BILL #    HB 2838	TITLE: education workforce innovation; pilot program
SPONSOR:    Weninger
PREPARED BY:    Gordon Robertson	STATUS:   As Amended by House ED

Description

HB 2838, as amended by House ED, would establish an Education and Workforce Innovation Pilot Program within the State Board of Education (SBE). The program would require up to 5 school districts or charter schools selected by SBE to provide various alternative educational options, and would establish an advisory committee within SBE to monitor the pilot program.   

Estimated Impact

We estimate that the bill would not have a direct impact on General Fund spending for public school basic state aid formula costs. If a district incurs non-formula costs as a result of participating in this pilot program, the school would pay for such expenses from available local funds.  

SBE estimates the bill would cost $13,000 in one-time startup costs, as well as $273,000 in ongoing costs for the operation of the pilot program. This ongoing cost would cover 1.5 FTE Positions to administer the program, as well as reimbursements for members of the advisory committee.

Analysis

Our estimate assumes the following:

1) The bill would establish an advisory committee within SBE to recommend policies and procedures for the pilot program, monitor student outcomes in participating schools, and publish an annual report on the results of the pilot program, through CY 2030. The bill would require SBE to provide adequate staffing and meeting space for the advisory committee, and committee members are entitled to reimbursement for committee-related expenses.  

2) The bill would require SBE to select 5 public schools that have applied to participate in the pilot program. Participating schools may request a waiver of specific state laws, rules, or policies for the implementation of their proposed innovative educational model. According to Legislative Council, the bill does not expressly expand SBE’s authority to grant waivers, and SBE’s authority under existing law would not permit SBE to grant waivers that modify a district's underlying basic state aid formula allocations. As a result, we assume the bill would have no impact to public school basic state aid formula costs.

2/27/26