Alabama 2025 Regular Session

Alabama House Bill HB558 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	HB558INTRODUCED
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3	3	HB558
4	4	843TIH2-1
5	5	By Representative Garrett
6	6	RFD: Ways and Means Education
7	7	First Read: 10-Apr-25
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12	12	5 843TIH2-1 04/10/2025 evp (L)evp 2025-1631
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14	14	First Read: 10-Apr-25
15	15	SYNOPSIS:
16	16	This bill would enact the Renewing Alabama's
17	17	Investment in Student Excellence (RAISE) Act to
18	18	establish a process to provide additional funding for
19	19	public K-12 schools for the purpose of addressing the
20	20	educational needs of the student population and
21	21	improving educational outcomes.
22	22	This bill would also require the State
23	23	Department of Education to develop a unified system
24	24	that streamlines applications and reporting for all
25	25	state and federal funding programs away from multiple
26	26	plans and reports into a single application.
27	27	A BILL
28	28	TO BE ENTITLED
29	29	AN ACT
30	30	Relating to the funding of public K-12 education; to
31	31	add Article 16 to Chapter 13 of Title 16, commencing with
32	32	Section 16-13-360, to the Code of Alabama 1975; to create the
33	33	Renewing Alabama's Investment in Student Excellence (RAISE)
34	34	Act; to establish a process to provide additional funding for
35	35	public K-12 schools for the purpose of addressing the
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65	65	public K-12 schools for the purpose of addressing the
66	66	educational needs of the student population and improving
67	67	outcomes; to establish the Renewing Alabama's Investment in
68	68	Student Excellence (RAISE) Fund and provide for its funding
69	69	and appropriation; to require reporting of student data by
70	70	local education agencies; to establish priorities for use of
71	71	the additional funding; to establish goals for student
72	72	achievement; to require accountability reports on the
73	73	expenditure and use of the additional funding through the
74	74	Renewing Alabama's Investment in Student Excellence (RAISE)
75	75	Fund; to establish a review committee on the Renewing
76	76	Alabama's Investment in Student Excellence (RAISE) Act to
77	77	identify needed revisions for continued improvement; to
78	78	establish an accountability review board to review
79	79	accountability reports and progress in achieving student
80	80	achievement goals; and to require the State Department of
81	81	Education to develop a unified system that streamlines
82	82	applications and reporting for all state and federal funding
83	83	programs.
84	84	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
85	85	Section 1. Article 16 is added to Chapter 13 of Title
86	86	16, Code of Alabama 1975, commencing with Section 16-13-360,
87	87	to read as follows:
88	88	§16-13-360
89	89	This act shall be known and may be cited as the
90	90	Renewing Alabama's Investment in Student Excellence (RAISE)
91	91	Act.
92	92	§16-13-361
93	93	For purposes of this act, the following terms have the
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123	123	For purposes of this act, the following terms have the
124	124	following meanings:
125	125	(1) AVERAGE DAILY MEMBERSHIP (ADM). Average enrollment
126	126	from the first 20 days of school after Labor Day of the
127	127	preceding year.
128	128	(2) BASE FUNDING FACTOR. The sum certified by the
129	129	Legislative Fiscal Officer prior to October 1 of each fiscal
130	130	year beginning with the 2025-2026 fiscal year and calculated
131	131	by dividing the total state and local cost of the Foundation
132	132	Program by the average daily membership for the immediately
133	133	preceding fiscal year, using the Foundation Program State
134	134	Allocation report for the enacted Education Trust Fund
135	135	appropriations act.
136	136	(3) CHARTER SCHOOL. A public charter school as defined
137	137	in Section 16-6F-4.
138	138	(4) COMMISSION. The Alabama Commission for Evaluation
139	139	of Services (ACES).
140	140	(5) CONCENTRATED ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS. A large
141	141	percentage of students in a local education agency having been
142	142	identified as English Language Learners.
143	143	(6) DEPARTMENT. The State Department of Education.
