The 2025 Legislature is closing in on April 27, set to be the final day of the session. Budget proposals from both the Senate and House have been released and are moving through the process. While time is running out to engage, there are still opportunities—and you must continue to be vigilant.

Full details of the K-12 budget proposals are available in the Budget Special Edition of TWIO. You are encouraged to review. A few of the most important points:

• The “Big Three”: The Senate provides $968 million for special education, while the House offers a paltry $189 million. MSOC would receive $175 million from the Senate—and nothing from the House. The simple message to your legislators: “The final 2025-27 Operating Budget must provide additional investments in basic education programs, specifically Special Education, and Materials, Supplies, and Operating Costs, using the Senate funding levels, AT A MINIMUM.”
• Apportionment: One of the House “solutions” to the funding problem is using a “savings” of almost $400 million ($396.7 million) from shifting the school year apportionment schedule. Under the proposal, found in HB 2050 and embedded in the Budget, apportionment payments in February, March, and April would be lowered, and payments in August would increase. This gimmick, in reality, does not save any funding; it simply shifts the required payments into a new Fiscal Year. School districts, however, with requirement payments for payroll and other expenses may not have the necessary cashflow or reserves to withstand the adjustment. We firmly oppose this plan.
• Local Effort Assistance (LEA): Both Budgets include negative impacts on LEA for several small school districts that have Alternative Learning Experience (ALE) programs. SB 5772 and HB 2050—with assumed savings embedded in the respective budgets—would reduce a district’s LEA funding by 33 percent, if the district’s ALE enrollment exceeds the district’s total enrollment by 33 percent. We firmly oppose this plan.
• Levy Lid/LEA: The conversation of increasing the local levy lid continues, as anticipated, with a new plan on the table: HB 2049. This is an “updated” version of HB 1356, which we have been working on for several weeks. Our message continues to be, IF the Legislature decides to increase the levy lid, AT LEAST a commensurate increase in LEA is required. This new proposal, which continues to be analyzed, almost doubles the levy lid, and while LEA is increased, it is questionable if it is enough to limit inequities between districts.

Obviously, there are many bills left to address; however, much of the focus is turning to the Budgets. We encourage you to continue engaging through to the end. Giving up now will relieve the pressure on legislators to do what you need them to do and give them license to do what they want to do.