Download or read book Measuring Inequity in School Funding written by Diana Epstein and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 25 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Low-income children tend to be concentrated in low-income school districts, and these children often attend schools that receive far fewer resources per pupil despite their greater need. Since education is primarily a state responsibility, more than 90 percent of school funding comes from state and local sources, and the federal government provides the rest. Districts have traditionally drawn much of their revenue from local property taxes, which means districts in high-wealth parts of a state are often funded more generously than districts in low-wealth areas. Over time, some states have moved to school finance models in which districts receive more funding from state sources and rely less on local revenue streams. The shift to higher proportions of state funding is aimed at ensuring districts in lower-wealth areas have access to additional resources so funding across districts is more equitable. In other states, however, the level of school funding is still largely driven by local taxes. This paper discusses the differences in per pupil funding across states by highlighting measures of spending and effort. It then examines the problem of intrastate fiscal inequity and surveys some of the different measures that are used to characterize a state's level of funding equity among districts within a state. It then compares and contrasts the different measures and presents data on states' fiscal equity using a variety of measures. The data demonstrate that many states are not fairly funding their school districts. (Contains 4 figures and 19 endnotes.).

Download or read book Equity and Adequacy in Education Finance written by Committee on Education Finance and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1999-02-26 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spending on K-12 education across the United States and across local school districts has long been characterized by great disparities--disparities that reflect differences in property wealth and tax rates. For more than a quarter-century, reformers have attempted to reduce these differences through court challenges and legislative action. As part of a broad study of education finance, the committee commissioned eight papers examining the history and consequences of school finance reform undertaken in the name of equity and adequacy. This thought-provoking, timely collection of papers explores such topics as: What do the terms "equity" and "adequacy" in school finance really mean? How are these terms relevant to the politics and litigation of school finance reform? What is the impact of court-ordered school finance reform on spending disparities? How do school districts use money from finance reform? What policy options are available to states facing new challenges from court decisions mandating adequacy in school finance? When measuring adequacy, how do you consider differences in student needs and regional costs?

Download or read book The Measurement of Equity in School Finance written by Robert Berne and published by . This book was released on 1984 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Making Money Matter written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1999-11-30 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States annually spends over $300 billion on public elementary and secondary education. As the nation enters the 21st century, it faces a major challenge: how best to tie this financial investment to the goal of high levels of achievement for all students. In addition, policymakers want assurance that education dollars are being raised and used in the most efficient and effective possible ways. The book covers such topics as: Legal and legislative efforts to reduce spending and achievement gaps. The shift from "equity" to "adequacy" as a new standard for determining fairness in education spending. The debate and the evidence over the productivity of American schools. Strategies for using school finance in support of broader reforms aimed at raising student achievement. This book contains a comprehensive review of the theory and practice of financing public schools by federal, state, and local governments in the United States. It distills the best available knowledge about the fairness and productivity of expenditures on education and assesses options for changing the finance system.

Download or read book The Stealth Inequities of School Funding written by Bruce D. Baker and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 95 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In the education world, the existence of funding inequities has long been a known fact, but the sources of these inequities have not always been obvious. Typically, local property tax variation has been blamed as the sole, or at least primary, cause of inequalities and called for greater state funding as the solution. In practice, however, it is seen that states providing a large share of state aid are not necessarily more equitable in their distribution of school funding. There must therefore be more to the story behind funding inequities. This report tries to provide a fuller picture of the problem so that more is known about what stands in the way of equity. The two chapters that follow explore stealth inequities in school finance, which are defined as often-overlooked features of school funding systems that tend to exacerbate inequities in per-pupil spending rather than reduce them, and that do so in a way that favors communities with the least need ... -- "regressive" school funding distributions where children attending school in higher-poverty districts still have substantially less access to state and local revenue than children attending school in lower-poverty districts"--Page 1.

Download or read book School Finance written by United States. General Accounting Office and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book A Report on Shortchanging Children written by William L. Taylor and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The study identifies services that are considered essential to the success of at-risk children and examines the extent to which children in property-poor districts are deprived of these services due to inequitable finance systems.

Download or read book Necessary But Not Sufficient written by Julia C. Warth and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 39 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thesis examines school funding equity measures currently used to assess inter-district equity and explores options for assessing intra-district equity. This type of analysis may prove to be very useful for school district administrators and Washington State policymakers as new legislation is implemented to address the inadequacy of school funding in response to the Washington State Supreme Court decision McCleary v. Washington. A discussion of current equity measures is presented, followed by a discussion of theories of funding adequacy and recent developments in Washington State. Funding data from the 2009-2010 school year is analyzed and discussed using established equity measures. The results of this analysis show that state funding in Washington is fairly equitable on an inter-district level. However, averages used in state and district level data may mask inequities among schools. In light of the state's new focus on adequacy, which is based on school prototypes, the issue of intra-district equity will become more prominent. This paper seeks to establish a system of measurements on a district level that will allow districts to assess whether the new focus on adequacy is impacting equity among schools.