144	144	(7) DIRECT CERTIFICATION. A student that is homeless,
145	145	foster, runaway, or eligible for free or reduced-price school
146	146	meals or milk through the direct certification eligibility
147	147	guidelines established pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1751-1769. If
148	148	changes in the direct certification program occur, the
149	149	department may recommend alternative measures that could be
150	150	utilized in its place.
151	151	(8) ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER (ELL). A student
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181	181	(8) ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER (ELL). A student
182	182	identified in accordance with federal or state law as entitled
183	183	to receive English as a second language or bilingual services
184	184	on the basis of the student's English language proficiency.
185	185	(9) FOUNDATION PROGRAM. The program established in
186	186	Article 11 of Chapter 13 to provide the basic funding support
187	187	for public K-12 schools.
188	188	(10) GIFTED STUDENT. A student who gives evidence of
189	189	high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual,
190	190	creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific
191	191	academic fields, and who needs services or activities not
192	192	ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop
193	193	those capabilities.
194	194	(11) LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCY (LEA). A county board of
195	195	education, city board of education, or charter school.
196	196	(12) PUBLIC SCHOOL. A school within an LEA providing
197	197	instruction in grades K-12 that is supported by public funds.
198	198	(13) RENEWING ALABAMA'S INVESTMENT IN STUDENT
199	199	EXCELLENCE FUND (RAISE FUND). The fund established by this act
200	200	to provide additional funding to local education agencies to
201	201	address the educational needs of students in public K-12
202	202	schools.
203	203	(14) RAISE ACT REVIEW COMMITTEE. The committee
204	204	established in Section 16-13-366 to determine the
205	205	effectiveness of the RAISE Act program and any needed
206	206	revisions for continuous improvement.
207	207	(15) RAISE ACT ACCOUNTABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION BOARD.
208	208	The board established in Section 16-13-367 to monitor the
209	209	progress of LEAs and schools in reaching their goals of
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239	239	progress of LEAs and schools in reaching their goals of
240	240	achievement and to ensure that RAISE Act funds are spent
241	241	effectively.
242	242	(16) SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENT. A child who has been
243	243	identified with at least one of the specifically defined
244	244	physical, emotional, learning, or cognitive disabilities and
245	245	is identified for special education services under the
246	246	Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 20 U.S.C. § 1400
247	247	et seq, or as otherwise defined in state law.
248	248	(17) STATE BOARD. The State Board of Education.
249	249	(18) STATE SUPERINTENDENT. The State Superintendent of
250	250	Education.
251	251	(19) UNIFIED APPLICATION. A system that aligns policy
252	252	priorities, planning, and budgeting for LEAs in one
253	253	application and streamlines applications and reporting for all
254	254	state and federal funding programs.
255	255	(20) WEIGHTED ALLOCATION. Additional funding from the
256	256	RAISE Fund for each qualifying student using the most recent
257	257	available data, and which shall be calculated by multiplying
258	258	the percentage for each weighted allocation by the base
259	259	funding factor.
260	260	§16-13-362
261	261	(a) There is established a fund in the State Treasury
262	262	for the public schools of this state which shall be known as
263	263	the Renewing Alabama's Investment in Student Excellence
264	264	(RAISE) Fund. The fund shall be used to provide additional
265	265	funding for public schools for the purpose of addressing the
266	266	educational needs of the student population and improving
267	267	student outcomes as provided in this article. The fund shall
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297	297	student outcomes as provided in this article. The fund shall
298	298	be comprised of all funds appropriated from the Education
299	299	Trust Fund or allocated by the Legislature from other funds
300	300	for the purposes of this act. The Legislature shall
301	301	appropriate or allocate to this fund amounts sufficient to
302	302	sustain the operation of the RAISE Act program. All funds
303	303	received by the RAISE Fund shall remain in the fund and not
304	304	revert or be expended for any other purpose other than those
305	305	set out in this act.
