Idaho Bills

Appropriates $855,733,000 for the Public Schools Educational Support Program/Division of Teachers for fiscal year 2017; directs the use of moneys for professional development; and defines the term "distributed."

Appropriates $286,915,800 for the Public Schools Educational Support Program/Division of Children's Programs for fiscal year 2017; provides guidance on funds for the Idaho Digital Learning Academy; directs the use of funds for the Safe and Drug-Free Schools program; directs the use of funds for literacy programs and remedial coursework; directs the use of funds for limited English proficiency programs; requiring advanced opportunities reporting; defining the term "distributed."

Appropriates additional funding for the Public Schools Support Program/Division of Children's Programs; appropriates additional funding for the Public Schools Support Program/Division of Operations; reduces the appropriation to the Public School Support Program/Division of Central Services; and appropriates additional funding to the Office of the State Board of Education.

Appropriates and transfers $750,000 from the Economic Recovery Reserve Fund to the Charter School Debt Reserve Fund for fiscal year 2017.

This is an FY 2017 appropriation and one-time transfer of $750,000 from the Economic Recovery Reserve Fund (ERRF) to the Charter School Debt Reserve Fund in the amount of $750,000 to be used in accordance with Section 33-5217, Idaho Code. The Charter School Debt Reserve Fund wascreatedthroughH309(2015Session)toassistqualifyingcharterschoolsinobtainingfavorable financing for facility improvements and construction.

Appropriates $10,312,300 for the Public Schools Educational Support Program/Division of Educational Services for the Deaf and the Blind for fiscal year 2017.

This is the FY 2017 appropriation to the Public Schools Support Program Division of Educational Services for the Deaf and the Blind in the amount of $10,312,300. This is a 16.9% increase from the General Fund and 16.4% overall. This appropriation provides for increased cost of benefits, one-time replacement items to replace a school bus and two sedans, the equivalent of a 3% change in employee compensation and an increase in endowment funds. This budget includes ten line items. Line item 1 provides $79,200 to hire one campus instructor certified for elementary aged children who are blind and visually impaired. Line item 2 provides $39,600 from the General Fund for one-half of the costs to hire an assistive technology specialist in the campus program to address the growing need for expertise in the field of blind and low-vision education. The other half of these costs are found in line item #11. Line item 3 provides $79,200 to hire one campus instructor certified for elementary aged children who are deaf and hard of hearing. Line item 4 provides $3,000 one-time from the General Fund to purchase new textbooks for the middle-school math and health curricula. Line item 6 provides $350,000 one-time to replenish the school's contingency fund. Line item 7 provides $79,200 to hire a sign language interpreter to help staff communicate with schooldistrictpersonnelandfamilieswhoareinexperiencedinsignlanguage. Lineitem8provides $79,200 to hire an outreach educator to address a growing number of students receiving services who are located at school districts and charter schools. Line item 10 provides $15,000 ongoing from the General Fund for professional development for all certificated staff educators. Line item 11provides$39,600forone-halfofcostsofhiringanassistivetechnologyspecialistintheoutreach program. The other one-half of the funding is included in line item 2. Line item 12 provides $189,500 to reopen a campus cottage to address increasing enrollment. Of this amount, $17

Appropriates $15,262,500 for the Public Schools Educational Support Program/Division of Central Services for fiscal year 2017; directs the use for literacy programs, intervention services, math initiative programs and limited English proficiency programs; directs the use for student assessments; directs the use for performance evaluations; directs the use for wireless technology infrastructure; directs the use for professional development; provides legislative intent related to the use for digital content and credit recovery; provides guidance on year-end reconciliation; provides legislative intent for content and curriculum related to technology; provides direction for the development of an online portal; and defines terms.

Appropriates $86,798,500 for the Public Schools Educational Support Program/Division of Administrators for fiscal year 2017; amends existing law to increase the salary-based apportionment for administrators; and limits the amount distributed for school district and charter school continuous improvement planning and training.

This is the Fiscal Year 2017 appropriation for the Administrators Division of the Public Schools Educational Support Program, in the amount of $86,798,500. This division provides funding for superintendents, assistant superintendents, principals, assistant principals, supervisors, and coordinators. This budget includes nondiscretionary adjustments for an estimated enrollment growth of 167 support units and an increase for the statewide education and experience index for salary- based apportionment. There is also funding for a 3% base salary increase. There are no line items. All funds are ongoing from the General Fund and results in a 4.2% increase over the previous year.

Appropriates $49,410,500 for the Public Schools Educational Support Program/Division of Facilities for fiscal year 2017; provides moneys for the Bond Levy Equalization Fund; and specifies the amount of revenue to be distributed to the General Fund.

This is the Fiscal Year 2017 appropriation for the Facilities Division of the Public Schools Educational Support Program in the amount of $49,410,500. This includes $18,958,000 from the General Fund and $30,452,500 from dedicated funds. This appropriation funds the Bond Levy Equalization Program, the Charter School Facilities Program, and the School Facilities Maintenance Match Program and results in a General Fund increase of 7.8% and 6.6% increase in all funds. The estimated cost of the Bond Levy Equalization Program is $22,400,000 and is funded from a mix of $9,947,500 from the General Fund (transferred from cigarette tax revenue), $12,000,000 of Idaho Lottery proceeds directed by statute to the Bond Levy Equalization Program, and a fund balance of $452,500. The estimated cost for charter school facilities is $5,531,000 from the General Fund. The estimated cost of the state facilities maintenance match is $21,479,500 and is funded from a mix of $3,479,500 from the General Fund and $18,000,000 from the School District Building Account, which receives moneys directly from the Idaho Lottery. There were no new line items in this appropriation.

Appropriates $613,471,500 for the Public Schools Educational Support Program/Division of Operations for fiscal year 2017; amends existing law to increase the salary-based apportionment for classified staff; provides an estimate for discretionary funds per support unit; provides for expenditures for information technology staff; provides for classroom technology; directs the use of moneys for instructional management systems; defines the term "distributed"; and allows for transfers between other divisions.

This is the Fiscal Year 2017 appropriation for the Operations Division of the Public Schools Educational Support Program in the amount of $613,471,500. This budget includes increases for nondiscretionary adjustments that include an estimated enrollment growth of 167 support units, an increase for the Idaho Digital Learning Academy, and an endowment increase. There is also a base salary increase of 3% for the classified staff in this division. There are three line items addressed in this appropriation. Line item 1 provides $27,309,300 to increase discretionary funds from $23,868 per support unit to $25,696 per support unit, which is a 7.7% increase. Line item 3 provides $5,000,000 ongoing from the General Fund to be distributed to school districts and charter schools for classroom technology. Line item 8 adds $389,000 ongoing from the General Fund to be distributed to school districts and charter schools to purchase and operate instructional management systems of their choice. This amount, added to the existing $2,611,000 in the base, brings the amount to be distributed for instructional management systems up to $3,000,000. This appropriation is an increase of 7.3% from the General Fund and 7.3% from all funds.