BLR outlines legal history and 2026 adequacy study schedule as committee begins review

The Bureau of Legislative Research presented a multi'part briefing to the joint legislative education committee laying out the legal background for the state'led adequacy study and the BLR'managed schedule for 2026.

"Article 14, section 1 provides that the state shall ever maintain a general suitable and efficient system of free public schools," Taylor Lloyd, education attorney with BLR, told the committee as she framed the legal duty that underpins adequacy work. Lloyd reviewed the two foundational cases the committee will repeatedly consider: Dupree, which highlighted inequities created by reliance on local property taxes, and Lakeview, which established the need for a defined adequacy standard, ongoing adequacy study, and state oversight of school expenditures.

Lloyd described the funding matrix'a resource'need tool developed from the 2003 Adnan Pikus/Onden Pikus work'and emphasized it is a funding model rather than a mandated spending formula. "The matrix is a funding model. It is not a spending model," Lloyd said, explaining that the matrix sets foundation funding amounts using a prototypical 500'student school and that districts retain discretion on how they use received funds.

Elizabeth Feynum of BLR traced a legislative response timeline from Dupree in 1983 through the Lakeview rulings and subsequent statutory changes (including the continuing adequacy evaluation act of 2004 and related amendments), describing how the matrix and categorical funding streams were developed and adjusted in the 2003'2007 period and later.

Jasmine Ray (BLR) presented the 2026 adequacy study plan and explained the BLR's role in compiling eight statutorily required report components (history, accountability and achievement, teacher salary, resource allocation, and others), soliciting stakeholder feedback, and furnishing evidence'based material for the committee to decide what constitutes adequacy. She summarized logistical deadlines in the cycle: BLR will publish a draft report 14 days before delivering a final report to legislative leaders, and the statutory final report submission date for the committee is November 1, 2026; recommendations that would affect fiscal session considerations must be in hand by March 1 for pre'session review.

Committee members used the presentations to ask procedural and scope questions: members sought clarification that the matrix does not legally force line'item spending, whether Education Freedom Account expenditures are constrained by law and DESE rules (BLR said they are), and whether BLR can survey school board members and include homeschool and private school stakeholders (BLR said stakeholder selection is at the committee's discretion and offered to include board member surveys if the committee requests them).

The committee did not vote on statutory changes during the meeting; members agreed to remain engaged through the multi'month adequacy process and to provide recommendations to the chairs and BLR staff as needed prior to statutory deadlines.

Next steps: BLR to present topic'specific reports (funding/resource allocation, teacher salary, accountability) during the scheduled adequacy study sessions; committee members to submit recommended changes or data requests to chairs and staff for inclusion in the study and recommendations.