Education update: Sept. 13, 2013

House Republicans’ Home | Our Solutions for Education | House Education Committee

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

September means students and teachers are back in school. We all appreciate the hard work of our educators, administrators and parents as they prepare our students for a successful academic career. As part of our efforts to comply with the state constitution and state Supreme Court McCleary ruling, our state operating budget enhanced K-12 education funding by $1 billion to better support our teachers and improve student outcomes.

K-12 education in the operating budget – by the numbers

The 2013-15 operating budget spends $15.1 billion on K-12 education – up from $13.6 billion in the 2011-13 operating budget – which includes a $1 billion investment in McCleary enhancements allocated as follows:

$104 million for K-1 class-size reduction
$374 million for materials, supplies and operating costs (MSOC)
$143 million for the Learning Assistance Program (LAP)
$132 million for pupil transportation

Additional investments in K-12 education include:

$90 million for full-day kindergarten
$97 million for increased instructional hours grades 7-12
$24 million for counselors and parent coordinators
$19 million for bilingual education
$15 million for the Teacher-Principal Evaluation Program (TPEP)
$10 million for struggling schools

As part of education reform measures, House Bills 2261 and 2776, passed in 2009 and 2010 respectively, K-12 education funding will be boosted each budget through the 2017-18 budget cycle to fulfill our promises made to students and teachers in these bills.

Good news: Education-first budget funds full-day kindergarten

House Republicans have consistently fought for an education-first operating budget. After years of debate, the 2013-15 operating budget allocated $1 billion more to K-12 education, $90 million of which is dedicated to full-day kindergarten. Because of this investment, 270 schools will now provide full-day kindergarten classes. This results in:

Nearly 44 percent of kindergarten students having access to full-day kindergarten; and
More than 17,000 new students in full-day kindergarten.

You can check out this list of schools now offering full-day kindergarten due to additional resources. There are many more schools that will take advantage of this funding as they work to find space and create plans that best serve their student populations.

Full-day kindergarten not only helps students, but it helps teachers, administrators and taxpayers by freeing up local levy dollars that can now be put to use elsewhere in school districts.

To learn more about this issue, visit the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s Web site.

The McCleary ruling was not just about spending more

Some argue the McCleary ruling is solely about spending more on K-12 education. Nothing could be further from the truth. This year, we passed meaningful measures that address student performance and ensure the best and brightest are teaching in our classrooms. Here are some bills that will help us achieve these goals:

Improving student outcomes and supporting teachers | Senate Bill 5946

Updates the education system to improve student outcomes and support teachers. Specifically, the bill addresses early student literacy intervention, reengagement options for students struggling with behavior issues and mentoring programs to ensure every teacher is prepared for success.

Academic acceleration | Senate Bill 5243

Encourages school districts to adopt a policy to automatically enroll a student who meets the standard on the high school state assessments or the Preliminary SAT in the next most rigorous advanced course in that subject, with the objective that students eventually enroll in dual credit courses.

Assisting persistently-struggling schools | Senate Bill 5329

Puts in place protocol for accurately identifying struggling schools and provides state funds to implement state and local intervention models.

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