SB1101- schools; calculated opportunity index (Carter)

This bill establishes a calculated opportunity index (OI) as part of the base level funding of the school finance formula.

Each year, the Superintendent of Public Instruction will calculate the opportunity index as follows:

=        Determine the statewide average percentage of students who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch OR an equivalent measure recognized for participating in reduced-price lunch and other school programs dependent on a poverty measure.

=        Determine the average percentage in each individual school of students who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch OR an equivalent measure recognized for participating in reduced-price lunch and other school porgrams dependent on a poverty measure.

=        The number of percentage points that a district or charter’s average is higher than the statewide average is multiplied and incorporated into a formula, and the resulting number is added to the teacher experience index (for school districts), or creates a new budget line for charter schools.

Requires, for districts under desegregation orders, to subtract 50% of any increase attributed to the Calculated Opportunity Index from a school district's desegregation expenses in each fiscal year. If the result amount is less than 0, the school district may not budget for desegregation expenses. 

Allows a school district to use funds generated by the OI to comply with desegregation orders. 

Requires, by October 15 of each year, that each district or charter school that received additional funding from the OI must submit an electronic report to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House showing the academic growth of students at the schools the generated the additional funding.

= Clarifies that academic growth will be measured by performance on the annual assessment, which must be adopted prior to the beginning of the school year.