Delaware Assembly OKs $6.2B Budget with $150M K-12 Boost

DOVER, Del. (AP) — The Delaware General Assembly passed a $6.2 billion fiscal year 2026 budget on Thursday, allocating an additional $150 million for K-12 education, including raises for teachers and expanded support for low-income and English learner students. The budget, initially reported by news.delaware.gov, incorporates commitments from a 2021 school funding settlement, such as permanent Opportunity Funding rising to $60 million annually by the 2024-25 school year and growing with enrollment. It also doubles Early Childhood Assistance Program funding to $12.2 million for fiscal years 2024 and 2025, targeting pre-K for three- and four-year-olds.

The funding surge aligns with recommendations from the Public Education Funding Commission, chaired by state Sen. Laura Sturgeon, D-Brandywine Hundred, which in recent months approved a hybrid funding model. This model adds weights of $3,343 per low-income student and $2,328 per multilingual learner, transitioning from the 1940s-era unit-based system while holding all districts harmless. Phase one implementation could cost up to $200 million in fiscal year 2028, with initial preparation at $2.8 million for 2027, preserving the fiscal 2009 equalization freeze on local tax bases.

Gov. Matt Meyer hailed the budget as a 'major win' for education, tying it to restored federal funding secured by Attorney General Kathy Jennings after a lawsuit against the Trump administration's freeze. Amid a $149 million surplus projected by the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council as of October, the budget also injects $4 million annually starting in 2022-23 for teacher recruitment in high-needs schools and equalizes K-3 special education funding to match grades 4-12 levels from 2023-24. An independent assessment of the current system, due by January 2024, will further guide reforms.