306	306	(b) The fund shall be administered and distributed in
307	307	accordance with this act and the provisions of the annual
308	308	Education Trust Fund appropriations act. The additional
309	309	funding appropriated pursuant to this act is subject to and
310	310	shall be allocated only in accordance with funding as provided
311	311	by the Legislature in the annual Education Trust Fund
312	312	appropriations act or other legislative act and shall be
313	313	budgeted and allotted in accordance with Sections 41-4-80
314	314	through 41-4-96 and Sections 41-19-1 through 41-19-12. Any
315	315	monetary interest that accrues to the RAISE Fund shall be
316	316	retained in the fund from year to year and shall be subject
317	317	only to this act.
318	318	(c) Any LEA as defined in this act shall be eligible to
319	319	receive an allocation from the RAISE Fund, subject to the
320	320	following conditions:
321	321	(1) The LEA provides the data required in Section
322	322	16-13-363.
323	323	(2) The LEA provides the accountability reports
324	324	required by Section 16-13-365.
325	325	(3) The LEA ensures that all funds received from the
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355	355	(3) The LEA ensures that all funds received from the
356	356	RAISE Fund are used to serve the student groups that generated
357	357	the funds under Section 16-13-364.
358	358	(4) The LEA submits the unified application, including
359	359	data and accountability reports through the unified
360	360	application for the 2028-2029 school year, as required in
361	361	Section 16-13-368.
362	362	§16-13-363
363	363	(a) The department shall implement this act commencing
364	364	with the 2025-2026 school year contingent upon additional
365	365	funding being appropriated by the Legislature for such
366	366	purpose.
367	367	(b) The funding described in this act shall be
368	368	allocated in accordance with this act and rules adopted by the
369	369	state board.
370	370	(c) On or before July 1, 2025, and each June 1
371	371	thereafter until the unified application created pursuant to
372	372	Section 16-13-368 is implemented, the department shall create
373	373	and publish a RAISE guide outlining the department's
374	374	procedures for administering this act. At a minimum, the RAISE
375	375	guide shall do the following:
376	376	(1) Identify the data the department must receive from
377	377	each LEA for purposes of administering this act.
378	378	(2) Explain how and when the data identified in
379	379	subdivision (1) shall be submitted to the department.
380	380	(d) The department shall create or procure, and make
381	381	available no later than January 1, 2027, and at no cost to
382	382	participants, a professional learning series on the RAISE Act
383	383	and RAISE guide. The series must include, at a minimum, an
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413	413	and RAISE guide. The series must include, at a minimum, an
414	414	overview of RAISE, RAISE logistics and data, the investments
415	415	that will increase student achievement of the student group
416	416	generating weighted allocations through the RAISE Fund, and
417	417	how to budget the additional funding provided by the RAISE
418	418	Fund for the specific purposes outlined in the annual
419	419	Education Trust Fund appropriations act. LEA employees that
420	420	are involved in budgeting at the school and system level, such
421	421	as superintendents, assistant superintendents, chief school
422	422	finance officers, other school business officers, and
423	423	principals of schools, including leaders from public charter
424	424	schools, shall be required to participate in the RAISE
425	425	professional learning series. The department shall also make
426	426	the professional learning series on the RAISE Act available to
427	427	other education leaders and LEA employees upon their request.
428	428	(e) A professional learning series created or procured
429	429	pursuant to this section may be provided to participants
430	430	virtually or in person at the discretion of the department.
431	431	The department shall make all instructional materials used as
432	432	part of the series publicly available on the department's
433	433	website.
434	434	(f) For the 2028-2029 school year, the professional
435	435	learning series on the RAISE Act and the RAISE guide shall be
436	436	incorporated into the professional learning series on the
437	437	unified application created pursuant to Section 16-13-368.
