This week the Legislature passed, and the Governor signed, two
budget bills to aid in the response to the COVID-19 crisis.
Senate Bill 89 allows the Governor to immediately spend $500
million “for any item for any purpose” related to his
March 4, 2020 declaration of emergency. He can increase that
spending in $50 million increments, up to $1 billion, however, he
must notify the legislature at least three days in advance.
Senate Bill 117 broadly focuses on continuing funding for
school districts that are closed during the COVD-19 outbreak.
Schools will only qualify for funding if they comply with
Executive Order N-26-20, which outlines services schools
should perform during this closure. It would also allocate $100
million to schools for “personal protective equipment” or to pay
for “supplies and labor related to cleaning.”
Some of the larger provisions within the bill provide that:
Local educational agencies will only need to report their
average daily attendance for July 1, 2019 through February 29,
2020.
Local educational agencies should continue to pay all
employees and contractors during school closures.
During school closures, all mandated instructional days and
minutes are deemed to be met.
Charter schools that do not already have an approved
independent study program are not required to submit a request to
revise their charter in order to offer an independent study
program during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The window for mandatory state testing will be extended as
long as schools are closed, or until the end of the testing
window, whichever comes first.
