2020 Second Extraordinary Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 6
BY SENATORS ABRAHAM, ALLAIN, BARROW, BERNARD, BOUDREAUX, BOUIE,
CARTER, CATHEY, CLOUD, CONNICK, CORTEZ, FESI, FIELDS,
FOIL, HARRIS, HENRY, HENSGENS, HEWITT, JOHNS, LUNEAU,
MCMATH, MILLIGAN, FRED MILLS, ROBERT MILLS, MIZELL,
PEACOCK, POPE, PRICE, REESE, SMITH, TALBOT, TARVER,
WARD AND WHITE
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2 To urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to adopt
3 adjustments to the minimum foundation program (MFP) formula to ensure that
4 school districts impacted by Hurricane Laura or Hurricane Delta 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
19 the northern border of the state; and
20 WHEREAS, the storm wreaked havoc in the areas it crossed, downing power lines,
21 destroying basic infrastructure, and leaving the homes of many uninhabitable; and
22 WHEREAS, the destruction has caused many citizens to relocate until their homes
23 can be rebuilt; and
Page 1 of 2 1 WHEREAS, the facilities of many schools were severely damaged or destroyed, thus
2 interrupting educational services; and
3 WHEREAS, on October 9, 2020, Hurricane Delta made landfall and caused severe
4 damage, including in areas still struggling to recover from the devastation of Hurricane
5 Laura; and
6 WHEREAS, the MFP formula calculates payments to schools based on their student
7 enrollment; and
8 WHEREAS, the displacement of students from the storms will likely negatively
9 impact many of the school districts affected by Hurricane Laura or Hurricane Delta and, at
10 a minimum, these parishes should be held harmless for the loss of students during the 2020-
11 2021 fiscal year and receive their full MFP allocation.
12 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
13 urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to adopt
14 adjustments to the minimum foundation program (MFP) formula to ensure that school
15 districts impacted by Hurricane Laura or Hurricane Delta do not lose MFP funding during
16 the 2020-2021 fiscal year due to decreases in student enrollment.
17 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the adjustments to the MFP formula, at a
18 minimum, hold the impacted districts in Acadia, Allen, Beauregard, Caddo, Calcasieu,
19 Cameron, Grant, Jackson, Jefferson Davis, LaSalle, Lincoln, Morehouse, Natchitoches,
20 Ouachita, Rapides, Sabine, St. Landry, Union, Vermilion, Vernon, and Winn parishes
21 harmless for the loss of students due to Hurricane Laura and hold the districts in parishes
22 impacted by Hurricane Delta harmless for the loss of students due to Hurricane Delta.
23 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the adjustments to the MFP formula adopted by
24 BESE be submitted to the legislature by October 15, 2020.
25 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the
26 president of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the state
27 superintendent of education.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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