Appropriations: school aid omnibus; fiscal year 2026-2027 appropriations for K-12 school aid, higher education, and community colleges; provide for. Amends secs. 11, 201 & 236 of 1979 PA 94 (MCL 388.1611 et seq.). TIE BAR WITH: SB 0903'26

The bill's scope expanded from amending 3 sections (11, 201, 236) to amending over 150 sections and adding 18 new sections across the entire State School Aid Act, covering definitions, membership counting, funding formulas, and numerous program provisions.

A new school consolidation and infrastructure fund (Section 11x) was created with provisions for feasibility study grants up to $250,000 per district or intermediate district to analyze consolidation opportunities in financial services, human resources, information technology, and grant management.

A new weighted pupil membership system was added that increases per-pupil funding for economically disadvantaged students based on an 'opportunity index' score. Six bands (1-6) are created based on the percentage of economically disadvantaged pupils, with base rates ranging from 0.1994 to 0.2679 additional weighted membership per pupil, phasing up to 0.35-0.47 by fiscal year 2040-2041.

New weighted funding for English language learners was added with three tiers based on WIDA ACCESS scores (1.0-1.9, 2.0-2.9, 3.0-4.7), starting at 0.1990, 0.1374, and 0.0224 respectively, phasing up to 0.75, 0.50, and 0.35 by fiscal year 2040-2041.

The FY2026 state school aid fund appropriation was reduced from $18,366,334,700 to $18,189,425,300 (a decrease of approximately $177 million). A new FY2027 appropriation was added at $19,143,728,500 from the state school aid fund and $50,834,900 from the general fund.

A new school aid stabilization fund was created as a separate account within the state school aid fund. It receives unexpended revenue, dedicated money, and appropriations, and can be used to cover shortfalls when the maximum appropriation exceeds available funds.

New funding allocations were added including: up to $23 million for school loan bond redemption (Section 11j), general fund appropriations to the school loan revolving fund (Section 11k), up to $5 million for cash-flow borrowing costs (Section 11m), and $8 million total for Flint water emergency services (Section 11s).

A comprehensive definitions section (Section 3) was added defining key terms including 'average daily attendance' (92% of membership count), 'board,' 'center,' 'community district,' 'cooperative education program,' 'district,' 'district of residence,' and others used throughout the act.

Extensive new rules for counting pupil membership were added, including detailed provisions for cyber school participation requirements (2-way interactions, documented attendance), cooperative education programs, special education pupils, dropout recovery programs, middle college programs, and nonpublic part-time pupils under section 166b.

New growth caps were added for districts counting pupils under section 166b (nonpublic part-time enrollment). If such pupils reach 5% or more of a district's membership, growth is capped at 10%; if below 5%, growth is capped at the greater of 5% of non-166b membership or 10% above the prior year's 166b count.