This bill establishes a foundation opportunity budget program for funding public education in New Hampshire. It defines a constitutionally adequate education as one that provides students with an opportunity to achieve the statewide public education opportunity goal. The bill determines the value of an adequate education for each school district using an education cost model that takes into account factors such as student needs, geographic variation in the price levels of educational inputs, and structural or geographic factors. The bill also establishes factors and weightings that the Department of Education will use to determine an annual foundation opportunity budget for each school district. This budget will be subject to adjustments and will be reviewed and redetermined every 10 years.

HB 1586-FN-A-LOCAL is a bill that relates to the determination of the annual foundation opportunity budget for each school district. The bill specifies that the budget shall be equal to the product of the school district's weighted ADMA (Average Daily Membership Average), multiplied by the universal base foundation opportunity cost. The bill also outlines the factors that contribute to the weighted ADMA, including the number of students eligible for free and reduced price lunch, English language learners, and special education services. Additionally, the bill establishes a process for the review and redetermination of the weightings and values every 10 years.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 195:14, 198:39, 76:3, 194-B:11, 198:48-b, 76:8, 76:11-a, 198:57