SLS 202ES-134 ORIGINAL
2020 Second Extraordinary Session
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 6
BY SENATORS ABRAHAM AND REESE
BESE. Requests BESE to hold a special meeting and adopt adjustments to the MFP formula
to ensure that school districts impacted by Hurricane Laura do not lose MFP funding during
the 2020-2021 fiscal year due to decreases in student enrollment.
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2 To urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to hold a
3 special meeting and adopt adjustments to the minimum foundation program (MFP)
4 formula to ensure that school districts impacted by Hurricane Laura do not lose MFP
5 funding during the 2020-2021 fiscal year due to decreases in student enrollment.
6 WHEREAS, the Constitution of Louisiana requires that the legislature provide for
7 the education of the people of the state and further requires that the legislature establish and
8 maintain a public educational system; and
9 WHEREAS, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has the
10 constitutional responsibility of annually developing, adopting, and submitting to the
11 legislature for its approval and funding a formula to be used to determine the cost of a
12 minimum foundation program of education in all public elementary and secondary schools
13 as well as to equitably allocate the funds to local school systems; and
14 WHEREAS, the legislature may not amend the formula that is adopted by the board
15 and submitted to the legislature for its consideration but may only return an unsatisfactory
16 formula to the board, along with recommendations to the board for an amended formula; and
17 WHEREAS, on August 26, 2020, Hurricane Laura, the strongest hurricane on record
18 to hit Louisiana, slammed ashore and caused immense damage from the southern coast to
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1 the northern border of the state; and
2 WHEREAS, the storm wreaked havoc in the areas it crossed, downing power lines,
3 destroying basic infrastructure, and leaving the homes of many uninhabitable; and
4 WHEREAS, the destruction has caused many citizens to relocate until their homes
5 can be rebuilt; and
6 WHEREAS, the facilities of many schools were severely damaged or destroyed, thus
7 interrupting educational services; and
8 WHEREAS, the MFP formula calculates payments to schools based on their student
9 enrollment; and
10 WHEREAS, the displacement of students from the storm will likely negatively
11 impact many of the school districts affected by Hurricane Laura and, at a minimum, these
12 parishes should be held harmless for the loss of students during the 2020-2021 fiscal year
13 and receive their full MFP allocation.
14 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
15 urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to hold a special
16 meeting and adopt adjustments to the minimum foundation program (MFP) formula to
17 ensure that school districts impacted by Hurricane Laura do not lose MFP funding during
18 the 2020-2021 fiscal year due to decreases in student enrollment.
19 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the adjustments to the MFP formula, at a
20 minimum, hold the impacted districts in Acadia, Allen, Beauregard, Caddo, Calcasieu,
21 Cameron, Grant, Jackson, Jefferson Davis, LaSalle, Lincoln, Morehouse, Natchitoches,
22 Ouachita, Rapides, Sabine, St. Landry, Union, Vermilion, Vernon, and Winn parishes
23 harmless for the loss of students due to Hurricane Laura.
24 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the adjustments to the MFP formula adopted by
25 BESE be submitted to the legislature by October 15, 2020.
26 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the
27 president of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the state
28 superintendent of education.
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The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Cheryl Serrett.
DIGEST
SCR 6 Original 2020 Second Extraordinary Session Abraham
Requests the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to hold a special meeting
and adopt adjustments to the minimum foundation program (MFP) formula to ensure that
school districts impacted by Hurricane Laura do not lose MFP funding during the 2020-2021
fiscal year due to decreases in student enrollment.
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