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HB0046 • 2020
Special education funding.
AN ACT relating to school finance; amending provisions governing special education funding; modifying an appropriation; and providing for effective dates.
Budget
Education
Did Not Pass
The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.
- Sponsor
- Education
- Last action
- 2020-03-04
- Official status
- inactive
- Effective date
- 3/1/2020
Plain English Breakdown
The bill did not pass, so there are no official rules or further details on how the funding would be managed.
Special Education Funding Act
This act modifies how special education funding is calculated and distributed in Wyoming's school finance system.
What This Bill Does
- Changes the way special education funds are provided to schools, ensuring that each district gets back what it spent on special education programs from the previous year.
- Limits the total amount of money reimbursed for special education statewide to not exceed the amount given in the 2018-2019 school year, unless necessary due to increased costs.
- Adds new funding specifically for out-of-district placements for special education students, totaling $6.2 million over two years.
Who It Names or Affects
- School districts in Wyoming
- Students with special needs who require out-of-district placements
Terms To Know
- Special education funding
- Money given to schools to help students with disabilities or other special needs.
- Education resource block grant model
- A system that provides funds to schools based on the number of students and their specific needs.
Limits and Unknowns
- The bill did not pass during its session.
- It limits statewide special education funding to previous levels unless costs increase significantly.
- Funding for out-of-district placements is set at a fixed amount over two years.
Amendments
These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.
Plain English: The amendment changes how special education funding is calculated and limits the total amount that can be reimbursed based on previous years' spending.
- Removes language about modifying an appropriation and replaces it with a requirement for rulemaking.
- Changes the formula for calculating special education funding to match actual expenditures from the previous school year as closely as possible.
- Limits the total amount that can be reimbursed in certain years based on the amount spent in 2018-2019, allowing for up to a one percent increase per year if needed.
- The amendment text does not provide details about how rulemaking will be conducted or what specific rules will be promulgated.
- It is unclear how the limitation on total reimbursement amounts will affect districts that have higher special education costs in subsequent years.
Plain English: The amendment changes how special education funding is calculated and appropriated, ensuring that districts receive full reimbursement for previous year's expenditures up to a certain limit, with additional rules and a new $2.5 million appropriation.
- Modifies the calculation of special education funding to ensure school districts are reimbursed at 100% of their actual expenses from the previous year, but caps this reimbursement based on prior years' amounts adjusted for inflation up to 1% annually.
- Adds a new $2.5 million appropriation specifically for special education programs and services, with rules governing its distribution over two school years (2020-2021 and 2021-2022).
- Requires the department of education to create rules for administering both the reimbursement calculation and the new $2.5 million appropriation.
- The amendment text does not specify how the cap on reimbursement will be adjusted if district expenditures exceed the inflation limit.
- It is unclear what happens to any unspent funds from the $2.5 million appropriation after June 30, 2022.
HB0046SS001
Standing Committee • Senate Education Committee
Adopted
Plain English: The amendment changes the amount of money allocated for special education funding in school districts.
- Changes the appropriation from two million dollars to one million three hundred eleven thousand seven hundred forty-nine dollars.
- Adds a new section appropriating six million two hundred thousand dollars for special education reimbursements during the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years.
- The amendment text does not provide details on how the funds will be distributed or used beyond the specified amounts and purposes.
HB0046SS002
Standing Committee • Senate Appropriations Committee
Withdrawn
Plain English: The amendment removes previous changes made by a Senate committee regarding special education funding.
- Removes the first Senate standing committee amendment (HB0046SS001/A) from multiple lines on pages 1, 3, and 4 of the bill.
- The exact nature of the previous amendments being removed is not specified in this text.
- Without knowing what those previous amendments were, it's unclear exactly how special education funding will be affected by this removal.
Bill History
-
2020-03-04
Senate
S COW:Failed 8-16-6-0-0
-
2020-03-04
Senate
S Placed on General File
-
2020-03-04
Senate
S02 - Appropriations:Recommend Amend and Do Pass 5-0-0-0-0
-
2020-02-26
Senate
Rerefer to S02 - Appropriations
-
2020-02-26
Senate
S04 - Education:Recommend Amend and Do Pass 5-0-0-0-0
-
2020-02-24
Senate
S Introduced and Referred to S04 - Education
-
2020-02-17
Senate
S Received for Introduction
-
2020-02-17
House
H 3rd Reading:Passed 42-16-2-0-0
-
2020-02-14
House
H 2nd Reading:Passed
-
2020-02-13
House
H COW:Passed
-
2020-02-12
House
H Placed on General File
-
2020-02-12
House
H02 - Appropriations:Recommend Do Pass 7-0-0-0-0
-
2020-02-11
House
:Rerefer to H02 - Appropriations
-
2020-02-11
House
H04 - Education:Recommend Do Pass 9-0-0-0-0
-
2020-02-10
House
H Introduced and Referred to H04 - Education 45-14-1-0-0
-
2020-02-07
House
H Received for Introduction
-
2020-01-13
LSO
Bill Number Assigned
Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
20LSO-0103
2020
STATE OF WYOMING
20LSO-0103
Introduced
2.0
HOUSE BILL NO. HB0046
Special education funding.
Sponsored by: Joint Education Interim Committee
A BILL
for
AN ACT relating to school finance; amending provisions governing special education funding; modifying an appropriation; and providing for effective dates.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1.
W.S. 21
‑
13
‑
321(b) is amended to read:
21
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13
‑
321.
Special education; amount within foundation program formula for special education programs and services; district reporting requirements.
(b)
The amount provided for special education within the education resource block grant model pursuant to W.S. 21
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13
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309(m)(v)(E)(II) shall be equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the amount actually expended by the district during the previous school year for special education programs and services.
The statewide total amount reimbursed under this section in school year 2019
‑
2020 or 2020
‑
2021 shall not exceed the statewide total amount reimbursed under this section in school year 2018
‑
2019, notwithstanding any additional appropriation for that purpose by the legislature.
Section 2.
2018 Wyoming Session Laws, Chapter 137, Section 6(a) is amended to read:
Section 6.
(a)
In addition to all other appropriations for special education programs and services, two million dollars ($2,000,000.00) is appropriated to the department of education from the school foundation program account for purposes of making
payments to school districts for out of district placements for special education students. For purposes of distribution under this section, out of district placement costs shall be calculated in accordance with W.S. 21
‑
13
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321, but funds appropriated under this
section shall be distributed to school districts pursuant to rules promulgated under this section for
the
school year
2019
‑
2020
.
and 2020
‑
2021 school years.
The funds appropriated under this section shall therefore not be subject to the limitation of W.S. 21
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13
‑
321(b), and shall not be included for purposes of calculating the statewide reimbursement amount calculated for purposes of W.S. 21
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13
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321(b). Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this appropriation shall not be transferred or expended for any other purpose and any unexpended, unobligated funds remaining from this appropriation shall revert to the school foundation program account on
June 30, 2021
June 30, 2020
.
Section 3.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, this act is effective July 1, 2020.
(b) Sections 2 and 3 of this act are effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.
(END)
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HB0046