HLS 16RS-5202 ORIGINAL
2016 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 243
BY REPRESENTATIVE PRICE
SCHOOLS/FINANCE-MFP: Requests that the State Board of Elementary and Secondary
Education reconvene a Minimum Foundation Program task force to determine the
actual cost of public education and identify potential funding mechanisms
1 A RESOLUTION
2To urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to reconvene
3 a Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) task force to determine the actual cost of
4 providing public education in Louisiana and identify all potential funding
5 mechanisms to enable school systems to meet this cost and to submit a written report
6 of findings and recommendations to the House Committee on Education not later
7 than February 1, 2017.
8 WHEREAS, the Constitution of Louisiana requires that the legislature provide for
9the education of the people of the state and further requires that the legislature establish and
10maintain a public education system; and
11 WHEREAS, the Constitution of Louisiana further provides that it is the goal of the
12public education system to provide learning environments and experiences at all stages of
13human development that are humane, just, and designed to promote excellence in order that
14every individual may be afforded an equal opportunity to develop to his full potential; and
15 WHEREAS, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) has
16the constitutional responsibility of annually developing, adopting, and submitting to the
17legislature for its approval and funding a formula to be used to determine the cost of a
18Minimum Foundation Program of education in all public elementary and secondary schools
19as well as to equitably allocate the funds to local school systems; and
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HR NO. 243
1 WHEREAS, the constitution provides that the legislature may not amend the formula
2that is adopted by the board and submitted to the legislature for its consideration but may
3only return an unsatisfactory formula to the board along with recommendations to the board
4for an amended formula; and
5 WHEREAS, for the purpose of providing BESE with advisory recommendations for
6the MFP formula for 2014-2015 and beyond, BESE formed a MFP task force that met from
7September of 2013 through January of 2014 and adopted several recommendations relative
8to the formula; and
9 WHEREAS, House Resolution No. 220 of the 2014 Regular Session of the
10Legislature urged and requested BESE to reconvene this task force, and at its August 2014
11meeting, BESE authorized the reconvening of the task force to develop recommendations
12for the 2015-2016 MFP formula; and
13 WHEREAS, the reconvened task force held its final meeting on December 16, 2014,
14and adopted the following recommendations: a 2.75 percent rate increase in 2015-2016 base
15per pupil funding; additional funding for special education; increased funding for dual
16enrollment and other course choices; an in-depth study of the formula, including a
17determination of actual costs of providing education and the formula's efficacy in meeting
18constitutional mandates; and consultation with administrative and legislative leadership
19relative to how the formula's student count is accounted for in the budget; and
20 WHEREAS, House Concurrent Resolution No. 18 of the 2015 Regular Session of
21the Legislature, which provided for legislative approval of the 2015-2016 MFP formula, was
22deferred by the Senate Committee on Education; and
23 WHEREAS, during the 2015 Regular Session, the legislature appropriated
24approximately $3.7 billion for the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) that funds public
25K-12 education; and because the legislature did not approve a new MFP resolution, Senate
26Concurrent Resolution No. 55 of the 2014 Regular Session remains in effect; and
27 WHEREAS, the appropriation provided additional funding outside the formula,
28including $36.2 million, which is equivalent to a 1.375% increase in the base per pupil cost,
29to sustain certificated teacher pay raises and $8 million to expand educational initiatives
30created in 2014; and
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HR NO. 243
1 WHEREAS, in December 2015, the MFP Task Force approved a set of policy
2recommendations for the Board of Elementary and Second Education (BESE) to consider
3when developing the Fiscal Year 2016-2017 MFP resolution; and
4 WHEREAS, these recommendations include incorporating the additional funds
5appropriated into the new formula, in accordance with House Concurrent Resolution No. 231
6of the 2015 Regular Session; and
7 WHEREAS, providing additional funding for the MFP will be particularly
8challenging in the 2016 Regular Session as legislators work to pass a budget that addresses
9a shortfall projected for the upcoming fiscal year; and
10 WHEREAS, many education stakeholders feel that various issues relative to the MFP
11formula warrant further study so that the needs of students and the school systems that
12educate them are sufficiently met; and
13 WHEREAS, in order to fulfill the state's constitutional duty of affording every
14student an equal opportunity to develop to his full potential, it is imperative that there be
15continued study of the Minimum Foundation Program formula so that determinations can
16be made as to how the state can best provide experiences and opportunities to students that
17help them succeed in all aspects of life.
18 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
19Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the State Board of Elementary and
20Secondary Education to reconvene a Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) task force to
21determine the actual cost of providing public education in Louisiana and identify all
22potential funding mechanisms to enable school systems to meet this cost and to submit a
23written report of findings and recommendations to the House Committee on Education not
24later than February 1, 2017.
25 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the membership of the task force include but not
26be limited to individuals representing BESE, the state Department of Education, the
27Louisiana School Boards Association, the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents,
28the Louisiana Association of School Business Officers, Council for a Better Louisiana, the
29Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, the Louisiana Association of Public Charter
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HR NO. 243
1Schools, the Louisiana Association of Educators, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, and
2the Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council.
3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
4president of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the state
5superintendent of education.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 243 Original 2016 Regular Session Price
Requests that the State Bd. of Elementary and Secondary Education reconvene a Minimum
Foundation Program (MFP) task force to determine the actual cost of providing public
education in La. and identify all potential funding mechanisms to enable school systems to
meet this cost and submit a written report of findings and recommendations to the House
Committee on Education by Feb. 1, 2017.
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