SB 213: Colorados Commitment Building a World-Class Education System

Sens. Johnston, Heath & Rep. Hamner

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SUMMARY OF SENATE AMENDMENTS TO SB 213
1. Amendment L.016 (Senator Johnston): Creation of Hold Harmless Funding for Districts that Could Experience a Loss in State Funding For any district that could see a potential loss in state funding after calculation of the new school finance formula, the state will hold the district harmless. The calculation of the hold harmless is as follows: Hold Harmless = (14-15 State Funding Calculated State Funding) + (0.02(Current Calculated Total Program + Current Teacher & Leadership Investment)) This formula is best explained in two steps: The formula in the first set of parentheses ensures that the district will not lose any state funding by giving the district the difference between (a) its state funding under the old act and (b) the funding the district is calculated to get under the new act. The formula in the second set of parentheses ensures that the district will be held positive (i.e., it will receive more state funding that it did under the old act). To calculate the hold positive, the state will first add the districts calculated total program in the current year to the districts current Teacher & Leadership Investment. Next, the state will multiply that amount by 2 percent. As the districts calculated total program and Teacher & Leadership Investment grow over time, so will this hold positive amount of funding. 2. Amendment L.022 (Senator Johnston): Clarifying Special Education Maintenance of Effort Amendment 22 clarifies that the additional SPED funding does not constitute additional funding that would trigger additional maintenance of effort requirements at the federal level. 3. Amendment L.045 (Senator Johnston, Technical Amendment): Reinserting Excess Costs Language into the Special Education Section This amendment reinserts language into the special education section of SB 213 that permits districts that enroll out of district students with disabilities to receive funding for these students, and contract with the students districts of residence to receive tuition payments. Note that this is existing law mistakenly left out of the introduced bill. 4. Amendment L.046 (Senators Todd and Hudak): Creation of SPED Investment Plan, Modification of Supplemental (Floor) Funding, and Teaching and Leadership Investment Refinancing

This amendment makes three important changes to SB 213. First, it brings SPED funding to the forefront of the SB 213 effort, retaining the $80 million investment in Tier B SPED funding in year one of full implementation, and requiring that as tax receipts from the ballot grow, this growth is first placed in doubling the size of the Tier A SPED allocation from $1250 to $2500. This investment plan is placed in the actual section of SPED statute in order to put the investment on par with investments made in atrisk students and English language learners. Second, it modifies the floor funding amendment made to SB 213 in committee (L.034) that instituted a floor of funding equivalent to the statewide average of total program funding per pupil. L.034 had the effect of increasing the fiscal note on SB 213 by close to $300 million, without specifying how the $300 million should be financed. L.046 reduces the floor to 95% of the statewide average total program funding per pupil, and finances the floor funding through a proportionate reduction in the Teaching and Leadership Investment across all districts, bringing the TLI amount down to $441 dollars/pupil. This has the effect of narrowing the spread between per pupil increases under SB 213, requiring districts with higher per pupil increases to give up some of their increase to finance floor funding. For this reason, L.046s final change requires that future increases in the Teaching and Leadership Investment first go to non-floor funded districts which had to give up some of their proposed per pupil increase to finance floor funding. Once these districts have received an increase in TLI up to $600/pupil, L.046 provides for an increase in floor funded districts TLI up to $600, and then raises all districts TLI proportionally following, as tax receipts from the ballot initiative increase over time. 5. Amendment L.048-L.049 (Senator Johnston): Removing Revocation of Exclusive Chartering Authority if Districts Do Not Share Future Mill Levy Overrides with Charter Schools, Substituting Enhanced Reporting Requirements around Sharing of Mill Levy Override Dollars, and Creating a Charter School Equity Fund L.048 brokers a compromise by removing the possibility of revocation of exclusive chartering authority if districts do not share future mill levy override dollars with charter schools, and instead (a) institutes new requirements around reporting sharing of mill levy override dollars, and (b) creates a state-financed Charter School Equity Fund for district charter schools. The new reporting requirements will require districts to indicate what portion of override dollars are shared with district charter schools on an annual basis. This reporting will bring to public attention the agreements reached between districts and charters surrounding sharing of override dollars, but will leave to districts and charters the freedom of negotiation around what amounts should be shared, and why. The Charter School Equity Fund enables district charters to achieve some parity with existing district override revenues, but does so by way of a state funding stream that does not require redistribution of locally raised dollars and does not affect districts exclusive chartering authority. 6. Amendment L.050: (Senator Johnston) Removing Default Requirement that Districts Allocate Individual Charters SPED Dollars to Individual Charter School, and Substituting Itemized Reporting of SPED Costs and Expenditures Relative to District Charter Schools

Amendment L.050 maintains the system by which districts and charter schools work together to negotiate the payment of special education services for charter schools,. trusting districts and charters to work together to reach equitable arrangements. In order to bring public attention to the substance of these agreements, new reporting requirements will require districts to indicate exactly what they charge charter schools for special education services, and exactly what charter schools receive in special education services from a district. As was true under the introduced bill, existing contracts with charter schools will be unaffected. 7. Amendment L.052 (Senators Todd and Heath): Opening the Innovation Fund to All Districts, Schools, and Projects Based on feedback that the Innovation Fund should be opened to more than extended learning time for Priority Improvement and Turnaround districts and schools, Amendment L.052 makes 75% of the Innovation Fund available to IPITA applicants (districts and schools that are Accredited with Improvement, Priority Improvement, or Turnaround status), but makes the final 25% open to all applicants, regardless of accreditation status. It also differentiates the Funds project focus, inviting other projects that can demonstrate the same or greater impact on student learning outcomes as extended learning time. Note that individual educators remain eligible to apply for the innovation grants.

8. Amendment L.054 (Senator Johnston, Technical Amendment): Adding Additional Language to the Cost of Living Override This amendment enables districts to transfer over excess mill levies that surpass the size of the cost of living override cap by adding necessary language from the general operating mill levy override section.