The bill amends "The Education Equity and Property Tax Relief Act" by establishing a permanent foundation education aid formula starting in the 2012 fiscal year, which includes a core instruction amount and a student success factor for high-need students. The core instruction amount is based on a per-pupil amount multiplied by the district's average daily membership, excluding charter and state-operated school students. The student success factor provides additional support for high-need students, with a 40% increase for children below 185% of federal poverty guidelines and a 25% increase for multilingual learners and children below the poverty threshold. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is tasked with developing a poverty measure independent of school nutrition programs, using SNAP participation with a multiplier to determine eligibility. The bill also requires DESE to provide estimates of foundation education aid costs, update figures based on average daily membership, and evaluate and recommend funding solutions for multilingual learner students and those below the poverty line.

The bill outlines the foundation education-aid program, which includes provisions for special education, career and technical education, pre-kindergarten programs, and stabilization funds for certain schools. It specifies criteria for allocating funds, including extraordinary costs for special education students and criteria for career and technical education funds. The bill removes additional state support for English learners, which was previously determined by a specific factor, and provides for state support for school resource officers with defined eligibility and reimbursement criteria. The bill states that categorical programs will be funded according to a transition plan and will take effect upon passage. The bill also integrates funding for multilingual learners into the broader funding formula for high-need students by setting a student success factor of 25% of the core instruction per-pupil amount, removing the previous separate categorical funding mechanism for these students.