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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fourth Legislature, Second Regular Session
ENACTED
FACT SHEET FOR H.B. 2902/S.B. 1685
K-12 education; budget reconciliation; 2020-2021
Purpose
Makes statutory and session law changes relating to K-12 education necessary to implement the FY 2021 state budget.
Background
The Arizona Constitution prohibits substantive law from being included in the general appropriations, capital outlay appropriations and supplemental appropriations bills. However, it is often necessary to make statutory and session law changes to effectuate the budget. Thus, separate bills called budget reconciliation bills (BRBs) are introduced to enact these provisions. Because BRBs contain substantive law changes, the Arizona Constitution provides that they become effective on the general effective date, unless an emergency clause is enacted.
H.B. 2902 contains the budget reconciliation provisions for changes relating to K-12 education.
Provisions
Basic State Aid
1. Increases the base level for FY 2021 from $4,150.43 to $4,305.73.
School Districts
2. Increases the transportation support-level per-route-mile formula amount for FY 2021:
a) from $2.69 to $2.74 for 0.5 or less approved daily route mileage per eligible student transported;
b) from $2.20 to $2.24 for more than 0.5 to 1.0 approved daily route mileage per eligible student transported; and
c) from $2.69 to $2.74 for more than 1.0 of approved daily route mileage per eligible student transported.
3. Conforms the tax year 2020 qualifying tax rate and state equalization tax to the statutory K-12 property tax rates.
4. Directs, beginning in FY 2022, $64,100,000 each fiscal year collected from the 0.6 percent transaction privilege and use tax for education to the Superintendent of Public Instruction for basic state aid, rather than to the Classroom Site Fund.
5. Directs the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) to decrease the FY 2021 District Additional Assistance (DAA) reduction from $128,734,900 to $64,367,400 and reduce school district budget limits accordingly.
6. Restores DAA starting in FY 2022 and each subsequent fiscal year.
7. Continues to state as the intent of the Legislature and the Governor that school districts increase the total percentage of classroom spending over the previous year’s percentages in the combined categories of instruction, student support and instructional support as prescribed by the Auditor General.
Charter Schools
8. Increases the Charter Additional Assistance (CAA) amount per student count for FY 2021:
a) from $1,843.14 to $1,875.21, for students in preschool programs for children with disabilities, kindergarten programs and grades 1 through 8; and
b) from $2,148.15 to $2,185.53, for students in grades 9 through 12.
9. Directs ADE to decrease the FY 2021 CAA reduction from $6,814,400 to $3,407,200.
10. Restores CAA starting in FY 2022 and each subsequent fiscal year.
Results-Based Funding
11. Requires ADE, in FY 2021, to distribute monies from the Results-Based Funding Fund (Fund) as follows:
a) $225 per student count for each district or charter school that:
i. has less than 60 percent of enrolled pupils eligible for free or reduced-price lunches (FRPL) or an equivalent measure, including the community eligibility provision; and
ii. performed in the top 13 percent of all Arizona schools on the statewide assessment in spring 2019;
b) $400 per student count for each district or charter school that:
i. has at least 60 percent of enrolled pupils eligible for FRPL, or an equivalent measure including the community eligibility provision; and
ii. performed in the top 13 percent of schools on the statewide assessment in spring 2019 of those schools with at least 60 percent of enrolled pupils eligible for FRPL or an equivalent measure;
c) $225 per student count for each district or charter school that:
i. has at least 60 percent of enrolled pupils eligible for FRPL, or an equivalent measure including the community eligibility provision; and
ii. performed within the top 13.1 to 27 percent of schools on the statewide assessment in spring 2019 of those schools with at least 60 percent of enrolled pupils eligible for FRPL or an equivalent measure; and
d) $400 per student count for each alternative high school that performed in the top 27 percent of schools on the statewide assessment in spring 2019, with at least 60 percent of enrolled pupils eligible for FRPL or an equivalent measure.
12. Specifies an alternative high school is eligible for results-based funding only if it reports the average percentage of pupils who received a passing score on both the math and language arts portions of the statewide assessment during testing conducted in spring 2019.
Miscellaneous
13. Makes technical and conforming changes.
14. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
House Action Senate Action
Rules 3/18/20 DP/C&P 5-3-0-0 Rules 3/18/20 DP/PFC 6-1-1-0
3rd Read 3/19/20 31-29-0 3rd Read 3/19/20 24-6-0
(H.B. 2902 was substituted for S.B. 1685 on
3rd Read)
Signed by the Governor 3/28/20
Chapter 49
Prepared by Senate Research
April 2, 2020
JO/gs