HB 1648 Summary

• Appropriates $2,063,451,468.00 in state general funds for K-12 education and related activities for fiscal year 2014 (July 1, 2013 - June 30, 2014), including $1,852,648,361.00 for the Mississippi Adequate Education Program.

• Appropriates $1,162,103,703.00 in special funds from various state accounts to the State Board of Education, State Department of Education, Vocational and Technical Education Division, and Schools for the Blind and Deaf.

• Establishes base student cost for the Mississippi Adequate Education Program at $5,103.99 and authorizes up to $50,000,000 from the Interim School District Capital Expenditure Fund for school district capital facilities and buses.

• Authorizes personnel positions across education agencies: 396 permanent full-time and 100 time-limited full-time positions for State Department of Education (excluding vocational-technical); 52 permanent full-time positions for Vocational and Technical Education Division; and 180 permanent full-time positions for Schools for the Blind and Deaf.

• Includes funding allocations for specific programs including National Board Certification ($22,600,000), Teach for America ($6,000,000), Early Childhood Education Initiative ($3,000,000), and various other educational initiatives including literacy, technology, and school nurse programs.