Download or read book Savage Inequalities written by Jonathan Kozol and published by Crown. This book was released on 2012-07-24 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “An impassioned book, laced with anger and indignation, about how our public education system scorns so many of our children.”—The New York Times Book Review In 1988, Jonathan Kozol set off to spend time with children in the American public education system. For two years, he visited schools in neighborhoods across the country, from Illinois to Washington, D.C., and from New York to San Antonio. He spoke with teachers, principals, superintendents, and, most important, children. What he found was devastating. Not only were schools for rich and poor blatantly unequal, the gulf between the two extremes was widening—and it has widened since. The urban schools he visited were overcrowded and understaffed, and lacked the basic elements of learning—including books and, all too often, classrooms for the students. In Savage Inequalities, Kozol delivers a searing examination of the extremes of wealth and poverty and calls into question the reality of equal opportunity in our nation’s schools. Praise for Savage Inequalities “I was unprepared for the horror and shame I felt. . . . Savage Inequalities is a savage indictment. . . . Everyone should read this important book.”—Robert Wilson, USA Today “Kozol has written a book that must be read by anyone interested in education.”—Elizabeth Duff, Philadelphia Inquirer “The forces of equity have now been joined by a powerful voice. . . . Kozol has written a searing exposé of the extremes of wealth and poverty in America’s school system and the blighting effect on poor children, especially those in cities.”—Emily Mitchell, Time “Easily the most passionate, and certain to be the most passionately debated, book about American education in several years . . . A classic American muckraker with an eloquent prose style, Kozol offers . . . an old-fashioned brand of moral outrage that will affect every reader whose heart has not yet turned to stone.”—Entertainment Weekly

Download or read book The Search for Equity in School Funding written by National Conference of State Legislatures and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After decades of media attention, study, and lawsuits, the solution to inequities in school funding remains elusive. This paper examines several strategies that states have used to try to close the funding disparities in per-pupil spending. It explains the two definitions of equity in the school-finance arena and identifies some important trends in school-finance litigation. Also described are some of the strategies used by states to address problems arising from differences in school spending, such as increasing state spending in low-wealth districts, placing legislative spending caps on wealthy districts, and recapturing or redistributing revenue. The role of state courts in directing remedies to unequal state funding is outlined in the next part. Policymakers also face challenges resulting from a projected growth in elementary-secondary enrollments and the increased need for state support of school-district capital outlay. State policymakers are advised to be sensitive both to taxpayer equity and to concerns for educational equity; maintain the stability of the funding system; include a measure of school-district fiscal capacity in the state-funding approach; examine both the positive and negative circumstances associated with the use of earmarked lottery revenue; be attuned to the principle of program neutrality; consider the funding systems in total; and distribute state resources in such a way that promotes the most efficient use of those resources at the local level. In addition, the federal role in education finance may need to be redefined. One table and one figure are included. Appendices contain states' nontax revenues (lotteries) for education; educational goals for Kentucky; Alabama's essential principles; programs under the Elementary Secondary Education Program; ideas for a broader federal role in education finance; a glossary; and professional organizations' strategies to address equity. (Contains 30 endnotes and 26 references.) (LMI)

Download or read book Designed to Fail written by Roseann Liu and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2024-03-20 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A provocative examination of how systemic racism in education funding is sustained. For people who care about urban school districts like Philadelphia’s, addressing the challenges that these schools face often boils down to the need for more money. But why are urban districts that serve Black and Brown students still so perennially underfunded compared to majority-white ones? Why is racial equity in school funding so hard to achieve? In Designed to Fail, Roseann Liu provides an inside look at the Pennsylvania state legislature and campaigns for fair funding to show how those responsible for the distribution of school funding work to maintain the privileges of majority-white school districts. Liu analyzes how colorblind policies, political structures, and the maintenance of the status quo by people in power perpetuate wide and deepening racial disparities in education funding. Taking a lesson from community organizers fighting for a racially equitable school funding system, Liu’s work is a bold call to address structural racism at the root and organize from a place of abundant justice.

Download or read book Communities in Action written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2017-04-27 with total page 583 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.

