0182: CONFERENCE REPORT (Date Completed: 5-23-13)

FY 2013-14 SCHOOL AID BUDGET S.B. 182 (CR-1*): CONFERENCE REPORT

WHITE TEXT

FY 2012-13 Year-to-Date Gross Appropriation.....................................................................

$12,944,687,000

Changes from FY 2012-13 Year-to-Date:
Items Included by the Senate and House
1. MPSERS Rate Cap. $273.3 million School Aid Fund increase to pay for the cost of the rate cap (average value $250 per pupil). Conference added $1.3 million for library costs.	274,600,000
2. Pupil Performance Grants. House and Senate increased funding to fully fund grants.	16,400,000
3. Technical Cost Adjustments. Appropriations were adjusted based on newer cost data, and were adjusted for anticipated Federal funds. One-time items were removed.	(22,993,200)
4. Transfer of Library Payments to MDE. Payments were transferred to the MDE budget.	(1,304,300)
5. Student-Centric Grants. New competitive grants for student-centric learning.	8,000,000
6. Economic Adjustments. Includes $287,500 Gross and $216,700 GF/GP.	287,500
Conference Agreement on Items of Difference
7. Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) Grants. Conference concurred with Governor and Senate to increase grants for at-risk four-year-olds by $65.0 million (SAF).	65,000,000
8. Increase Per-Pupil Spending. Conference added a $30 increase in the basic foundation allowance and a $60 increase in the minimum foundation allowance (to $7,026). Also, an equity payment is provided for districts with foundation allowances below $7,076.	116,000,000
9. Michigan Virtual University. Conference concurred with one-half of the Governor's proposed increase to expand the role of MVU in online learning activities and support.	5,000,000
10. Best Practices, Tech, Class Size. Conference restored Governor's $55.0 million reduction in best practices. Other items not reduced are tech grants and class size grants. Also, Conference retained $5.0 million (of $10.0 million currently) for district consolidation.	(5,000,000)
11. MPSERS Offset. Conference reduced MPSERS offset by $55.0 million to $100.0 million.	(55,000,000)
12. Hold Harmless & Communities in Schools. Conference concurred with Senate to add $1.1 million to hold ISDs to no more than a 25% loss in equalization funding. Conference added $6.0 million to ensure districts receive at least a $5 increase in per-pupil funding.	7,067,000
13. Bilingual Education. House included $1.3 million for bilingual education grants. Senate did not include. Conference included $1.2 million.	1,200,000
14. Center for Educational Performance and Information Pupil Transfer Process. House added $99,800 to develop a pupil transfer application. Conference concurred at $100,000.	100,000
15. Items Not Included. Conference did not include computer adaptive tests, education reserve fund, communities in schools, or math/science pilot coalitions.	0
16. Other Changes. Conference concurred with Senate to increase rural schools by $559,600 and math/science centers $125,000. Conference added $3.0 million for FIRST Robotics; $1.0 million for CTE centers to integrate Michigan Merit Curriculum in STEM areas; $1.0 million for partnerships between districts and postsecondary to develop articulation and transfer agreements; and a $1.7 million increase for library Renaissance Zone funding.	7,759,600

Total Changes.....................................................................................................................	$417,116,600
FY 2013-14 Conference Report Ongoing/One-Time Gross Appropriation............................	$13,361,803,600
Amount Over/(Under) GF/GP Target: $0

FY 2013-14 SCHOOL AID BUDGET BOILERPLATE HIGHLIGHTS

Changes from FY 2012-13 Year-to-Date:

Items Included by the Senate and House

1. Consolidation Incentive. Senate and House included new language providing up to a $100 per-pupil consolidation incentive grant for districts, built into the combined foundation allowance. (Sec. 20)

2. Pupil Transfer after Count Date. Senate and House included new language requiring the development of a pupil transfer application process to allow for funding to follow a student that transfers districts after count date. (Sec. 25e)

3. Itinerant Reimbursement. Governor proposed eliminating the reimbursement to ISDs for itinerant staff, adversely affected by changes in special education funding implemented in FY 2003-04. Senate and House kept. (Sec. 51a(7))

Conference Agreement on Items of Difference

4. Student Membership Blend. Senate and Conference changed the blend from 90% fall plus 10% prior February to 90% fall plus 10% current-year February. House blend was 80% fall plus 20% current-year February. (Sec. 6)

5. Online Learning. Conference changed pupil definitions and included a new section (21f) regarding online learning. Students enrolling in a district offering online learning under Sec. 21f need not obtain permission from the resident district first. Students in grades 5 to 12 could enroll in up to two online courses; legislative intent to study increasing the cap for pupils that demonstrate success in online courses. Districts would be required to pay for online courses 80% upon enrollment and 20% upon completion. Conference included restrictions on how much districts pay for an online course, capped at 1/12 of foundation allowance per semester or 1/18 per trimester. Conference allowed home district to determine granting of academic credit based upon successful completion. (Sec. 6 and 21f)

6. Online Course Foundation. House changed the foundation allowance for a cyber school or for pupils attending a district under a seat-time waiver for a 100% online model to 85% of the foundation allowance of the district in which it is located. Conference did not include the House change. (Sec. 20)

7. Education Achievement Authority (EAA) Spending. Senate prohibited the EAA from expending any funds from any sources unless the funds are appropriated by the Legislature. Conference did not include (Sec. 22b)

8. Best Practices. Conference amended best practices criteria to allow a Voluntary Employees Beneficiary Association (VEBA) to qualify as policy holder; to require a comparison of competitive bids to exclude the cost of unfunded accrued liabilities; to require a district to publish online course syllabi for each online course offered; to offer health or physical education (without meeting State Board standards, as found in current law); and to include in the dashboard projections of revenues and expenditures, debt service, and total outstanding debt. (Section 22f)

9. Technology Infrastructure Grants. Conference retained technology infrastructure competitive grants based on need and limited uses to technology infrastructure, shared service consolidation of technology and data, and hardware. Also, Conference earmarked $5.0 million out of the $50.0 million total appropriation for a competitive bid for provision of 'whole-school' technology. (Sec. 22i)

10. Great Start Readiness Program. Conference eliminated the use of funds for parenting programs formerly funded under Sec. 32b; aligned the age eligibility to kindergarten eligibility; restricted grants to providers with at least three stars under the tiered rating system; ensured 90% of children participating are below 250% of the Federal poverty level (FPL), with children from the poorest families being enrolled prior to children in less poor families; established a sliding scale of tuition for students in families above 250% FPL; and allowed transportation costs to be reimbursed. Half-day per-slot reimbursement was increased from $3,400 to $3,625. (Sec. 32d and Sec. 39).

11. Michigan Virtual University. Conference included most of the new initiatives recommended by the Governor, including the expansion of statewide professional development and training for at least 500 teachers; establishing an internet platform to create and implement student-centric learning tools and resources; establish a public statewide catalog of online courses offered by public schools; and providing leadership for the state's system of online learning. (Sec. 98)

12. Instructional Days and Hours. House deleted provision allowing for 38 hours of professional development to be counted towards the 1,098 minimum number of instruction hours required, and increased minimum number of days required from 170 to 175. Conference concurred. (Sec. 101)

Date Completed: 5-23-13 Fiscal Analyst: Kathryn Summers

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.