(a) On or before the first day of December during each school year, the Secretary shall determine the average daily membership of each school district for the current school year. The determination shall list separately:

(b) The Secretary shall determine the long-term membership for each school district for each student group described in subsection (a) of this section. The Secretary shall use the actual average daily membership over two consecutive years, the latter of which is the current school year.

(c) The Secretary shall determine the weighted long-term membership for each school district using the long-term membership from subsection (b) of this section and the following weights for each class:

(d) The weighted long-term membership calculated under subsection (c) of this section shall be increased for each school district to compensate for additional costs imposed by students from economically deprived backgrounds. The adjustment shall be equal to the total from subsection (c) of this section, multiplied by 25 percent, and further multiplied by the poverty ratio of the district.

(e) The weighted long-term membership calculated under subsection (c) of this section shall be further increased by 0.2 for each student in average daily membership for whom English is not the primary language.

(f) For purposes of the calculation under this section, a district's equalized pupils shall in no case be less than 96 and one-half percent of the actual number of equalized pupils in the district in the previous year, prior to making any adjustment under this subsection.

(g) The Secretary shall develop guidelines to enable clear and consistent identification of students to be counted under this section.

(h) On December 1 each year, the Secretary shall determine the equalized pupil count for the next fiscal year for district review. The Secretary shall make any necessary corrections on or before December 15, on which date the count shall become final for that year.

(i) The Secretary shall evaluate the accuracy of the weights established in subsection (c) of this section and, at the beginning of each biennium, shall propose to the House and Senate Committees on Education whether the weights should stay the same or be adjusted. The provisions of 2 V.S.A. § 20(d) (expiration of required reports) shall not apply to the report to be made under this subsection. (Added 1997, No. 60, § 18, eff. July 1, 1998; amended 1999, No. 49, § 2, eff. June 2, 1999; 2003, No. 68, § 39, eff. June 18, 2003; 2003, No. 130 (Adj. Sess.), § 11; 2007, No. 62, § 7; 2007, No. 66, § 19; No. 82, §§ 7, 8; 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 236, eff. Feb. 14, 2014; 2013, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 32; 2013, No. 174 (Adj. Sess.), § 53; 2015, No. 46, § 22, eff. July 1, 2016; 2015, No. 46, § 24, eff. July 1, 2020.)