The Senate adopted the conference committee report for House Bill 1369, the policy bill that sets K‑12 funding mechanics, choosing a compromise of 2.5% and 2.5% per‑pupil increases over the biennium and adjusting school construction loan amounts and eligibility tiers.

Senator Scheible, the conference chair, said the conferees combined the chambers' positions and landed on a midpoint: "what your conference committee combined with was a 2 and a half and a 2 and a half." The agreed per‑pupil payment figures were presented on the floor: the payment would rise from $11,072 to $11,349 in the first year and to $11,633 in the second year of the next biennium.

The conference report also changed school construction loan program tiers to allow more districts to access loans. The maximum loan amounts per project were lowered from $15 million to $10 million for the smaller tier and from $30 million to $20 million for the larger tier, conferees said, to spread available revolving loan funds among more applicants.

Why it matters: The changes deliver a material, though smaller than originally proposed, boost to per‑pupil funding and adjust the construction loan program to expand access amid constrained state resources. Conferees noted K‑12 took a substantial reduction in available state funding as the larger budget picture constrained spending.

Procedure and vote

The Senate adopted the conference committee report and passed the bill on final reading; final tally on the floor was 44 yea, 2 nay, 1 absent.