S257 - Appropriations Act of 2017. (SL 2017-57)

Overview: Sec. 7.23D of S.L. 2017-57 creates the Joint Legislative Task Force on Education Finance Reform (Task Force) which consists of nine members of the Senate appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and nine members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives must each appoint a cochair of the Task Force from among its membership with appointments being made no later than September 1, 2017. At least one member of the House of Representatives and at least one member of the Senate must be from the minority party of their respective chambers.

In consultation with the State Board of Education (SBE) and the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), the Task Force must study various weighted student formula funding models and develop a new funding model for the elementary and secondary public schools of North Carolina based on a weighted student formula. The Task Force must do all of the following:

• Review the State's current public school allotment system and undertake an in-depth study of various types of weighted student formula funding models.
• Determine the base amount of funds that must be distributed on a per student basis to cover the cost of educating a student in the State.
• Identify the student characteristics eligible for weighted funding and the associated weights for each of these characteristics.
• Resolve the extent to which the base amount of funds to be distributed would be adjusted based on the characteristics of each local school administrative unit.
• Decide which funding elements, if any, would remain outside the base of funds to be distributed under a weighted student formula.
• Study other funding models for elementary and secondary public schools, including public charter schools, in addition to the weighted student funding formula.
• Study funding models to provide children with disabilities with a free appropriate public education. This must include a consideration of economies of scale, the advisability and practicality of capping additional funding for children with disabilities, and additional costs associated with services required for particular disabilities.
• Study any other issue the Task Force considers relevant.

Meetings of the Task Force must begin no later than October 1, 2017 and a final report on the results of the study, including proposed legislation, must be submitted to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on or before October 1, 2018, by filing a copy of the report with the Office of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee, and the Legislative Library. The Task Force terminates on October 1, 2018, or upon the filing of its final report, whichever comes first.

This section became effective July 1, 2017.