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DPI asks legislature to fully fund continuous improvement contract; proposes $6 million to stop district deduction
Summary
State Superintendent Kirsten Basler asked the House Appropriations Education & Environment Division to fund the state's continuous improvement contract directly, saying DPI seeks roughly $6 million so school districts will no longer have a foundation‑aid deduction for Cognia services.
Kirsten Basler, State Superintendent, told the House Appropriations Education & Environment Division that one of the department’s largest agency requests tied to House Bill 1013 is funding for the state’s continuous improvement process, the program DPI administers that was previously linked to accreditation work.
"This is our continuous improvement process," Basler said, and tied the requirement back to state law. She told the committee the continuous improvement obligation satisfies North Dakota Century Code 15.1-6‑6 and that DPI has been working with Cognia (formerly AdvancED) to adapt the accreditation model into the state's continuous improvement framework.
Basler described two reasons the department requested a substantial increase to the contract line: the vendor has not had a material contract increase since the first contract in 2013 and, more importantly, for the last two biennia DPI had used federal ESSER funds or clawed back amounts from school district foundation aid to cover part of the cost. "We pay for something with ESSER money. It dries, and now we have to come and backfill it," a committee member observed during questioning; Basler said the state should resume full funding.
DPI told the committee the department’s original request for the continuous improvement contract is about $6 million. Basler said the 2023–25 base included roughly $1.287 million for the contract, and Governor Armstrong’s budget added another $700,000; DPI's new request would replace districts’ current deductions from foundation aid and stabilize funding.
Committee members asked whether the cost is primarily technology or professional supports; Basler said the bulk of the cost is Cognia’s in‑person supports — site visits, professional development and assistance to districts implementing continuous improvement plans — rather than purely the web‑based platform.
Basler said the contract had been negotiated to be less about accreditation compliance and more about an outcomes‑focused continuous improvement partnership with school districts. She argued the state paying the contract outright would stop the current practice of deducting the cost from district foundation aid. DPI did not request a committee vote during this hearing.
The department also covered the program’s history: the shift away from an input‑based accreditation model began in legislative changes in 2007–2011; in 2011 statute eliminated accreditation as a requirement and replaced it with the requirement that schools engage in a continuous improvement process. Basler said DPI negotiated with Cognia since the initial contract (2013) and is now seeking funding to bring the contract and services to a level that does not rely on district deductions or temporary ESSER funds.
No formal committee action was taken on the request at the hearing; legislators asked follow‑up questions and DPI said it would provide additional details as requested.
(Reporting note: quotes and attributions from the hearing transcript.)
