K-12 Finance Passes Conference Committee

Funding for public schools would remain steady and school districts would not have to scramble to cover state aid payments that could have been delayed if accounting shifts had been included in an E-12 education finance bill agreed to by House and Senate conference committee members. Instead, the bill includes no such shifts.
The conference report is expected to be ready for the House and Senate floors as early as Wednesday.

Sponsored by Rep. Mindy Greiling (DFL-Roseville) and Sen. LeRoy Stumpf (DFL-Plummer), HF2*/SF1328  includes reforms to charter schools, special education and student and school testing and accountability measures; links integration revenue to closing the achievement gap; and reduces education mandates. It would allow an alternative path to graduation for students who cannot pass a high-stakes math test, while the role of high stakes testing is evaluated over the next five years.

By reducing the Education Department budget by about 3 percent, or $1.5 million, the Reading Corps and the Math and Science Teacher Centers supported by the governor each would see $750,000 in funding