438	438	§16-13-364
439	439	(a)(1) DETERMINING THE ANNUAL COST OF THE RAISE
440	440	PROGRAM. Subject to available funding for the RAISE Fund for
441	441	any fiscal year of the state, the RAISE Fund weighted
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471	471	any fiscal year of the state, the RAISE Fund weighted
472	472	allocations for each qualifying student group shall be
473	473	established in the annual Education Trust Fund appropriations
474	474	act for that fiscal year and shall include weights for:
475	475	a. Poverty;
476	476	b. Special Education;
477	477	c. English Language Learners;
478	478	d. Charter school students;
479	479	e. Gifted students; and
480	480	f. Other student groups as deemed necessary.
481	481	(2) The amount of funds determined necessary and
482	482	available to provide the weighted allocations shall be
483	483	appropriated from the RAISE Fund by the Legislature in the
484	484	annual Education Trust Fund appropriations act.
485	485	(3) The weighted percentages established in this
486	486	subsection may grow over time, as funding allows and
487	487	determined necessary, but not to exceed the maximum weighted
488	488	percentages established in this section.
489	489	(4) The weighted allocation for each qualifying student
490	490	shall be calculated by multiplying the percentage for each
491	491	weighted allocation by the base funding factor. LEAs will
492	492	receive weighted allocations for each qualifying student in
493	493	each student group.
494	494	(5) It is the intent of the Legislature that LEAs are
495	495	given flexibility in spending decisions when serving the needs
496	496	of the student groups that generated the funds.
497	497	(b) The weighted allocations for each qualifying
498	498	student shall be established as follows:
499	499	(1) A student who is identified through direct
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529	529	(1) A student who is identified through direct
530	530	certification shall generate weighted allocations for poverty
531	531	up to 20 percent.
532	532	(2) A student who is identified for special education
533	533	services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
534	534	20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq. shall generate a weight based on any
535	535	exceptionality identified in their Individual Education Plan
536	536	(IEP). Three tiers shall be established in the annual
537	537	Education Trust Fund appropriations act, with input from the
538	538	department, based on the additional resources required to
539	539	support students in each special education tier. A student
540	540	shall generate a weighted allocation for each tier as follows:
541	541	a. The weighted allocation for a Tier I is within a
542	542	range of up to 25 percent.
543	543	b. The weighted allocation for a Tier II is within a
544	544	range of up to 50 percent.
545	545	c. The weighted allocation for a Tier III is within a
546	546	range of up to 150 percent.
547	547	(3) A student who is identified as an English Language
548	548	Learner (ELL) shall generate weighted allocations of up to 15
549	549	percent. An LEA shall generate an additional weighted
550	550	allocation for concentrated ELL within a range of up to five
551	551	percent for school districts where the percentage of ELL
552	552	students enrolled is over a level specified in the Education
553	553	Trust Fund appropriations act.
554	554	(4) An LEA shall generate a gifted student weighted
555	555	allocation within a range of up to five percent, with an
556	556	assumption that five percent of its ADM is made up of gifted
557	557	students. The LEA may use these funds for any gifted or
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587	587	students. The LEA may use these funds for any gifted or
588	588	enrichment program for students who give evidence of high
589	589	achievement capability.
590	590	(5) A student at a public charter school shall generate
591	591	a weighted allocation within a range of up to 10 percent. This
592	592	weighted allocation shall only be allocated to charter schools
593	593	that are physically located in a county or city school system
594	594	that receives local funding from all revenue sources exceeding
595	595	the value of 10 mills of ad valorem taxes for that county or
596	596	city school system.
597	597	(c) A student shall generate funding for each weight
598	598	for which that student qualifies.
599	599	(d) Funding allocations made pursuant to this section
600	600	are based on data collected for an LEA during the immediately
601	601	preceding school year and reported to the department pursuant
602	602	to Section 16-13-363.
603	603	(e) When making future funding decisions, priority
604	604	shall be given to the special education weight in order to
605	605	meet the federal maintenance of effort requirements under the
606	606	Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 20 U.S.C. § 1400
607	607	et seq.
