paid, except that such board may charge tuition for (1) students enrolled under shared-time arrangements on a pro rata basis, and (2) special education students which shall not exceed the actual costs of educating such students minus the amounts received pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section and subsection (c) of this section. Any tuition paid by such board for special education students in excess of the tuition paid for non-special-education students shall be reimbursed pursuant to section 10-76g.

3. (c) In addition to the grants described in subsection (a) of this section, within available appropriations, (1) each local or regional board of education operating an agricultural science and technology education center in which more than one hundred fifty of the students in the prior school year were out-of-district students shall be eligible to receive a grant in an amount equal to five hundred dollars for every secondary school student enrolled in such center on October first of the previous year, (2) on and after July 1, 2000, if a local or regional board of education operating an agricultural science and technology education center that received a grant pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection no longer qualifies for such a grant, such local or regional board of education shall receive a grant in an amount determined as follows:

   1. (A) For the first fiscal year such board of education does not qualify for a grant under said subdivision (1), a grant in the amount equal to four hundred dollars for every secondary school student enrolled in its agricultural science and technology education center on October first of the previous year, (B) for the second successive fiscal year such board of education does not so qualify, a grant in an amount equal to three hundred dollars for every such secondary school student enrolled in such center on said date, (C) for the third successive fiscal year such board of education does not so qualify, a grant in an amount equal to two hundred dollars for every such secondary school student enrolled in such center on said date, and (D) for the fourth successive fiscal year such board of education does not so qualify, a grant in an amount equal to one hundred dollars for every such secondary school student enrolled in such center on said date, and (3) each local and regional board of education operating an agricultural science and technology education center that does not receive a grant pursuant to subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection shall receive a grant in an amount equal to sixty dollars for every secondary school student enrolled in such center on said date.

4. (d)

   1. (1) If there are any remaining funds after the amount of the grants described in subsections (a) and (c) of this section are calculated, within available appropriations, each local or regional board of education operating an agricultural science and technology education center shall be eligible to receive a grant in an amount equal to one hundred dollars for each student enrolled in such center on October first of the previous school year. (2) If there are any remaining funds after the amount of the grants described in subdivision (1) of this subsection are calculated, within available appropriations, each local or regional board of education operating an agricultural science and technology education center that had more than one hundred fifty out-of-district students enrolled in such center on October first of the previous school year shall be eligible to receive a grant based on the ratio of the number of out-of-district students in excess of one hundred fifty out-of-district students enrolled in such center on said date to the total number of out-of-district students in excess of one hundred fifty out-of-district students enrolled in all agricultural science and technology education centers that had in excess of one hundred fifty out-of-district students enrolled on said date.
5. (e) For the fiscal years ending June 30, 2012, and June 30, 2013, the Department of Education shall allocate five hundred thousand dollars to local or regional boards of education operating an agricultural science and technology education center in accordance with the provisions of subsections (b) to (d), inclusive, of this section.
6. (f) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, and each fiscal year thereafter, if a local or regional board of education receives an increase in funds pursuant to this section over the amount it received for the prior fiscal year such increase shall not be used to supplant local funding for educational purposes.
7. (g) Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 10-51 and 10-222, for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2015, to June 30, 2017, inclusive, any amount received by a local or regional board of education pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section that exceeds the amount appropriated for education by the municipality or the amount in the budget approved by such regional board of education for purposes of said subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section, shall be available for use by such local or regional board of education, provided such excess amount is spent in accordance with the provisions of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section.

(1955, S. 921d; 1961, P.A. 40; 1967, P.A. 638, S. 2; P.A. 78-218, S. 48; P.A. 82-204, S. 1, 2; P.A. 83-106, S. 1, 2; P.A. 84-460, S. 1, 16; P.A. 85-463, S. 1, 2; P.A. 86-71, S. 5, 11; P.A. 89-355, S. 3, 20; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-7, S. 2, 22; P.A. 93-410, S. 2, 6; P.A. 95-226, S. 14, 30; P.A. 96-178, S. 8, 18; P.A. 97-247, S. 13, 27; P.A. 00-192, S. 82, 102; P.A. 01-173, S. 11, 67; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-5, S. 5; P.A. 04-197, S. 1; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-3, S. 24; P.A. 08-152, S. 2; 08-170, S. 20; P.A. 09-45, S. 2, 3; P.A. 11-48, S. 203; 11-61, S. 86; P.A. 12-116, S. 64; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1, S. 236; P.A. 13-247, S. 170; P.A. 14-217, S. 118, 119; P.A. 15-215, S. 8; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5, S. 253, 254; P.A. 18-81, S. 52.)

