It’s a slight but important change at a time when school performance data is scrutinized intensely. From test scores to graduation rates, those numbers have an outsized influence on policy decisions and on public perceptions of school success and failure.

Anyelin Ortega told Colorado lawmakers recently that the lunch line at her high school can be 25 minutes long, often leaving the 17-year-old only five minutes to finish her food.

“We need sustainable, scalable investment in our schools so that we're not coming back to the table every year trying to figure out where the money is going to come from,” Superintendent Carmela Levy-David said.

Lawmakers want to increase funding for students with greater learning needs, including students living in poverty, those learning English and students with disabilities.