Proposal: Change statuatory language providing for a 3% growth factor to allow funding to be used for increasing contact hour reimbursement when growth in contact hours is less than 3%.                                
Rationale: Since the ABE formula was adopted in 2000, inflation has increased the costs while the contact hour rate has declined -- it is now less than in 2003.  Because of this decline, some programs were forced to cut back, even as demand for ESL services increased.  The proposed policy change would help increase the contact hour reimbursement rate without increasing current ABE appropriations.

Proposal: Change statutory language to indicate that no more than 25% of allocated funds for supplemental services may go to one provider.
Rationale: Currently, any one grantee is capped at $100,000. Almost all of the supplemental service funds go to providing professional development.  Only a few providers have both expertise in ABE and the capacity to provide such statewide staff development on a broad scale. The current cap is proving increasingly problematic in terms of meeting supplemental service needs.

Proposal: Change statutory language to increase GED reimbursement to testing centers from $20 per test battery to $40 per test battery.
Rationale: $125,000 was appropriated in 2007 to help reduce the cost of GED testing.  Currently, approximately $40,000 of unused reimbursement is returned to the general fund. Testing fees in many cases exceed $90, creating a financial barrier for many students. An increased subsidy will help address this issue. No additional funding will need to be allocated.