<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<section article="ged" article_name="Education" number="5-234" title_number="5" title_name="Financing" subtitle_number="2" subtitle_name="Aid to Education">
  <level label="a">
    <level label="1">
      <text>Except as provided by paragraph (2) of this subsection and subsections (e) and (f) of this section, for each of the following programs, “minimum school funding” means at least 75% of the per pupil amount applicable to each of the following programs:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>The foundation program under § 5–213 of this subtitle;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>The compensatory education program under § 5–222 of this subtitle;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>The English learner education program under § 5–224 of this subtitle;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>The special education program under § 5–225 of this subtitle;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="v">
        <text>Public providers of prekindergarten under § 5–229 of this subtitle;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vi">
        <text>Transitional supplemental instruction under § 5–226 of this subtitle;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vii">
        <text>The comparable wage index grant under § 5–216 of this subtitle; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="viii">
        <text>The college and career readiness program under § 5–217 of this subtitle.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Except as provided by subsection (e) of this section, for each of the following programs, “minimum school funding” means 100% of the per pupil amount applicable to each of the following programs:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Private providers of prekindergarten under § 5–229 of this subtitle; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>The per pupil grant under the concentration of poverty program under § 5–223 of this subtitle.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <level label="1">
      <text>For each school, the county board shall distribute the minimum school funding amount for the applicable program multiplied by the school enrollment for the applicable program.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>On or before July 1, 2024, for fiscal year 2025, and each July 1 thereafter, each county board shall report on the county board’s compliance with this section to the Department and the Accountability and Implementation Board established under Subtitle 4 of this title.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>A county board may request a waiver under § 5–406 of this title from this provision for reasons including:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>A significant shift in total school–level enrollment between the prior year and the current year;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>A significant shift in school–level enrollment of at–promise students between the prior year and the current year; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>A significant difference in the amount of funding provided through the formula and the amount of expenditures necessary for a category of at–promise students.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <text>On or before July 1, 2023, the Department shall, in collaboration with the Accountability and Implementation Board established under Subtitle 4 of this title:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>Implement a financial management system and student data system capable of tracking and analyzing the requirements under this section and integrating local school system data; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Update the “Financial Reporting Manual for Maryland Public Schools” to ensure uniformity in reporting expenditures for each school.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <text>For fiscal years 2023 and 2024, each county board and the Department shall report to the Accountability and Implementation Board established under Subtitle 4 of this title expenditures for each school in accordance with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act requirements for reporting expenditures.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="e">
    <level label="1">
      <text>A county board may exclude from the requirements of this section, countywide obligations and contracts for goods and services that cannot be allocated at the school level.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>If a county board makes the exclusion under paragraph (1) of this subsection, the county board shall report the reason for the exclusion to the Department.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="f">
    <text>For the purposes of this section, subsection (a)(1)(iv) of this section may be reported in the aggregate for each county.</text>
  </level>
</section>
