The bill amends "The Education Equity and Property Tax Relief Act" to provide state funding for various educational expenses. It defines "extraordinary" special education costs as those exceeding four times the core foundation amount and tasks the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (now referred to as "the department") with prorating funds if necessary and collecting data on costs that exceed certain multiples of the core foundation amount. The bill also addresses funding for career and technical education, pre-kindergarten programs, specific educational funds, transportation costs for out-of-district non-public schools, and regional school districts. It introduces a regionalization bonus and additional state support for English learners, applying a fifteen percent factor to the core-instruction per-pupil amount. The bill includes such as the definition of "extraordinary" costs and the EL factor, and like the term "of elementary and secondary education" in reference to the department. Furthermore, the bill revises the support for educational specialists, removing certain language to emphasize the innovative use of funds and outlines state support for school resource officers (SROs), including their roles, training, and reimbursement conditions. It also introduces provisions for state support for reading and mathematics specialists, defining eligibility for reimbursement based on hiring new specialists and maintaining specific student-to-specialist ratios. The bill stipulates that local education agencies (LEAs) will not receive reimbursement if they eliminate existing positions to create new ones under this provision. The act will take effect upon passage, with detailing the support for SROs and reading and mathematics specialists, and to streamline the language regarding the department's responsibilities.

Statutes affected:
2346: 16-7.2-6