Today, we reached a milestone decades in the making.

Senate Bill 302 – A New Hybrid Funding Formula for Delawareans – has officially passed the Delaware House of Representatives and is headed to the Governor’s desk.

This marks the beginning of a once-in-a-generation transformation of how Delaware funds public education by modernizing Delaware’s school funding system, one that has remained unchanged since 1942, so that state funding better reflects the needs of today’s students. It is the next step toward ensuring schools can better meet the unique needs of low-income students, multilingual learners, and others while supporting every district and charter school during the transition.

For years, advocates, educators, families, legislators, researchers, and community leaders have worked together to build a better path forward. There were countless meetings, difficult conversations, revisions, setbacks, and moments when progress felt painfully slow. But through it all we kept fighting because we know that Delaware’s students deserved a funding system that better reflects their needs.

Today, that persistence paid off.

The final roll call brought tears to my eyes. After years of work, there was something incredibly moving about seeing so many people’s efforts culminate in this moment. This victory belongs to all of us.

To our coalition partners, members of the Public Education Funding Commission, legislative champions, educators, families, and advocates: thank you for your partnership, your patience, and your unwavering commitment to Delaware’s students. You carried this work forward, often without knowing when, or if, the finish line would come.

And to everyone who answered a DelawareKidsCAN call to action, attended an event, shared your story, emailed a legislator, or supported this work in ways big and small: thank you. Advocacy only works when people show up, and you did.

Tomorrow, the work continues. Passing legislation is a tremendous achievement, but implementation is where promises become reality. DelawareKidsCAN will be there every step of the way to help ensure this new funding model delivers on its promise for students across our state.