In last's week update, I reviewed the governor's supplemental budget proposal.  I neglected to include the $5 million increase for school-linked mental health grants.  Also, to clarify, the Qcomp cap was lifted only for the districts currently in the program.  These districts have enrollment growth.  As Qcomp is a per pupil revenue program, this will continue full funding for these districts.   

You can find more information on the governor's proposal, along with how the new special education dollars would be distributed per school district on this page of the SEE website.  

It was a flurry of activity at the Capitol as the committees raced to meet the committee deadlines to produce policy bills.  The House released its E-12 education policy omnibus bill.  You can find the bill text and summary here.  (The Senate releases its omnibus bill next Thursday.)  

The House bill includes

• efforts to reduce suspension and expulsions through behavioral interventions.
• adds requirements on how schools deal with students suspensions, expulsions and withdrawal,
• implements a 5-star rating for each school district based on MCA test proficiency and achievement gaps,
• establishes a special education working group to look at how special education services are delivered and make recommendations for cost containment,
• requires sexual exploitation prevention and substance misuse prevention in the health curriculum,  
• for more information, this House Session Daily story  provides a concise list of notable provisions (scroll to the end) and more details.  

As always, see Brad's Blog for more detailed information on what is happening at the Capitol.