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House budget adds literacy coaches, school safety and new student-support program
Summary
Appropriations subcommittees moved K‑12 funding increases including 116 literacy coaches, $2.5 million for PSAT/AP tests, a $20 million mental-health grants program and $28 million for a poverty weight in formula funding; the education subcommittee approved the changes.
House appropriations subcommittee review documents advanced multiple additions to K‑12 education funding that the presenters said are intended to support literacy, student mental health, school safety and supplemental services outside the QBE formula.
The education presentation said the budget adds 116 school-based literacy coaches with $18,500,000 appropriated for the coaches; it also includes a $2,500,000 add to pay for PSAT and AP exam fees and a $500,000 add for STEM gamified software. The subcommittee approved the education section by voice vote.
A new program labeled “Student Support Services” was described in committee as a package of targeted funds totaling more than $60,000,000: $20,000,000 intended for mental‑health grants to place mental‑health providers in middle and high schools, $5,000,000 to place social workers (with a goal of serving 75 schools currently without social workers), $10,000,000 for out‑of‑school and after‑school programming (referenced as “BOOST 2”), and approximately $28,000,000 to create a poverty weight within the QBE formula to target additional aid to disadvantaged students. Committee presenters flagged that eligibility and technical calculation details for the poverty weight would be determined outside the floor presentation.
The subcommittee also added $25,000,000 for initial school-safety startup funds and database support to implement behavioral threat-assessment teams and ongoing core safety activities. The committee added hold‑harmless language for school nutrition funding despite declines in some enrollment figures and included funding to cover a new federal bus-driver training mandate (initial year cost cited at $158,000). The committee materials referenced prior passage of legislation (House Bill 318 and Senate Bill 464 were mentioned during the discussion) that affect charter compliance and teacher stipend programs.
Ending
The committee said the literacy coach and universal screener allocations will be coordinated across multiple line items in the bill and that technical eligibility rules for the poverty weight and some transfers would be specified in the committee packet and implementing documents.
