The Appropriations Subcommittee recommended fully funding the state's Flex Benefits Allowance (FBA) and advanced a total FY26 appropriations request of $3,994,479,266 for the State Department of Education to the full Appropriations Committee.

The recommendation, made by the committee chair and seconded by Senator Seifert, includes $88,569,748 to fully fund the FBA; a recurring $4,000,000 increase for a maternity leave program; one-time matching funds for local "grow your own" teacher pipeline programs; and one-time allocations for high-dosage tutoring and instructional support programs. The chair also proposed a $25,000,000 recurring start to cover funding that would trigger an additional day of required instruction under pending legislation.

The recommendation matters because state law requires the FBA to be funded, and the committee positioned the appropriation as a near-term, recurring commitment to employee benefits for teachers and support staff. "We are required by law to fully fund that, FBA," the chair said, adding that the figure is built into the education budget. The chair cautioned the subcommittee that the exact FBA total could change slightly as staff refine percentage increases and the count of employees added in the past year.

Committee members also discussed several one-time investments the chair recommended: a matching allocation to local "grow your own" teacher development programs, and two separate $5 million one-time awards to support (1) a tutoring program tied to legislation mentioned by Senator Deaver and (2) instructional intervention specialists and micro-credentialing tied to science-of-reading training. The chair described the grow-your-own program as a way to move long-serving paraprofessionals and aides into teacher certification pathways and back into their local districts.

Separately, the subcommittee considered a supplemental request to reconcile prior-year FBA estimates with actual insurance and participation data. The chair recommended approving a supplemental request stated in the transcript as $22,012,000.554 to cover flex benefits costs from the previous year, and the committee approved that supplemental by voice vote. During discussion, the chair acknowledged that agencies estimate insurance premiums and employee participation when they submit budgets and that final data often arrives after initial requests, producing supplemental requests. "By law, we have to pass this," the chair said, urging approval while noting the process can feel opaque because OMES provides the premium estimates and agencies pass those costs through.

The subcommittee approved the education recommendation by voice vote; the chair declared the recommendation passed after members answered "aye." The recommendation will be presented to the full Appropriations Committee in the afternoon session.