Currently, state aid for education in New York State is distributed through over 50 separate and unnecessarily complex formulas and grants-in-aid. The approach recommended in this proposal consolidates 39 of these current categories into a single foundation allocation, while increasing the percentage of the state share and providing districts with predictability and transparency in the way their schools are funded. Main components include: (1) Single, Comprehensive Foundation Amount to fund all school district educational expenses except for transportation, facility construction costs, debt service, and high cost public and private special education placements; (2) Adjustments for Student Need and Local Cost Factors based on a needs index reflecting poverty, disability levels, numbers of English language learners, and a small school size factor, and a geographic cost of education index; (3) Division of Responsibility between Local School Districts and the State on the basis of the district's relative ability to pay as measured by poverty-weighted property and income wealth ratios; and (4) Four-Year Phase-In/Four-Year Stable Funding, implementing the new plan over a four-year period with approximately 25 percent of the incremental allocation for each district added each year, and adopting a four-year funding plan wetting forth in advance the amount each school district will receive for each of the following four years (subject only to annual inflationary increases or adjustments for extraordinary unforeseen events) to promote stability and long-term planning. The Sound Basic Education task force advocates that the foundation approach described in this proposal is the most effective means for implementing the Court of Appeals' constitutional mandate, which requires that the resources that students actually need for the opportunity for a sound basic education be made available to students in every school. This proposal for operating and reform is based on the final report of the "New York Adequacy Study." Listings of Task Force Members and Expert Consultants are appended. (Contains 27 footnotes, 4 figures, and 5 tables.) [Title varies: "An Adequate Foundation for All: A Proposal for Reforming New York." For parts II and III of this report, see ED503729 and ED503732.]