608	608	§16-13-365
609	609	(a) Each local education agency shall produce an
610	610	accountability application and report that:
611	611	(1) Establishes goals for the achievement of qualifying
612	612	students in weighted categories. These goals shall be in
613	613	alignment with the student achievement goals established in
614	614	Alabama's plan under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) or
615	615	its successors, and guidance provided by the department.
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645	645	its successors, and guidance provided by the department.
646	646	(2) Describes the LEA's planned expenditures at the
647	647	district and school level for student groups receiving
648	648	weighted allocations through the RAISE Fund.
649	649	(3) Provides a reflection on the previous year’s
650	650	progress on student groups receiving weighted allocations
651	651	through the RAISE Fund and any needed revisions to spending.
652	652	This will begin for the Fiscal Year 2027 budget.
653	653	(b) The report required by this section must be
654	654	submitted to the department by November 1, 2026, and each
655	655	November 1 thereafter until the unified application created
656	656	pursuant to Section 16-13-368 is implemented. Beginning no
657	657	later than the 2028-2029 school year, the report shall be
658	658	submitted using the unified application created pursuant to
659	659	Section 16-13-368. Prior to the unified system and application
660	660	becoming available, the State Department of Education shall
661	661	provide an accountability application and report format for
662	662	LEAs to submit information outlined in this section.
663	663	(c) The State Department of Education shall add a
664	664	section to the Education Report Card website established
665	665	pursuant to Chapter 6C where additional funding for each
666	666	student group that receives a weighted allocation through the
667	667	RAISE Fund is reported alongside the academic outcomes of
668	668	students from those groups on state summative assessments.
669	669	This section shall be added to the Education Report Cards for
670	670	the state, every LEA, and every school. The following should
671	671	be reported:
672	672	(1) Academic outcomes shall be disaggregated and
673	673	include both academic achievement and growth on state
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703	703	include both academic achievement and growth on state
704	704	summative assessments.
705	705	(2) Total and per-pupil funding disaggregated by each
706	706	student group that receives a weighted allocation through the
707	707	RAISE Act.
708	708	§16-13-366
709	709	(a) By January 1, 2028, the Legislature shall establish
710	710	the RAISE Act Review Committee to review the overall progress
711	711	of the RAISE Act and make recommendations for continuous
712	712	improvement.
713	713	(b) The committee shall be led by the Chair of the
714	714	Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee and the Chair
715	715	of the House Ways and Means Education Committee.
716	716	(c) The membership of the committee shall include the
717	717	following:
718	718	(1) The Governor, or his or her designee.
719	719	(2) The State Superintendent of Education, or his or
720	720	her designee.
721	721	(3) The Director of Finance, or his or her designee;
722	722	(4) The Chair of the Senate Finance and Taxation
723	723	Education Committee.
724	724	(5) The Chair of the House Ways and Means Education
725	725	Committee.
726	726	(6) The Chair of the Senate Education Policy Committee.
727	727	(7) The Chair of the House Education Policy Committee.
728	728	(8) One member of the Senate, appointed by the
729	729	President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
730	730	(9) One member of the Senate, appointed by the Minority
731	731	Leader of the Senate.
732	732	337
733	733	338
734	734	339
735	735	340
736	736	341
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759	759	364 HB558 INTRODUCED
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761	761	Leader of the Senate.
762	762	(10) One member of the House of Representatives,
763	763	appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
764	764	(11) One member of the House of Representatives,
765	765	appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of
766	766	Representatives.
767	767	(d) The RAISE Act Review Committee shall meet at least
768	768	one time per year before November 1 and shall regularly review
769	769	the RAISE base funding factor and weighted allocations, review
770	770	the academic data from each student group targeted through
771	771	weighted allocations at the state and LEA levels to determine
772	772	the effectiveness of the RAISE program, and identify any
773	773	needed revisions for continuous improvement to the RAISE Act.
