ENROLLED
2016 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 243
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, 2017.
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
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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
WHEREAS, for the purpose of providing BESE with advisory recommendations for
the MFP formula for 2014-2015 and beyond, BESE formed a MFP task force that met from
September of 2013 through January of 2014 and adopted several recommendations relative
to the formula; and
WHEREAS, House Resolution No. 220 of the 2014 Regular Session of the
Legislature urged and requested BESE to reconvene this task force, and at its August 2014
meeting, BESE authorized the reconvening of the task force to develop recommendations
for the 2015-2016 MFP formula; and
WHEREAS, the reconvened task force held its final meeting on December 16, 2014,
and adopted the following recommendations: a 2.75 percent rate increase in 2015-2016 base
per pupil funding; additional funding for special education; increased funding for dual
enrollment and other course choices; an in-depth study of the formula, including a
determination of actual costs of providing education and the formula's efficacy in meeting
constitutional mandates; and consultation with administrative and legislative leadership
relative to how the formula's student count is accounted for in the budget; and
WHEREAS, House Concurrent Resolution No. 18 of the 2015 Regular Session of
the Legislature, which provided for legislative approval of the 2015-2016 MFP formula, was
deferred by the Senate Committee on Education; and
WHEREAS, during the 2015 Regular Session, the legislature appropriated
approximately $3.7 billion for the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) that funds public
K-12 education; and because the legislature did not approve a new MFP resolution, Senate
Concurrent Resolution No. 55 of the 2014 Regular Session remains in effect; and
WHEREAS, the appropriation provided additional funding outside the formula,
including $36.2 million, which is equivalent to a 1.375% increase in the base per pupil cost,
to sustain certificated teacher pay raises and $8 million to expand educational initiatives
created in 2014; and
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WHEREAS, in December 2015, the MFP Task Force approved a set of policy
recommendations for the Board of Elementary and Second Education (BESE) to consider
when developing the Fiscal Year 2016-2017 MFP resolution; and
WHEREAS, these recommendations include incorporating the additional funds
appropriated into the new formula, in accordance with House Concurrent Resolution No. 231
of the 2015 Regular Session; and
WHEREAS, providing additional funding for the MFP will be particularly
challenging in the 2016 Regular Session as legislators work to pass a budget that addresses
a shortfall projected for the upcoming fiscal year; and
WHEREAS, many education stakeholders feel that various issues relative to the MFP
formula warrant further study so that the needs of students and the school systems that
educate them are sufficiently met; 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 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 than February 1, 2017.
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
Schools, the Louisiana Association of Educators, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, and
the Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council.
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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 REPRESENTATIVES
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