Assembly Bill 645 proposes the establishment of a grant program administered by the Department of Public Instruction to support feasibility studies for school district consolidation or whole grade sharing agreements. The bill allows consortia of two or more school boards to apply for grants of up to $25,000 to cover the costs associated with these studies, which may include professional financial analyses and population studies. To qualify for the grant, each school board in the consortium must adopt a resolution indicating their intent to consider consolidation.

Currently, while there is additional funding for consolidated school districts during the first seven years post-consolidation, there is no provision for funding feasibility studies or related costs. This bill aims to fill that gap by creating a structured grant program under new statutory sections 20.255 (2) (bt) and 115.448, thereby facilitating the exploration of potential consolidations or grade sharing among school districts.