774	774	(e) The RAISE Act Review Committee shall prepare an
775	775	annual report on the RAISE Act and shall provide the report,
776	776	on or before November 1 of each year, to the Governor, the
777	777	State Board of Education, the Senate Finance and Taxation
778	778	Education Committee, the House Ways and Means Education
779	779	Committee, the Senate Education Policy Committee, and the
780	780	House Education Policy Committee, and the public. The report
781	781	must include a review of academic achievement and growth data
782	782	from each student group targeted through weighted allocations
783	783	at the state and LEA levels and recommendations on needed
784	784	revisions to the RAISE Act. ACES may provide research and
785	785	analysis to support the work of the committee.
786	786	§16-13-367
787	787	(a) By July 1, 2028, the Legislature shall establish
788	788	the RAISE Act Accountability and Implementation Board to
789	789	establish a hearing process to monitor the progress of LEAs
790	790	365
791	791	366
792	792	367
793	793	368
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819	819	establish a hearing process to monitor the progress of LEAs
820	820	and schools to ensure that RAISE Act funds are spent
821	821	effectively and hold them accountable for results.
822	822	(b) The RAISE Act Accountability and Implementation
823	823	Board shall be led by the Chair of the Senate Finance and
824	824	Taxation Education Committee and the Chair of the House Ways
825	825	and Means Education Committee.
826	826	(c) The membership of the RAISE Act Accountability and
827	827	Implementation Board shall include the following:
828	828	(1) The Governor, or his or her designee.
829	829	(2) The State Superintendent of Education.
830	830	(3) The Chair of the Senate Finance and Taxation
831	831	Education Committee.
832	832	(4) The Chair of the House Ways and Means Education
833	833	Committee.
834	834	(5) The Chair of the Senate Education Policy Committee.
835	835	(6) The Chair of the House Education Policy Committee.
836	836	(7) One member with school turnaround experience and/or
837	837	education policy experience appointed by the President Pro
838	838	Tempore of the Senate.
839	839	(8) One member with school turnaround experience and/or
840	840	education policy experience appointed by the Minority Leader
841	841	of the Senate.
842	842	(9) One member with school turnaround experience and/or
843	843	education policy experience appointed by the Speaker of the
844	844	House of Representatives.
845	845	(10) One member with school turnaround experience
846	846	and/or education policy experience appointed by the Minority
847	847	Leader of the House of Representatives.
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877	877	Leader of the House of Representatives.
878	878	(11) Two members of the Office of School Improvement
879	879	team appointed by the State Superintendent.
880	880	(12) One member with experience in the charter school
881	881	sector appointed by the Governor.
882	882	(13) Two members with school turnaround experience
883	883	and/or education policy experience appointed by the Governor.
884	884	(d) If a member no longer meets the qualifications for
885	885	the member's position on the board, then the member's position
886	886	on the board is vacated and replaced by the appropriate
887	887	appointing authority.
888	888	(e) With the support of the department, the board shall
889	889	annually monitor progress of LEAs and schools, and review
890	890	provide feedback on accountability application and reports
891	891	submitted pursuant to Section 16-13-365.
892	892	(f) The department shall propose a hearing process to
893	893	determine if RAISE Act funds are being used by LEAs to
894	894	adequately improve student outcomes for student groups
895	895	identified in this act. The hearing proposal shall include the
896	896	process, timeline, and metrics used to determine adequate
897	897	progress of LEAs. The RAISE Act Accountability and
898	898	Implementation Board shall approve or amend the proposed
899	899	hearing process.
900	900	(g) At the end of a five-year period, the department
901	901	shall identify LEAs, or individual schools under the
902	902	jurisdiction of the LEA, that have not made adequate progress
903	903	in reaching the goals of achievement established pursuant to
904	904	Section 16-13-365, and shall recommend them for a hearing
905	905	before the RAISE Act Accountability and Implementation Board.
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933	933	448 HB558 INTRODUCED
934	934	Page 17
935	935	before the RAISE Act Accountability and Implementation Board.
