A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to direct the development of recommendations related to funding for students with disabilities.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction for the 2019‑2020 fiscal year the sum of twenty‑five thousand dollars ($25,000) in nonrecurring funds to be made available as grant‑in‑aid to Augenblick, Palaich and Associates Consulting (APA) to make recommendations on how to categorize the allocation of funding for students with disabilities and how to set funding levels for each category recommended. APA shall expand on the findings and recommendations made in its 2010 report, "Recommendations to Strengthen North Carolina's School Funding System." In addition, APA shall consider any findings and recommendations published since 2010 by the Department of Public Instruction and by the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at North Carolina State University regarding funding needs for students with disabilities. In developing recommendations, APA shall examine the following:
(1)	For each school system, the percentage of students with disabilities and the funding provided per student with disabilities.
(2)	The potential benefit of allocating funding for students with disabilities based on severity of disability type as compared to allocating funding based on service level required.
(3)	How other states provide funding for students with disabilities, with particular emphasis on states that differentiate funding by student need.
(4)	How to determine appropriate funding levels for each funding category recommended.
APA shall submit the recommendations and supporting findings, including any proposed legislation necessary for implementation, to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on or before November 1, 2019.
SECTION 1.(b)  This act becomes effective July 1, 2019.