Lawmakers push to protect CTE funding and broaden charter hold‑harmless after HB63 impacts

Committee members pressed staff on the future of Career and Technical Education (CTE) funding and on the distribution of a proposed hold‑harmless supplemental tied to House Bill 63.

Daniel told the committee LESC recommended retaining a roughly $40 million CTE bucket for FY27, while LFC proposed reducing that bucket dramatically — focusing only on innovation zones and allocating roughly $11 million for three‑year funding in the Public Education Reform Fund. Representative Baca and other members warned that reducing the broader CTE bucket could disrupt students who are mid‑program and pursuing certificates or apprenticeships.

"This reduction in funding may impact [students] that are in process in their CTE towards a certificate program," Representative Baca said, urging the committee to consider making perf allocations recurring or otherwise ensure continuity.

On the charter‑hold‑harmless question, staff said House Bill 63 changed the at‑risk index calculation tied to the family income index, which reduced funding for some charter schools and Magdalena. LFC recommended a $6 million supplemental as a one‑year hold‑harmless but the language limits that funding to charter schools. Several members, including Representative Romero, asked that any hold‑harmless address both charter schools and affected districts like Magdalena.

Daniel explained differences in measurement drove Magdalena's decline: the prior federal index produced a poverty number for Magdalena that was not consistent with the family income index used in HB63, and that methodological change reduced Magdalena’s calculated needs.

Members asked staff to explore whether some funding (such as salaries for act implementation staff) should be integrated into recurring PED operating budgets rather than temporary buckets so program supports survive year to year.

(Reporting based on committee Q&A and staff presentation.)