La. Admin. Code tit. 28 § I-1107

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section I-1107 - Minimum Foundation Program

A. MFP: General Provisions

1. Board Adoption

a. The state superintendent of education shall prepare and recommend to the board for adoption a minimum foundation formula for the equitable allocation of funds to local school systems for the operation of their educational programs. In preparing this recommendation, the state superintendent shall comply with all appropriate state laws and regulations regarding elementary and secondary education.

b. The board shall adopt a minimum foundation formula for the equitable allocation of funds to local school systems. Once adopted, the board shall transmit the formula to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget and all other appropriate entities and offices of the executive and legislative branches of government.

2. Local Responsibility

a. It shall be the responsibility of city, parish, or other local school systems; recovery school district schools; and LSU and Southern Lab schools to submit to the LDE in a timely manner all necessary and required information for the computation of an individual allocation from the minimum foundation formula. This information shall be submitted to the LDE in the form required by the LDE. It shall also be the responsibility of all city, parish, or other local school systems; recovery school district schools; and LSU and Southern Lab schools to follow all circulars issued by the LDE providing instructions for the preparation of the required data and other instructions regarding the computation of an allotment from the formula.

B. MFP Payments

1. City, parish, or other local school systems; recovery school district schools; and LSU and Southern Lab schools shall receive an allocation from the annual Minimum Foundation Program in 12 payments. These payments shall be incorporated into monthly amounts received from the state for implementation of the Minimum Foundation Program.

C. MFP - Student Membership Definition

1. Definition. For state reporting for public education for the purpose of establishing the base student count for state funding, city, parish, or other local school systems; approved charter schools; recovery school district schools; LSU and Southern Lab schools; Office of Juvenile Justice schools; New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA); and Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts (LSMSA) shall adhere to the following:

a. All students included for membership in a school shall be identified with the following minimum required identification elements:

i. state identification number;

ii. full legal name;

iii. date of birth;

iv. sex;

v. race;

vi. district and school code;

vii. entry date; and

viii. grade placement.

b. For establishing the base student membership count for state funding, the following guidelines will be adhered to:

i. no student will be counted more than one time. Students attending more than one school will be counted in membership only one time;

ii. all students, including special education students who meet the following criteria will be included in the base student membership count:

(a). have registered or pre-registered on or before student count dates designated in the current adopted MFP resolution (If student count date(s) falls on a Saturday, report membership on the previous Friday. If student count date(s) falls on a Sunday, report membership on the following Monday.);

(b). are actively attending school (All current state laws and BESE policies concerning attendance should be carefully followed. Appropriate documentation [either written or computer documents] such as dates of absences, letters to parents, notification to child welfare and attendance officers should be placed in individual permanent records for any students who may have absences which raise questions about the student's active attendance.);

(c). and/or have not officially exited from school (Students are considered to have officially exited if a notification of transfer has been provided by the student's parent/legal guardian or received from another school.);

iii. students who are in BESE-approved alternative programs (schools) in city, parish, or other local school systems; approved charter schools; recovery school district schools; LSU and Southern Lab schools; or Office of Juvenile Justice schools will be included in the base student membership count.

iv. students who reside in Louisiana, attend school in another state, and are supported by Louisiana funding will be included in the base student membership count.

v. all special education preschool (ages 3-5) students will be included in the base student membership count.

vi. All special education infant (ages birth-2) students for whom one or more of the sixteen identified services are provided, shall be included in the base student membership count.

vii. Regular pre-kindergarten (four-year-old program) students will not be included in the base student membership count.

viii. Private school students receiving special education services through any public school system or school will NOT be included in the base student membership count.

ix. Students will be included in the base student membership count until the chronological age of 21 years. A student whose twenty-second birthday occurs during the course of the regular school year, will be counted in the base student membership count for that school year.

x. Students receiving educational services at any elementary and secondary school operated by the Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJ) in a secure care facility, considered to be a public elementary or secondary school, will be included in the base membership count of OJJ. The base membership count for OJJ is identified as average daily membership and is calculated by dividing the number of days the students are under the guidance and direction of teachers by the total instructional days during the specified school year.

D. MFP-Add-on Students/Units

1. Required Data. For purposes of establishing the data sets used in determining the add-on students/units, the following will be adhered to.

a. Low income and English language learner student count, also referred to as economically disadvantaged, shall be determined by the number of students with the following characteristics:

i. is eligible for Louisianas food assistance program for low-income families;

ii. is eligible for Louisianas disaster food assistance program;

iii. is eligible for Louisianas program for assistance to needy families with children to assist parents in becoming self-sufficient;

iv. is eligible for Louisianas healthcare program for families and individuals with limited financial resources;

v. is eligible for reduced price meals based on the latest available data;

vi. is an English language learner;

vii. is identified as homeless or migrant pursuant to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Children and Youth Assistance Act and the Migrant Education Program within the Elementary and Secondary Education Act;

viii. is incarcerated with the Office of Juvenile Justice or in an adult facility;

ix. has been placed into custody of the state.

b. Career and technical education unit count shall be determined by the number of secondary career and technical education courses per student as reported by the school districts through the Louisiana education accountability data system (LEADS) for the prior year.

c. Special education-other exceptionalities student count shall be determined by the number of special education students identified as having "other exceptionalities" in the special education reporting (SER) database as of the student count date(s) including:

i. infants and toddlers ages 0-2, who have a current individual family service plan (IFSP) and are currently receiving services; and

ii. both public and nonpublic special education students ages 3-21 identified as having a disability, as defined by R.S. 17:1943, who have a current individual education plan (IEP) and are currently receiving services from any local public school system or school. (Students serviced by SSD #1 and certain correctional facilities are excluded.)

d. Special education-gifted and talented student count shall be determined by the number of special education students in the SER database as of the student count date(s), which includes both public and nonpublic special education students ages 3-21, identified as gifted and talented, as defined by R.S. 17:1943, who have a current IEP and are currently receiving services from any local public school system or school.

e. Economy of scale student count shall be determined by the number of students in the base student membership count as defined in LAC 28:I.1107.C.1.

La. Admin. Code tit. 28, § I-1107

Promulgated by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, LR 34:425 (March 2008), amended LR 37:1142 (April 2011), LR 37:3219 (November 2011), LR 38:1404 (June, 2012), LR 38:3155 (December 2012), LR 39:3266 (December 2013), Amended LR 44744 (4/1/2018).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with Art. VIII §13 and R.S. 17:7.