Issue Position: Public Education

Issue Position

Education remained a top priority during the 84th Legislative Session, The final state budget pays for an increase of roughly 80,000 students per year in the state's overall public school enrollment. On top of that investment, it provides an additional $1.5 billion for public education. The statewide formula average per student will increase from $5,040 to $5,140.

House Bill 4 provides additional funding to school districts that opt to implement the high quality, accountable prekindergarten (pre-k) program. The focus is on long term prekindergarten success. House Bill 4 will allot $130 million in new funding over the next two years to school districts who adopt new pre-K standards. This grant program's goal is to improve pre-k curriculum and personal. This will not expand the existing half-day program or include three-year-old children. The remediation cost for children who do not experience a high quality pre-k program in House District 21 alone exceeds nearly $24 million per biennium. This is an investment well spent.

The Legislature also passed House Bill 2804 which will create a new A-F rating system for public schools so that parents and students can more clearly understand their school's performance. It also reforms the school accountability system to decrease the emphasis on state-mandated standardized tests and incorporate locally designed measures of student and community engagement while allowing for a quicker and more effective process to reform schools that repeatedly fail to meet academic standards.

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