WILMINGTON — Legislation will seek to increase funding and classroom-based support for low-income students, English learners and young Delaware students with special needs, officials announced Thursday.

Senate Bill 56, sponsored by Sen. Laura Sturgeon, D-Woodbrook, expands and makes permanent Delaware’s Opportunity Funding program. The weighted funding program provides direct, classroom-based support for low-income students and English learners. By fiscal year 2025, funding for the program would more than double, to $60 million annually.

House Bill 86, sponsored by Rep. Kim Williams, D-Newport, fully funds basic special education services for Delaware children in grades kindergarten through three. The legislation closes the gap in funding for Delaware’s youngest learners with special needs and makes basic special education funding consistent across grade levels.

“We need to ensure that our most disadvantaged students are getting the education they need and deserve,” Gov. John Carney said in a prepared statement. “Our Opportunity Funding program is already providing direct, classroom-based supports for low-income students and English learners. These pieces of legislation will build on that effort and close the gap for young students with special needs.”

The two bills come after a lawsuit against the state, filed in 2018 by Delawareans for Educational Opportunity and the NAACP of Delaware, was settled in the fall. The lawsuit claimed the state had, for many years, been aware of substantial deficiencies in the educational resources provided to low-income students, students with disabilities and students who are English learners, with those groups performing lowest in state testing data and other metrics, such as high school graduation.

The agreement, announced in October, required the governor to seek legislation bringing new financial commitments and structural changes to the way Delaware serves disadvantaged students. Some of the systemic changes listed in the agreement included making Opportunity Funding permanent, as well as funding special education services for Delaware’s young learners in grades four to 12 equally.

“The Delawareans For Educational Opportunity and the NAACP are pleased that the governor and members of the General Assembly have introduced legislation consistent with our shared goal of giving all of Delaware’s students a fair shot at a good education,” Jea Street, on behalf of DEO and NAACP, said in a prepared statement Thursday. “This historic legislation is an important piece of a systemic shift toward a more equitable education for all of Delaware’s students. It is our fervent hope that this legislation is approved and the programs that it supports are implemented without compromise or delay, and we look forward to working with the General Assembly and the governor to make that happen.”

Sen. Sturgeon, who sponsored Senate Bill 56, said that in her 25 years as a public school teacher, she saw students of all backgrounds rise to the challenges and thrive. Other students had unmet needs, she said, which could be addressed with adequate funding.

“Whether it’s one-on-one time after school for extra help or access to a good counselor to work through trauma or smaller class sizes to help with focus and attention, these Opportunity Funds will allow schools to address the needs of our most vulnerable students,” she said in a statement. “I am proud to sponsor SB 56 as an important step toward closing the achievement gap caused by circumstances outside students’ control. We owe our future generation nothing less.”

In a prepared statement, Rep. Williams said House Bill 86 will “correct longstanding issues of inequality.”

“I am confident that we will meet this moment and make lasting, positive change,” she said. “With respect to special education, research has proven that early identification and intervention are critical to a child’s overall success. By the time a child reaches third grade, they should be transitioning from learning to read to reading to learn. If we are committed to fundamentally improving the quality of education in our state, then we must make a commitment early on.”

Stephanie Ingram, president of the Delaware State Education Association, said that the legislation reflects “years of work and advocacy” by many.

“We still have a long road ahead to ensure funding is directed to programs and educators that are needed the most,” she said in a statement. “We recognize that Gov. Carney is the first governor to acknowledge that our English learner students, low income students, and special education students need more support in their school day than others. We thank him, and look forward to working with him on similar initiatives that will provide additional support to Delaware students in need.”