FISCAL NOTE
Date Requested: January 26, 2024
Time Requested: 08:54 AM |
| Agency: |
Education, WV Department of |
|---|
| CBD Number: |
Version: |
Bill Number: |
Resolution Number: |
| 1501 |
Amendment |
HB4322 |
|
|---|
| CBD Subject: |
Education (K12) |
|---|
|
FUND(S):
0313
Sources of Revenue:
General Fund
Legislation creates:
Increases Existing Expenses
Fiscal Note Summary
Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
The estimated cost to the State under the Public School Support Plan (PSSP) to open the Hope Scholarship to all children is $198,808,595. This is a maximum cost estimate because the WVDE does not have sufficient data to estimate the number of nonpublic students who may choose to participate in the program once participation is expanded.
Fiscal Note Detail
| Effect of Proposal |
Fiscal Year |
2024
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
2025
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation) |
| 1. Estmated Total Cost |
0 |
0 |
198,808,595 |
| Personal Services |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Current Expenses |
0 |
0 |
198,808,595 |
| Repairs and Alterations |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Assets |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Other |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2. Estimated Total Revenues |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):
This proposed legislation redefines “eligible recipient” to mean “a child who is a resident of this state.” Further, the proposed amendment would phase-in the HOPE expansion currently set for July 1, 2026, pending certain criteria, over a 3-year period.
Under current statute, Hope Scholarship eligibility does not expand to include all children who are of compulsory school age until July 1, 2026, at the earliest. Upon passage, this proposed legislation, including the proposed amendment, would accelerate the full implementation of the Hope Scholarship statute for compulsory school age children by approximately two fiscal years for students enrolled in grades nine through twelve and one fiscal year for students enrolled in grades five through eight while keeping the current statutory expansion for students enrolled in grades kindergarten through four. Current statute provides for an annual appropriation to the WVDE in an amount equal to the greater of no less than two percent of net public school enrollment adjusted for state aid purposes, or the total number of eligible Hope Scholarship applicants received by the Treasurer, if available, multiplied by the prior year's statewide average net state aid allotted per pupil. This legislation does not revise that portion of the statute. Therefore, the WVDE’s appropriation request for the 2024-25 fiscal year would not be impacted by the proposed legislation. However, as currently ineligible homeschool and private school students began participating in the Hope Scholarship program, additional appropriations would be required to meet that demand.
The WVDE does not have sufficient data to determine how many homeschool and private school students would choose to begin participating in the program once eligibility is expanded to all children who are of compulsory school age. Further, the WVDE does not have sufficient data pertaining to home school student grade levels due to the fact that this is not a statutory reporting requirement for this student group; therefore, the WVDE is only able to provide a cost estimate upon full implementation of the proposed legislation.
To estimate the total cost to the State for the full implementation of the proposed legislation insofar as it would expand eligibility to all compulsory school age children, the WVDE used the most current available homeschool and private school enrollment data (school year 2022-23) to determine the total number of students who may become eligible if the legislation is enacted and implemented. Current data shows there are approximately 12,494 students in nonpublic/private schools and 25,883 students in a homeschool setting for a gross total of 38,377 students. The statewide average net state aid allotted per pupil for the 2023-24 fiscal year used to complete the fiscal year 2024-25 funding request in accordance with WVC §18-9A-25 is $5,180.41. Therefore, the estimated maximum cost to the State for this proposed legislation is $198,808,595 upon full implementation. It is important to note that this estimate does not include any additional cost to the State for existing public school students already eligible under current statute who may decide to take advantage of the program. Those costs are already included in the WVDE’s annual appropriation request based upon the funding requirements noted above. Additionally, insofar as the bill opens up eligibility for the HOPE Scholarship to all children who are not of compulsory school age, the above estimate does not project that additional cost. The Department lacks the necessary data to make such a projection. However, it is likely that the cost to the State to make that category of children eligible would be substantially more than the $198,808,595 figure in this fiscal note.
Memorandum
The proposed amendment removes the 45-day enrollment term currently afforded under subsection (B). This would negatively impact those students in grades kindergarten through eight who would not be immediately eligible for the HOPE scholarship but are currently afforded the 45-day provision. If this is not the intent of the Legislature, the proposed amendment will need to address this issue.
Person submitting Fiscal Note: Uriah Cummings
Email Address: Uriah.Cummings@k12.wv.us