House Concurrent Resolution 20 approves the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) formula for Louisiana public elementary and secondary education for Fiscal Year 2026-2027, as adopted by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) on March 11, 2026. The resolution does not create a new school funding program; instead, it gives legislative approval to the annual formula that determines how state education dollars are calculated and distributed to city, parish, and other public school systems and schools.
The resolution lays out the full MFP methodology in four levels. Level 1 sets the base per-pupil funding at $4,015 and applies student weights for low-income and English learner students, career and technical education, special education, gifted and talented students, and small-district economies of scale. It also describes how state and local shares are calculated using property taxes, sales taxes, and other local revenues, with minimum state support requirements. Level 2 rewards local effort, Level 3 continues certain legislative allocations such as prior pay raises and mandated operational costs, and Level 4 provides targeted supplemental funding for items such as mentor teachers, resident teachers, career development, high-cost special education services, supplemental courses, and prior-year pay raises.
The formula also specifies how funding is handled for special categories of schools and programs, including Recovery School District schools, new and legacy Type 2 charter schools, Type 3B charter schools, lab schools at LSU, Southern University, and UL Lafayette, LSMSA, NOCCA, Thrive Academy, École Pointe-au-Chien, the Special School District, and Office of Juvenile Justice schools. It includes procedures for preliminary and final allocations, mid-year enrollment adjustments, audit-based corrections, monthly payment schedules, and a requirement that at least 70% of general fund expenditures be directed to instruction and school administration at the school-building level.
In terms of legal impact, the resolution would authorize the state to use the FY 2026-2027 MFP formula as the basis for distributing constitutionally required education funding, affecting how state aid is allocated to local school systems and certain state-approved schools. It would not itself amend the education code, but it would operationalize funding rules that interact with existing statutes governing charter schools, school finance reporting, and local revenue calculations. The bill’s fiscal note indicates a negative general fund impact of $12,159,331, suggesting the approved formula would increase state spending relative to the baseline estimate.
The available context shows no recorded committee debate or votes, so there is no documented public opposition or support in the provided materials. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears largely technical and routine, reflecting the annual approval of the state’s school funding formula. Any contention would likely center on the distributional effects of the formula—such as the base amount, student weights, pay-raise allocations, charter-school treatment, and the state/local funding split—but no specific objections are captured in the record provided.
HCR20 would authorize BESE’s FY 2026-2027 Minimum Foundation Program formula, which governs the calculation and distribution of constitutionally required state education funding to Louisiana public school systems and certain state-approved schools. It affects funding formulas, student weights, local revenue offsets, mid-year adjustments, and special allocations for charter schools, lab schools, juvenile justice schools, and other programs, but it does not itself amend substantive education statutes. The resolution also carries an estimated $12.16 million general fund cost above the baseline noted in the caption.
The provided record contains no committee transcripts and no votes, so there is no documented floor or committee sentiment to summarize. Based on the bill text, the measure appears to be a routine annual approval of the MFP formula, which is typically treated as necessary to fund public schools and maintain the state’s constitutional education funding process. The absence of recorded opposition or amendments suggests no visible controversy in the supplied materials, though the formula’s funding distribution choices could still be debated in committee or later proceedings.
No specific points of contention are documented in the supplied transcripts or voting history. Potential areas of dispute inherent in the formula include the $4,015 base per-pupil amount, the size and structure of student weights, the treatment of charter schools and Recovery School District students, the continuation of prior pay-raise allocations, and the 70% expenditure requirement. However, the provided materials do not identify any legislator, school system, or stakeholder as formally opposing those provisions.