The bill amends "The Education Equity and Property Tax Relief Act" to redefine "extraordinary" special education costs as those exceeding five times the core foundation amount and assigns the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (now referred to as "the department") the responsibility of prorating funds if necessary and collecting data on certain special education costs. It also revises funding provisions for career and technical education, pre-kindergarten programs, specific stabilization funds, and transportation costs for students in various scenarios. A regionalization bonus is introduced for regionalized public school districts, and additional state support is provided for English learners, with a ten percent EL factor applied to the per-pupil amount. The bill includes deletions of repetitive language, replacing it with "the department," and specifies the department's role in prorating funds and recommending allocation criteria.

Furthermore, the bill introduces state support for hiring new site-based reading and mathematics specialists, offering reimbursement for half the cost of salaries and benefits for three years. It sets student-to-specialist ratios for schools of different sizes and stipulates that local education agencies (LEAs) are ineligible for reimbursement if they eliminate existing specialist positions to take advantage of the new provision. The bill also permits schools within the same LEA to share specialists while adhering to the specified ratios. The act will become effective upon passage.

Statutes affected:
5389: 16-7.2-6