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Regular Session, 2014
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 220
BY REPRESENTATIVE PRICE
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to reconvene
a minimum foundation program (MFP) task force to determine the actual cost of
providing public education in Louisiana and identify all potential funding
mechanisms to enable school systems to meet this cost and to submit a written report
of findings and recommendations to the House Committee on Education not later
than February 1, 2015.
WHEREAS, the Constitution of Louisiana requires that the legislature provide for
the education of the people of the state and further requires that the legislature establish and
maintain a public education system; and
WHEREAS, the Constitution of Louisiana further provides that it is the goal of the
public education system to provide learning environments and experiences at all stages of
human development that are humane, just, and designed to promote excellence in order that
every individual may be afforded an equal opportunity to develop to his full potential; and
WHEREAS, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) has
the constitutional responsibility of annually developing, adopting, and submitting to the
legislature for its approval and funding a formula to be used to determine the cost of a
minimum foundation program of education in all public elementary and secondary schools
as well as to equitably allocate the funds to local school systems; and
WHEREAS, the constitution provides that the legislature may not amend the formula
that is adopted by the board and submitted to the legislature for its consideration but may
only return an unsatisfactory formula to the board along with recommendations to the board
for an amended formula; and ENROLLEDHR NO. 220
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WHEREAS, for the purpose of providing BESE with advisory recommendations for
the MFP formula for 2014-2015 and beyond, BESE formed an MFP task force that met from
September of 2013 through January of 2014; and
WHEREAS, on January 6, 2014, the task force held its final meeting and adopted
several recommendations, including a 2.75 percent rate increase in 2014-2015 base per pupil
amount funding, additional funding for career education and special education, expanded
course opportunities, a technology readiness overview for each school district, and a study
of the MFP formula by financial and policy experts in order to restructure it for greater
clarity, accountability, efficiency, and effectiveness; and
WHEREAS, there is concern among some education stakeholders that the task force
did not successfully determine the actual cost of educating Louisiana's students, and they
have expressed that this determination is an essential part of ensuring that the MFP formula
meets the needs of students and the school systems that educate them and is a question that
warrants further study; and
WHEREAS, in order to fulfill the state's constitutional duty of affording every
student an equal opportunity to develop to his full potential, it is imperative that there be
continued study of certain issues relative to the minimum foundation program formula so
that determinations can be made as to how the state can best provide experiences and
opportunities to students that help them succeed in all aspects of life.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the State Board of Elementary and
Secondary Education to reconvene a minimum foundation program (MFP) task force to
determine the actual cost of providing public education in Louisiana and identify all
potential funding mechanisms to enable school systems to meet this cost and to submit a
written report of findings and recommendations to the House Committee on Education not
later February 1, 2015.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the membership of the task force include but not
be limited to individuals representing BESE, the state Department of Education, the
Louisiana School Boards Association, the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents,
the Louisiana Association of School Business Officers, Council for a Better Louisiana, the
Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, the Louisiana Association of Public Charter ENROLLEDHR NO. 220
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Schools, the Louisiana Association of Educators, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, and
the Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
president of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the state
superintendent of education.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES