To provide a “template” or “place holder” for a Fiscal Year 2016-2017 “Omnibus” school aid, higher education and community colleges budget. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.   Official Text and Analysis.

With the recommendation that the substitute (H-1) be adopted and that the bill then pass.

To reduce cap on disbursements to students at a single institutions under a state scholarship program for students attending an independent nonprofit college or university.

To spend $4 million rather than $3 million on a grants to intermediate school districts "to assist teachers in developing and implementing instructional strategies for pupils in grades K to 3".

To not separate "performance funding" grants to state universities and colleges rather than including these amounts in the institutions' overall appropriations. This refers to efforts by the Snyder administration to create incentives for schools to adopt specified reforms.

To prohibit online cyberschool grants from exceeding 50 percent of the foundation allowance of the school district in which the online school is located.

To delete provisions requiring a new statewide student assessment test, and instead keep the current tests.

To increase funding for community college tuition assistance grants.

To establish as the "intent of the legislature" that universities take steps to reduce the cost of textbooks students are required to acquire, and include cost estimates in course catalogs.

To remove a provision that would give extra money to school districts with the worst academic performance in the state.

To require annual audits of education management companies under contracts to manage charter schools.

To authorize spending an undetermined amount to pay for schools to distribute free sanitary napkins and tampons in girl's bathrooms.

To increase spendng on “early literacy coaches at intermediate districts to assist teachers in developing and implementing instructional strategies for pupils in grades K to 3”.

To delete a provision that would give some districts extra money to launch a year-round schedule at one of their schools.

To revise details of certain funding formulas in the bill.

To require school district to implement a plan to reduce student expulsions and suspensions.

To cut funding from universities that hold governing board meetings that aren't open to the public, or that violate the state's open records law.

To cut funding from community colleges that hold governing board meetings that aren't open to the public, or that violate the state's open records law.

The House version of the K-12 school aid, community college and university budgets for the fiscal year that begins Oct 1, 2016. A separate House budget authorizes the rest of state government spending (House Bill 5294). This bill would appropriate a total of $16,176 billion, of which $1.918 billion is federal money. Of this total, $14,187 billion would go to K-12 public education, compared to $13.896 billion the prior year. It also appropriates $1.586 billion for state universities, compared to $1.534 billion the prior year. Community colleges would get $402 million, vs. $388 million the prior year.
Altogether, when both "omnibus" budgets are combined, the House proposes to spend $54.943 billion on all of state government next year, vs. $54.443 billion originally approved for the current year.

A substitute that deletes the bill's original language and uses it to clarify details of bill that actually became the 2016-17 school budget, Senate Bill 801.

To use this bill as a "vehicle" to clarify or update various complex details of the 2016-17 school aid budget. The bill's original contents were deleted.

To clarify a provision related to school pupil counts and student transfers.

To use this bill as a "vehicle" to clarify or update various complex funding formula details of the 2016-17 school aid budget. The bill's original contents were deleted.