HB 22-1186: School Funding Adjustments for 2021-22

• Adjusts Colorado school funding for the 2021-22 budget year to account for lower-than-expected pupil enrollment and at-risk pupil counts, reducing total program funding by $67,976,234 before budget stabilization.

• Increases the minimum total program funding threshold for the 2021-22 budget year from $7,988,527,711 to $7,988,675,434 to maintain the original appropriation despite lower actual local property tax revenues being $139,565,749 higher than anticipated.

• Creates new section 22-54-144 to distribute $91,433,760 in additional at-risk funding to school districts and institute charter schools to offset funding reductions caused by reduced identification of at-risk pupils due to universal free school meals availability.

• Requires the department to calculate and distribute additional funding based on the difference between districts' 2021-22 actual funding and their "recalculated" funding using 2019-20 direct-certified pupil percentages and free/reduced lunch ratios.

• Appropriates $91,433,760 from the State Education Fund for the additional at-risk distributions, with the new funding provision set to expire July 1, 2023.