The bill amends Section 16-7.2-3 of the General Laws under "The Education Equity and Property Tax Relief Act" to establish a permanent foundation education aid formula. This formula will calculate foundation education aid for each district based on a core instruction amount and additional support for high-need students. The core instruction amount will be derived from regional expenditure data and updated annually, while the support for high-need students will include factors based on family income and multilingual learner status. Notably, the bill introduces new provisions that require the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to develop a poverty measure that does not rely on school nutrition programs and to utilize this measure in various calculations related to education aid.

Significantly, the bill includes new language that mandates the inclusion of a student's enrollment in Medicaid in the calculations for the student success factor starting with the FY 2026 calculation. This addition aims to enhance the support provided to high-need students by broadening the criteria used to assess their eligibility for additional educational resources. The bill also outlines the responsibilities of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in evaluating and reporting on the needs of multilingual learners and the funding required to support them effectively. Overall, the act seeks to improve the equity and adequacy of education funding in the state.