The bill amends Section 16-7.2-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-7.2, known as "The Education Equity and Property Tax Relief Act," to modify how the state's share of foundation education aid is determined for each district. The new calculation considers a district's ability to generate revenue and the concentration of high-need students, using a formula that includes the state share ratio and the percentage of students in poverty. If a district's poverty status percentage is over 50% and the new calculation results in a lower state share ratio than the existing one, the state share ratio will be set equal to the existing community ratio. Additionally, the bill includes charter school and state school students in the district student data used for this calculation.

The bill also introduces a new subsection (d), which limits the reduction of total education aid paid to any local education agency, including distributed categorical funds, to no more than one percent (1%) of the municipal education appropriation to the local education agency in the previous fiscal year. Furthermore, it establishes a poverty loss stabilization fund to support districts that experience a significant decline in their state share ratio. The act is set to take effect upon passage.

Statutes affected:
7911: 16-7.2-4