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Senate moves to shore up competency-based education funding with short-term fix
Summary
Senate Bill 34 would create a short-term reimbursement fix for competency-based programs so schools are not penalized when students graduate early; sponsors estimate a small fiscal note (about $55,000) and advised a longer-term funding model will be developed during the interim.
Senate Bill 34, uncircled by Senator Milner on Day 2, seeks to address a funding gap for schools using competency-based education by providing a temporary reimbursement approach for early-graduating students.
Milner told colleagues the state’s current time-based funding penalizes schools whose students finish competency-based programs early and that the bill is intended as a short-term, targeted fix while a longer-term funding model is developed in the interim. He said there are three pilot programs currently implementing competency-based education and estimated the bill’s fiscal impact at about $55,000 against a $4-plus billion education budget.
"So until we have an alternative funding model for competency based education, we kind of like to fix this reimbursement problem for early graduation," Milner said. He described the change as temporary and limited to schools recognized by the State Board of Education as competency-based programs.
The Senate voted under suspension of the rules to read and consider SB34 for final passage; the transcript records the suspension and roll-call process to expedite final action but does not provide a final tally for the bill in the provided excerpt. Sponsors said they expect the interim committee to continue working on a longer-term solution.
What happens next: SB34 was advanced under suspension of rules with sponsors expecting follow-up work in the interim to build a permanent funding model.
