HF4213

Purpose

This bill makes forecast adjustments to prekindergarten through 12th grade education funding and updates the state’s education appropriations. It amends Laws 2025 First Special Session chapter 10 and adjusts funding for many education programs in 2025–2027, focusing on recalibrating expected costs and distributions across a wide range of aid programs and services.

Main Provisions (What the bill does)

• General education aid: Updates and specifies forecasted appropriations for 2025–2027 to support general education funding.
• Abatement aid: Adjusts the forecasted amount for abatement aid.
• Career and technical aid: Revisions to forecasted funding for career and technical education aid.
• Consolidation transition aid: Revises the appropriation for consolidation transition aid.
• Enrollment options transportation: Adjusts transportation aid for students attending postsecondary institutions or students in nonresident districts.
• Interdistrict desegregation/integration transportation grants: Updates funding for desegregation/integration transportation grants.
• Literacy aid: Modifies literacy aid funding forecasts.
• Paraprofessional training: Updates compensation and professional development funding for paraprofessionals.
• Alternative teacher compensation aid: Adjusts funding for programs intended to encourage alternative teacher compensation models.
• Student support personnel aid: Revisions to funding for student support personnel aid.
• Charter school building lease aid: Updates charter school building lease aid funding.
• American Indian education aid and Tribal contract school aid: Updates aid levels for American Indian education and tribal contract schools.
• Special education (regular, separate sites/programs, court-placed): Recasts and updates multiple special education aids, including regular special education, separate sites/programs, and court-placed education reimbursement.
• Early childhood and related supports: Updates funding for kindergarten milk, school breakfast, school lunch, and basic system support.
• School library and developmental supports: Adjusts school library aid and developmental screening/early childhood education aids.
• Early childhood family education and home visiting: Updates transfers and funding for early childhood family education and home visiting aid.
• Adult and community education: Updates adult basic education aid and community education aid.
• Other targeted aids: Includes adjustments to debt service equalization aid, long-term facilities maintenance equalized aid, and related facilities funding as part of the forecast changes.
• Overall approach: The bill primarily shifts and updates anticipated funding levels across numerous education programs to align with updated financial forecasts for the 2026 and 2027 fiscal years (with 2025 and 2026 baseline references in several sections).

Significant changes to existing law

• Broad recalibration: The bill amends numerous subparagraphs in Laws 2025 First Special Session chapter 10, article-by-article, to revise forecasted appropriations for a wide array of education programs.
• Focus on forecast-based adjustments: Rather than creating new programs, the bill adjusts the amounts allocated to existing programs (e.g., general education aid, literacy aid, special education aids, transportation aids, and nutritional program aids) to reflect updated cost projections for 2025–2027.
• Inter-program alignment: Several sections modify how costs are distributed across districts, including interdistrict transportation, nonpublic pupil transportation, and desegregation/integration-related transportation grants, aiming for more current funding levels.
• Expanded coverage areas: The bill includes updates to supports beyond traditional K-12 funding, such as early childhood, family education, home visiting, and adult education programs, ensuring related services align with forecasted needs.

Why this matters (plain-language takeaway)

• The state is adjusting how much money it expects to spend on many education programs to better reflect current projections.
• Schools and districts will see updated funding levels for a variety of needs—from core classroom funding to transportation, special education, nutrition programs, and early childhood supports.
• The changes are technical updates to spending plans rather than new policy initiatives; they ensure that forecasted budgets more accurately match anticipated costs for the next few years.

Relevant terms (high-frequency terms and phrases from the bill)

• forecast adjustments
• general education aid
• abatement aid
• career and technical aid
• consolidation transition aid
• enrollment options transportation
• interdistrict desegregation or integration transportation grants
• literacy aid
• paraprofessional training
• alternative teacher compensation aid
• student support personnel aid
• charter school building lease aid
• American Indian education aid
• Tribal contract school aid
• special education aid (regular, separate sites/programs)
• court-placed special education revenue
• kindergarten milk
• school breakfast
• school lunch
• basic system support
• school library aid
• developmental screening aid
• early childhood family education aid
• home visiting aid
• adult basic education aid
• community education aid
• debt service equalization aid
• long-term facilities maintenance equalized aid
• nonpublic pupil transportation aid
• postsecondary transportation options
• interdistrict transportation
• desegregation/integration funding
• fiscal year 2025, 2026, 2027 (forecast years)
• Laws 2025 First Special Session chapter 10