SB19-246 Summary

• Sets statewide base per pupil funding at $6,951.53 for the 2019-20 budget year, with minimum total program funding for all districts at $7,389,818,526.

• Appropriates $20 million for rural school funding, with 55% for large rural districts and 45% for small rural districts, distributed per pupil to improve student learning and educator recruitment/retention.

• Creates ninth grade success grant program providing up to $800,000 annually to schools implementing cross-disciplinary success teams, data systems, and interventions targeting at-risk ninth-grade students.

• Establishes comprehensive quality physical education instruction pilot program, awarding grants up to $3 million annually to up to 15 schools for three-year implementation requiring 150 minutes weekly for elementary and 225 minutes for middle school students.

• Appropriates $22 million total for special education programs and transfers $40.3 million from general fund to state education fund for school finance improvements.