SB 1495 Summary

• Establishes a new state student funding formula (section 15-901.04) for school districts that elect to use it and all charter schools, replacing the standard school finance formula with specified per-student amounts of $2,025.29 (K-8) and $2,360.44 (9-12).

• Allows school districts without bond debt or with four or fewer remaining years of bond payments to elect the state student funding formula through governing board vote or voter election, with restrictions on using other property tax funding sources if they opt in.

• Permits school districts using the state student funding formula to revert to the standard school finance formula only through voter election, and prohibits combining opt-out questions with override or bond questions on the same ballot.

• Updates charter school funding to use the state student funding formula instead of calculating separate charter additional assistance amounts, and modifies the Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Account calculation to reference the new formula.

• Sets specific qualifying tax rates for school districts using the state student funding formula in tax year 2023 ($2.0559 for high school districts and $4.1119 for unified districts).