(a) Definitions. As used in this section:
(1) “EL pupils” means pupils described under section 4013 of this title.
(2) “FPL” means the Federal Poverty Level.
(3) “Weighting categories” means the categories listed under subsection (b) of this section.
(4) “Child with a disability” means any child in Vermont eligible under State rules to receive special education who is enrolled in any of kindergarten through grade 12.
(5) “Disability” means any of:
(A) a specific learning disability or a speech or language impairment, each of which is identified as “Category A”;
(B) an emotional disturbance, intellectual disability, developmental delay, or other health impairment, each of which is identified as “Category B”; or
(C) autism spectrum disorder, deaf-blindness, hearing impairment, orthopedic impairment, traumatic brain injury, or visual impairment, each of which is identified as “Category C.”
(6) “English language proficiency level” means each of the English language proficiency levels published as a standardized measure of academic language proficiency in WIDA ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 and available to members of the WIDA consortium of state departments of education.
(7) “Newcomer or SLIFE” means a pupil identified as a New American or as a student with limited or interrupted formal education.
(b) Determination of average daily membership and weighting categories. On or before the first day of December during each school year, the Secretary shall determine the average daily membership, as defined in subdivision 4001(1) of this title, of each school district for the current school year and shall, using average daily membership, list for each school district the number of
(1) pupils in prekindergarten;
(2) pupils in kindergarten through grade five;
(3) pupils in grades six through eight;
(4) pupils in grades nine through 12;
(5) pupils whose families are at or below 185 percent of FPL, using the highest number of pupils in the district:
(A) that meet this definition under the universal income declaration form; or
(B) who are directly certified for free and reduced-priced meals;
(6) EL pupils who have been most recently assessed at an English language proficiency level of:
(A) Level 1;
(B) Level 2 or 3;
(C) Level 4; or
(D) Level 5 or 6;
(7) EL pupils who are identified as Newcomer or SLIFE; and
(8) children with a disability whose disability is identified as:
(A) Category A;
(B) Category B; or
(C) Category C, provided that a child with multiple disabilities shall be counted solely under this subdivision (C).
(c) Reporting on weighting categories to the Agency of Education. Each school district shall annually report to the Agency of Education by a date established by the Agency the information needed in order for the Agency to compute the weighting categories under subsection (b) of this section for that district. In order to fulfill this obligation, a school district that pays public tuition on behalf of a resident student (sending district) to a public school in another school district, an approved independent school, or an out-of-state school (each a receiving school) may request the receiving school to collect this information on the sending district’s resident student, and if requested, the receiving school shall provide this information to the sending district in a timely manner.
(d) Determination of weighted long-term membership. For each weighting category, the Secretary shall compute the weighting count by using the long-term membership, as defined in subdivision 4001(7) of this title, in that category.
(1) Prekindergarten weight. Each pupil included in long-term membership who is enrolled in prekindergarten shall receive an additional weighting amount of negative 0.54.
(2) Economic disadvantage weight. Each pupil included in long-term membership whose family is at or below 185 percent of FPL shall receive an additional weighting amount of 1.02.
(3) EL proficiency weights. Each EL pupil included in long-term membership shall receive an additional weighting amount, based on the EL pupil’s English language proficiency level, of:
(A) 2.11, if assessed as Level 1;
(B) 1.41, if assessed as Level 2 or 3;
(C) 1.20, if assessed as Level 4; or
(D) 0.12, if assessed as Level 5 or 6.
(4) EL Newcomer/SLIFE weight. Each EL pupil included in long-term membership who is a Newcomer or SLIFE shall receive an additional weighting amount of 0.42.
(5) Special education weights. Each child with a disability included in long-term membership shall receive an additional weighting amount, based on the categorization of the child’s disability, of:
(A) 0.79, if the disability is identified as Category A;
(B) 1.89, if the disability is identified as Category B; or
(C) 2.49, if the disability is identified as Category C.
(6) A school district’s weighted long-term membership shall equal long-term membership plus the cumulation of the weights assigned by the Secretary under this subsection
(e) Hold harmless. A district’s weighted long-term membership shall in no case be less than 96 and one-half percent of its actual weighted long-term membership the previous year prior to making any adjustment under this subsection
(f) Determination of educational opportunity payment. The Secretary shall determine each school district’s educational opportunity payment by multiplying the school district’s weighted long-term membership determined under subsection (d) of this section by the base amount.
(g) Guidelines. The Secretary shall develop guidelines to enable clear and consistent identification of pupils to be counted under this section.
(h) Updates to weights, base amount, and transportation reimbursement. On or before January 1, 2026 and on or before January 1 of every fifth year thereafter, the Agency of Education and the Joint Fiscal Office shall calculate, based on their consensus view and with the advice and consultation of a professional judgment panel convened by the Agency, updates to the weights and the base amount, including any inflationary measure, to account for cost changes underlying those weights and shall issue a written report on their work to the House and Senate Committees on Education, the House Committee on Ways and Means, and the Senate Committee on Finance. The General Assembly shall update the weights under this section, the base amount, and transportation reimbursement under section 4016 of this title not less than every five years and the implementation date for the updated weights and transportation reimbursement shall be delayed by a year in order to provide school districts with time to prepare their budgets. Updates to the weights may include recalibration, recalculation, adding or eliminating weights, or any combination of these actions.