William R. Richardson: “I rise in support of my amendment which clarifies that States which have established equalized funding formulas are not…”

“I rise in support of my amendment which clarifies that States which have established equalized funding formulas are not restricted from using their formulas to allocate the State's impact aid funding. My State of New Mexico has pioneered the Nation's oldest and most equal method of dispersing the State's educational dollars. Title 8 of H.R. 6 already establishes that States may use equalized funding formulas to allot impact aid when those formulas take into consideration that students in rural areas or students who have disabilities have special funding needs. My amendment simply specifies that State equalization formulas based on a ``weighted student,'' a ``classroom,'' or ``instructional unit'' are methods of taking into consideration students with special needs. This amendment is identical to the issued impact aid regulations in effect since 1980. This amendment would simply add the technical clarifications to the bill that are already in regulations. Lastly, I would like to thank the honorable chairman of the subcommittee, Mr. Kildee, for allowing this technical clarification as an en bloc amendment to H.R. 6.”