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2023 Session

Budget Amendments - SB800 (Committee Approved)

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Direct Aid - Instructional Assistants

Item 137 #3s

Item 137 #3s

First Year - FY2023 Second Year - FY2024
Education
Direct Aid to Public Education FY2023 $0 FY2024 $38,580,470 GF

Language
Page 162, line 23, strike "$9,435,669,028" and insert "$9,474,249,498".

Page 205, after line 10, insert:

"48. Temporary Instructional Assistants

a. Out of this appropriation, $38,580,470 the second year from the general fund is provided as temporary funding for instructional assistants in underperforming schools to (i) help teachers provide small group and individualized instruction, (ii) help teachers manage students within classrooms, and (iii) reduce teacher workloads.  From this amount, the state share of one instructional assistant per 20 students in fall membership shall be provided for each school that did not meet performance benchmarks for three or more school quality indicators based on the Board of Education's most recent accreditation calculations.

b.  These payments are available to any school division with a qualifying school that certifies to the Department of Education the number of eligible instructional assistants deployed in qualifying schools, not to include any instructional assistants funded through the Standards of Quality.  The Department of Education shall prorate funding for school divisions that certify fewer eligible instructional assistants deployed than the number qualified for funding through this program.

c.  This funding is intended to be temporary and shall cease at the end of fiscal year 2026."



Explanation

(This amendment provides additional, temporary funding of $38.6 million GF the second year for a subset of schools accredited with conditions to hire instructional assistants at a ratio of one assistant per 20 students in schools that do not meet three or more of the Board of Education's performance benchmarks for school accreditation. These positions are intended to (i) help teachers provide small group and individualized instruction necessitated by widening academic needs within classrooms, (ii) help teachers manage challenging student behaviors within classrooms, and (iii) reduce teacher workloads. This is a recommendation from JLARC's 2022 study: "Pandemic Impact on Public K-12 Education.")