The Delaware Senate has approved a bill mandating that weighted funding for disadvantaged school students become a permanent fixture in the state budget.
The bill is an outgrowth of a legal settlement last year in a lawsuit over school funding. It passed the Senate on a unanimous vote Thursday and now goes to the House.
The bill codifies the so-called Opportunity Funding that Democratic Gov. John Carney’s administration first proposed a couple of years ago after the lawsuit was filed. The funding is aimed at improving academic performance of low-income students, students whose first language is not English, and students with disabilities.
Carney announced in October that the state had reached a settlement in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Community Legal Aid Society that requires him to seek significantly higher funding from the legislature for disadvantaged students.
Among other things, Carney must propose budgets for next year and the following year that include at least $35 million for disadvantaged students. He is required to seek appropriations of at least $50 million for the 2023-2024 school year and $60 million for the 2024-2025 school year.
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