936	936	The RAISE Act Accountability and Implementation Board shall
937	937	approve or amend the department’s recommendations. With the
938	938	support of the department, the RAISE Act Accountability and
939	939	Implementation Board may then hold the hearings.
940	940	(f) Following any hearings, the department shall
941	941	recommend corrective action for LEAs or individual schools
942	942	under the jurisdiction of the LEAs. The RAISE Act
943	943	Accountability and Implementation Board shall approve or amend
944	944	any proposed corrective action. Corrective action may include,
945	945	but not be limited to, the loss of autonomy to make budgeting
946	946	decisions with RAISE Fund allocations; state academic
947	947	intervention; and/or other relevant academic interventions,
948	948	such as those included in the Alabama Numeracy Act in Section
949	949	16-6H-12.
950	950	§16-13-368
951	951	(a) The State Department of Education shall develop,
952	952	with the support of an external partner with expertise in
953	953	streamlining state and federal funding, a unified system and
954	954	application that aligns policy priorities, planning, and
955	955	budgeting in one application. The unified system shall
956	956	streamline applications and reporting for all state and
957	957	federal funding programs away from multiple plans,
958	958	applications, budgets, and reports into a single application.
959	959	The unified system and application shall be operational for
960	960	the 2028-2029 budget cycle.
961	961	(b) In implementing the unified application, the
962	962	department shall do all of the following:
963	963	(1) Set state priorities for funding that focus on
964	964	449
965	965	450
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993	993	(1) Set state priorities for funding that focus on
994	994	achieving key improvements for students and student outcomes.
995	995	(2) Align grants to support each spending priority,
996	996	maximize dollars leveraged for student outcomes, and eliminate
997	997	redundancies.
998	998	(3) Design an application process that meets state and
999	999	federal compliance requirements and ensures spending is
1000	1000	aligned with state priorities.
1001	1001	(4) Support districts to build a strong plan for
1002	1002	student learning and federal grant spending and articulate
1003	1003	adequate achievement and growth goals for students.
1004	1004	(5) Review applications against a set of criteria for
1005	1005	plan approval and discretionary awards.
1006	1006	(6) Approve and allocate funding that supports a clear
1007	1007	set of plans to support student achievement.
1008	1008	(c) As part of the development of the unified
1009	1009	application, the State Superintendent, with the support of an
1010	1010	external partner, shall conduct an audit to identify
1011	1011	out-of-date, unnecessary, or otherwise burdensome state laws,
1012	1012	regulations, reporting requirements, and processes that apply
1013	1013	to public schools. The audit shall include considerations and
1014	1014	recommendations from school and system leaders, educators,
1015	1015	advocates, and families. The State Superintendent shall file a
1016	1016	report with the Governor and Legislature by November 1, 2026,
1017	1017	outlining the findings of the review and recommendations for
1018	1018	corrective actions, including executive orders, statutory
1019	1019	changes, or regulatory reforms to empower schools, reduce
1020	1020	bureaucracy, and improve student achievement.
1021	1021	(d) Beginning June 1, 2025, the department shall
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1051	1051	(d) Beginning June 1, 2025, the department shall
1052	1052	complete the following actions:
1053	1053	(1) Hire an external partner to support audit and
1054	1054	development of the uniform application.
1055	1055	(2) Launch the audit established in subsection (c) and
1056	1056	the development of the uniform application.
1057	1057	(e) During the 2027-2028 school year, the department
1058	1058	shall complete the following actions:
1059	1059	(1) Complete the development of the unified application
1060	1060	no later than February 2028, to allow districts to be able to
1061	1061	use the unified application for strategic and financial
1062	1062	planning for the 2028-2029 school year.
1063	1063	(2) Develop and launch professional learning about the
1064	1064	unified application no later than February 2028.
1065	1065	(f) LEAs shall use the unified application to plan
1066	1066	their district's budget beginning with the 2028-2029 school
1067	1067	year.
1068	1068	Section 2. This act shall become effective on June 1,
1069	1069	2025.
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