URGES-MCAT FUNDING

Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HR0742

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Full Text of HR0742

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HR0742 - 104th General Assembly

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HR0742
LRB104 20802 RMO 34330 r
1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

2

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois adopted the Evidence-Based
3
Funding (EBF) model to equitably distribute state education
4
dollars to school districts most in need, while protecting all
5
districts through a hold-harmless provision; and

6

WHEREAS, Mandated Categorical (MCAT) funding is separate
7
from the EBF model and does not include a hold-harmless
8
provision, despite funding a portion of state-mandated local
9
costs; and

10

WHEREAS, For many school districts, MCAT funding
11
represents the single largest source of state funding; and

12

WHEREAS, MCAT funding supports six critical areas of
13
state-mandated services, including special education private
14
tuition, special education transportation, regular and
15
vocational transportation, special education orphanage,
16
regular education orphanage, and free lunch and breakfast
17
programs; and

18

WHEREAS, As EBF appropriations have remained constant over
19
time, the percentage paid to districts for MCAT reimbursements
20
has steadily declined in the last four fiscal years, resulting
21
in significant underfunding of mandated services; and

HR0742
- 2 -
LRB104 20802 RMO 34330 r
1

WHEREAS, The continued underfunding of MCAT reimbursements
2
has significantly shifted the State's financial responsibility
3
for mandated services onto local school districts, requiring
4
districts to absorb costs that were intended to be shared with
5
the State; and

6

WHEREAS, This cost shift has resulted in an effective
7
reduction in overall state support for many Illinois school
8
districts; and

9

WHEREAS, Reductions in Mandated Categorical funding
10
undermine the intended equity impacts of Evidence-Based
11
Funding, as Tier 1 districts have been forced to redirect
12
significant portions of new EBF dollars to backfill MCAT
13
reductions, thereby diminishing the positive benefits of EBF;
14
and

15

WHEREAS, Persistent underfunding of MCAT forces districts
16
to rely more heavily on locally generated revenue,
17
particularly property taxes, to cover transportation and other
18
ancillary service costs; therefore, be it

19

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
20
HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
21
we urge the General Assembly and the Governor to restore full

HR0742
- 3 -
LRB104 20802 RMO 34330 r
1
and sustainable funding for Mandated Categoricals, ensuring
2
the State meets its statutory obligations without shifting
3
costs to local taxpayers; and be it further

4

RESOLVED, That we urge the State to provide greater
5
transparency and predictability in MCAT funding levels,
6
including consideration of hold-harmless protections similar
7
to those provided under the EBF model; and be it further

8

RESOLVED, That we urge all future education funding
9
discussions to account for the cumulative impact of
10
underfunded categoricals, particularly transportation and
11
special education costs borne disproportionately by districts;
12
and be it further

13

RESOLVED, That we encourage all school districts to
14
respectfully urge legislators to ensure that EBF in
15
conjunction with MCATs ensure an equitable approach to
16
education funding, one that recognizes both varying levels of
17
student need and the State's obligation to fully fund mandated
18
categorical programs.

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