ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SB1101: schools; calculated opportunity index

PRIME SPONSOR: Senator Carter, LD 15

BILL STATUS: Education

                                Appropriations

Overview

Creates a formula for determining the Calculated Opportunity Index and factors this index into base support level funding for school districts and charter schools and subtracts this index from a school district's desegregation expenses.

History

Free and Reduced-Price Lunches

The National School Lunch Program is a federally assisted meal program that provides low-cost or free lunches to children in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions. Statute requires all elementary schools, middle schools, and junior high schools to participate in the National School Lunch Program (NLSP), except a school district that has fewer than 100 pupils (A.R.S. 15-242(B)). Additionally, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) is required to develop minimum nutrition standards that meet federal guidelines and requires all elementary schools, middle schools, and junior high schools that occupy at least 100 pupils to participate in NSLP (A.R.S. § 15-242(A)).

According to the guidelines published on the Federal Register:

• To be eligible for a reduced-priced meal, a pupil’s household income must be below 185% of the federal poverty guidelines. For a household of four people, that equates to $46,435 in annual income; and
• To be eligible for free meals, a pupil’s household income must be below 130% of the federal poverty guidelines. For a household of four people, that equates to $32,630 in annual income.

The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) reported that 57% of students statewide received free and reduced-price meals as of October 2017. ADE has also published a dataset for the percentage of children in Arizona who are on free and reduced-price meals for the 2018-2019 school year that can be accessed here.

Base Support Level Funding

A school district or charter school's Basic State Aid formula funding entitlement is determined, in part, by a formula established in A.R.S. § 15-943 to calculate base support level funding which involves the following variables:

· Student count, which is the average daily membership (ADM) for a school in the current year (A.R.S. § 15-943(5)). Average daily membership (ADM) represents the total enrollment of fractional students and full-time students, minus withdrawals, of each school day through the first 100 days or 200 days in session, as applicable (A.R.S. § 15-901(A)(1));

· Weighted student count, which is calculated by multiplying the student count by certain weights:

o Group A weights, which are based on whether a student is enrolled in a preschool disabilities program, a kindergarten through 8^th grade program, or a 9^th grade through 12^th grade program (A.R.S. § 15-943(2)(a));

o Group B weights, which are based on the number of students who have impairments or disabilities, who are in kindergarten through 3^rd grade, or who participate in the K-3 reading program (A.R.S. § 15-943(2)(b)); and

· Teacher Experience Index, which is calculated based on the years of experience for certificated teachers (A.R.S. § 15-941).

Provisions

Opportunity Index

1. Directs the Superintendent of Public Instruction to determine the Calculated Opportunity Index by February 1 of each year using the following formula:

a. Determine the statewide average percentage of pupils in school districts who are eligible for free and reduced-priced lunches or an equivalent measure recognized for participating the federal free and reduced-price lunch program and other school programs dependent on a poverty measure, including the community eligibility provision for which free and reduced-price lunch data is not available;

b. Determine the average percentage of pupils at each individual school within a school district or charter school in Arizona who are eligible for free and reduced-price lunches or an equivalent measure recognized for participating the federal free and reduced-price lunch program and other school programs dependent on a poverty measure, including the community eligibility provision for which free and reduced-price lunch data is not available;

c. Subtract the average percentage of pupils at an individual school within a school district or charter school who are eligible for free and reduced-price lunch from the statewide average of pupils in school districts and charter schools who are eligible for free and reduced-price lunch:

i. If the value is positive, round to the nearest tenth of a percentage point;

ii. If the value is negative, use 0;

d. Multiply the resulting value by 0.059, then divide the resulting product by 100;

e. Divide the average daily membership of the school by the average daily membership for the school district or charter school, then multiply by the result determined in the previous step; and

f. Add the resulting value for all schools within the school district or charter school. (Sec. 2)

2. Modifies the calculation for base support level for each school district by:

a. Adding the following steps:

i. For school districts, adding the Teacher Experience Index of the school district or 1.00, whichever is greater, to the Calculated Opportunity Index of the school district. For charter schools, adding 1.00 to the Calculated Opportunity Index of the charter school;

ii. Multiplying the resulting sum by the product of the schools weighted student count by the base level; and

b. Eliminating the requirement to multiply the teacher experience index of the district or 1.00 (whichever is greater) by the product of a school district's weighted student count and base level. (Sec. 3)

Desegregation Funding

3. Requires any school district governing board that budgets for expenses of complying with a court order of desegregation or an administrative agreement with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights directed toward remediating alleged or proven racial discrimination to subtract 50% of any increase attributed to the Calculated Opportunity Index from a school district governing board's desegregation expenses in each fiscal year. If the result amount is less than 0, the school district may not budget for desegregation expenses. (Sec. 1)

4. Allows a school district to apply the Calculated Opportunity Index to bring the school district into compliance with the court order or administrative agreement. (Sec. 1)

5. Allows the school district to continue to levy taxes to bring the school district into compliance with the court order or administrative agreement if state monies are not provided for the Calculated Opportunity Index in any fiscal year. (Sec. 1)

Reporting Requirements

6. Requires each school district or charter school that received additional funding from the Calculated Opportunity Index to electronically submit a report to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House showing the academic growth of students at the schools that generated additional funding.

7. Mandates that the governing boards for schools approve the assessment used to measure academic growth prior to the beginning of the school year and that this assessment be aligned to state standards. (Sec. 2)

Miscellaneous

8. Makes conforming changes. (Sec. 3)

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12. Fifty-fourth Legislature                       SB 1101

13. First Regular Session                            Version 1: Education

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