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SB35 would ensure funding follows children in out‑of‑district early‑literacy 'jump start' programs
Summary
Senate Bill 35 clarifies that a child participating in an early‑literacy 'jump start' program outside their resident district counts for funding in the district providing the program. Proponents framed the bill as a narrow fix to align two statutes and ensure summer program funding follows the participating child.
Senate Bill 35 was presented to the House Education Committee as a targeted fix to ensure funding and enrollment counts for early‑literacy 'jump start' programs follow children who attend out‑of‑district summer programs.
Senator Daniel Emmerich said the bill clarifies that when a child participates in a jump‑start program in a district other than the resident district, the A & B enrollment counts—and therefore funding—should accrue to the district providing the program. He described the bill as a correction to ensure the money follows the child for summer programming and noted a retroactive applicability provision to support the current school year.
Proponents from early childhood organizations said the change helps families access summer interventions 'where they are' and avoids unintended funding gaps created when two bills passed in the same session did not fully align on out‑of‑district tuition and enrollment calculations. Paul Taylor (OPI) described SB35 as a cleanup to align the two previous statutes and ensure districts that provide summer jump‑start programming receive the A&B funding associated with participating children.
Committee members expressed general support and the sponsor closed by urging passage of what he called a straightforward funding alignment.