History: 1961 act changed references from high school to secondary school; 1967 act amended Subdiv. (a) to delete limitation to centers to be built and equipped before June 30, 1967, to delete number of centers to total of 24 for entire state and to allow grants for expansion and improvement of existing facilities and for replacement or improvement of equipment; P.A. 78-218 substituted “local” for “town” boards of education; P.A. 82-204 permitted boards of education to charge actual cost of education for special education students and made special education tuition a reimbursable expense under state special education formula; P.A. 83-106 excluded from “total cost of operating” calculation transportation expenditures otherwise reimbursable and stipulated use of previous year's average daily membership count in car grant calculation; P.A. 84-460 amended Subsec. (a) to provide that projects to construct, acquire, renovate or equip vocational agriculture centers would be eligible for school construction grants; P.A. 85-463 added Subsec. (b) re grant eligibility of E.O. Smith School; P.A. 86-71 deleted the references to Sec. 10-266n which was repealed and added the reference to Sec. 10-97; P.A. 89-355 deleted Subsec. (b) re E.O. Smith School, restructured the section with a new Subsec. (b) designation and provided that tuition grants be phased out and not be paid for the fiscal years following the fiscal year ending June 30, 1990, and made technical changes; June Sp. Sess. 91-7 provided for a grant equal to $700 per student in Subsec. (a), eliminating grants for the total cost of operating a vocational agriculture center and amended Subsec. (b) to limit tuition to the average per pupil expenditures for all students enrolled in the vocational agriculture center minus $700 rather than the average per pupil expenditure for all secondary school pupils in the receiving district and eliminated grants to sending school districts; P.A. 93-410 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) to add “subject to the provisions of section 10-65b” and further amended Subsec. (b) to change the method for computing the cap on tuition charges, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-226 made technical changes in Subsecs. (a) and (b), amended Subsec. (b) to substitute 102% for 121% and in Subdiv. (2) to substitute references to amounts received pursuant to Subsecs. (a) and (c) for $700 and added Subsec. (c) concerning an additional grant, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-178 added Subsec. (d) re additional grants, effective July 1, 1996; P.A. 97-247 amended Subsec. (a) to remove requirement that facilities and equipment for which a grant is received pursuant to chapter 173 be used “exclusively” for vocational agricultural purposes, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 00-192 amended Subsec. (c) by adding new Subdiv. (2) re grants to local or regional boards operating vocational agriculture centers and designating existing Subdiv. (2) as Subdiv. (3), effective July 1, 2000; P.A. 01-173 amended Subsec. (d) to make technical changes, effective July 1, 2001; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-5 amended Subsec. (a)(1) to replace lump sum payments of the entire eligible cost with progress payments of 95% of the eligible cost, effective July 1, 2002; P.A. 04-197 amended Subsec. (b) by increasing maximum tuition from 102% to 120% of foundation level and by making a technical change, effective July 1, 2004; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-3 amended Subsec. (a) to increase per pupil grant from $700 to $1,355 and amended Subsec. (b) to require boards of education to provide students an opportunity to enroll in a vocational agricultural center in a number that at least equals the number in any written agreement or the average number enrolled over the previous three years and to change limit on tuition charges from 120% to 82.5% of the foundation level, effective July 1, 2007; P.A. 08-152 and 08-170 changed “vocational agriculture” to “agricultural science and technology education” throughout, amended Subsec. (b) to provide that students in ninth grade shall be permitted to enroll in centers in a number that is at least equal to the average number enrolled during previous 3 school years and that if district provided enrollment opportunities at more than one center commencing July 1, 2007, the district shall continue to provide such opportunities and made a technical change in Subsec. (c)(3), effective July 1, 2008; P.A. 09-45 made technical changes in Subsecs. (c) and (d), effective May 20, 2009; P.A. 11-48 added Subsec. (e) re allocation of $500,000 in fiscal years ending June 30, 2012, and June 30, 2013, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 11-61 amended Subsec. (a)(1) by making existing provision re 95% of net eligible costs applicable for applications filed prior to July 1, 2011, and adding provision re 80% of net eligible costs for applications filed on or after July 1, 2011, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 12-116 amended Subsec. (a)(2) by increasing grant amount from $1,355 to $1,750 per student and added Subsec. (f) re increase in funds not to be used to supplant local funding for educational purposes, effective July 1, 2012; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1 added Subsec. (g) re funds that exceed amount appropriated for education or in approved budget to be available for use for fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, effective July 1, 2012; P.A. 13-247 amended Subsec. (a)(2) by increasing grant amount from $1,750 to $2,750 per student, amended Subsec. (b) by changing limit on tuition charges from 82.5 per cent to 62.47 per cent of foundation level, and amended Subsec. (g) by replacing “2013” with “2014”, effective July 1, 2013; P.A. 14-217 amended Subsec. (a)(2) by increasing grant amount from $2,750 to $3,200 per student, amended Subsec. (b) by changing limit on tuition charges from 62.47 per cent to 59.2 per cent of foundation level, and amended Subsec. (g) by replacing “2014” with “2015”, effective July 1, 2014; P.A. 15-215 amended Subsec. (a)(1)(B) by adding “exclusively” re use of approved facilities, effective July 1, 2015; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5 amended Subsec. (a)(2) by adding “and within available appropriations”, and amended Subsec. (g) by making provisions applicable to fiscal years ending June 30, 2016, and June 30, 2017, and making a conforming change, effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 18-81 amended Subsec. (a)(2) by increasing per student amount of grants for certain secondary school students enrolled in agricultural science and technology centers, effective July 1, 2018.