Prototypical School Model. ?The state's public school funding model allocates funding to school districts based on assumed levels of staff and other resources necessary to support a prototypical school serving an assumed number of students at defined elementary, middle, and high schools levels. ?The use of prototypical schools is intended to illustrate the level of resources needed to operate a school of a particular size using commonly understood terms such as class size, hours of instruction, and specified staff positions.
The structure of the formula, which appears in statute, provides allocations for classroom teachers at an assumed class size, plus other building-level staff. Based on these staffing ratios, the state uses salary assumptions for each of the different staff types to generate state funding allocations. ?The funding provided to school districts through the prototypical school formulas is for allocation purposes only, and districts have discretion over how the money is spent, subject to some limits.
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The staffing ratios for teaching assistants, office supports, and noninstructional aides are as follows:
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| ? | Elementary | Middle | High |
| Teaching assistance, including any aspect of educational instructional services provided by classified employees | 0.936 | 0.700 | 0.652 |
| Office support and other noninstructional aides | 2.012 | 2.325 | 3.269 |
The term "teaching assistance" is changed to "paraeducators" in the prototypical school model.
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The staffing ratios for paraeducators, office supports, and noninstructional aides are increased to the following amounts beginning in the 2023-24 school year:
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| ? | Elementary | Middle | High |
| Paraeducators, including any aspect of educational instructional services provided by classified employees | 1.012 | 0.776 | 0.728 |
| Office support and other noninstructional aides | 2.088 | 2.401 | 3.345 |
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The intent of this additional funding is to assist school districts with hiring additional support staff or providing the staff they already employ with better wages. The Superintendent of Public Instruction must develop rules that require school districts to use the additional funding to support increased staffing, prevent layoffs, or increase salaries for paraeducators, office support, and noninstructional aides in the 2024-25 school year. The Superintendent must also collect data from school districts on how the increased allocations are used.
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The first month's payment after the bill is enacted must include the additional amounts from the beginning of the 2023-24 school year through that month.
| Senate | 37 | 11 | |
| House | 90 | 2 | (House amended) |
| Senate | 49 | 0 | (Senate concurred) |
June 6, 2024