Download or read book Inequity in Illinois written by People for the American Way, Washington, DC. and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 13 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While there are many factors that determine the quality of a public school, inequitable and insufficient school funding is a major obstacle to improving public education for all children. When it comes to funding public education, Illinois has a serious problem. Not only does the state limit its commitment to adequately fund public schools, but it also puts the burden of funding on local school districts. As a result, there is a wide disparity between wealthy and poor districts. Additionally, the lack of adequate funding has resulted in local school districts running up huge deficits and debts, forcing almost 80 percent of all school districts in Illinois to operate in the red today. Because of its funding crisis and the way in which the state chooses to fund its public education, Illinois schools are struggling financially and are forced to make impossible choices that lower the quality of education they provide. Local districts have had to close schools, eliminate teaching positions, increase class sizes, eliminate support services like teachers' aides, and reduce extracurricular and athletic options for students. While these cuts are an effort to save money, they come at the cost of a quality education. Since education in Illinois is already polarized by wealthy and poor districts, students in predominantly low-income schools are going to fall further behind. Education is often viewed as the great equalizer, creating equal opportunities for all students to develop into participatory and responsible citizens, regardless of ethnicity, race or socioeconomic backgrounds. However, in Illinois, this is clearly not the case. Quality education is available to those who can afford it rather than an opportunity for all students. Critics of the state's school funding system argue that the funding mechanism does not support the goals of NCLB. Instead, by favoring the wealthier school districts, Illinois leaves the poor ones behind to be penalized under NCLB's rigorous accountability measures. This inequity will severely impact the state in the long run, creating an ill-prepared, less-educated workforce. Rather than addressing the funding problems and educational inequities that have plagued the state's public schools for decades, the state continues to tragically turn its back on the majority of Illinois' school children. While many factors affect education quality, adequate funding is absolutely necessary to guarantee a quality education. By reforming Illinois' tax system and reducing its reliance on local property taxes, the state can make meaningful progress toward providing every child with a high-quality public education regardless of his or her address.

Download or read book Strategies for School Equity written by Marilyn Gittell and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 1998-01-01 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the pursuit of a first-rate education for all students, America’s public schools have struggled to achieve fuller racial integration and higher academic standards. Yet sharp inequities between prosperous school districts and poorer districts remain, reinforced by traditional ways of funding and administering public education. This book brings together cutting-edge ideas and strategies of prominent advocates of school equity reform. Discussing their first-hand experiences in forming coalitions, framing court cases, and dealing with state politics in New Jersey, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, Alabama, Kentucky, and Washington, the contributors consider what succeeded, and what failed, in the search for financial and legal remedies to educational inequity.The varied case studies of this book underscore the importance of a comprehensive approach-combining finance, restructuring, and governance reforms-for the success of a city or state school reform effort. The authors investigate how state constitutions have been used to challenge a state’s financial distribution of school aid, how business and community organizations have engaged in reform efforts, and how others have negotiated legislation to achieve change. This discussion of reform strategies will interest not only those who are concerned with excellence and equity in education but also those who wish to form successful coalitions and challenge existing state policies.

Download or read book The Promise of Adolescence written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2019-07-26 with total page 493 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Adolescenceâ€"beginning with the onset of puberty and ending in the mid-20sâ€"is a critical period of development during which key areas of the brain mature and develop. These changes in brain structure, function, and connectivity mark adolescence as a period of opportunity to discover new vistas, to form relationships with peers and adults, and to explore one's developing identity. It is also a period of resilience that can ameliorate childhood setbacks and set the stage for a thriving trajectory over the life course. Because adolescents comprise nearly one-fourth of the entire U.S. population, the nation needs policies and practices that will better leverage these developmental opportunities to harness the promise of adolescenceâ€"rather than focusing myopically on containing its risks. This report examines the neurobiological and socio-behavioral science of adolescent development and outlines how this knowledge can be applied, both to promote adolescent well-being, resilience, and development, and to rectify structural barriers and inequalities in opportunity, enabling all adolescents to flourish.

Download or read book A Study of School Finance in Arizona written by David G. Martinez and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Closing the achievement gap between low-income, marginalized, racially, and linguistically diverse students has proven difficult. Research has outlined the effects of funding on student achievement in a manner that focuses the attention on dollars expended, in order to overcome barriers to learning. Arizona has long been recognized for its education funding disparity, and its inability to balance fiscal capacity in a manner that serves to improve educational outcomes. This dissertation examines how Arizona funds its education system. It measures horizontal inequity in a robust manner by examining those fiscal capacity resources directly related to learning and poverty. Recognizing districts with higher concentrations of special needs students will impact fiscal capacity at the district level, this dissertation applies a non-linear analysis to measure how English language learners/limited English proficient (ELL/LEP) student proportionality impacts federal and state revenue per pupil, ELL expenditures per pupil, and total expenditures per pupil. Using the Gini Ratio, McCloone Index, Coefficient of Variation, and Theil inequality index, this dissertation confirms that significant education funding disparity exists across Arizona's school districts. This dissertation also shows the proportion of English language learners is negatively related to local revenue per pupil, and ELL expenditures per ELL pupil. Arizona has characteristically funded the public education system inequitably and positioned its students in a manner that stratifies achievement gaps based on wealth. Targeted funding toward ELLs is in no way meaningfully related to the proportion of ELLs in a district. Conceptually the way in which equity is defined, and measured, may require re-evaluation, beyond correlated inputs and outputs. This conceptual re-evaluation of equity must include the decision making process of administrative leaders which influence the quality of those resources related to student learning.

Download or read book Developments in School Finance written by William J. Fowler and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1998-05 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contains papers by state education dept. policymakers, analysts, and data providers on emerging issues in school finance. Includes: estimates of disparities and analysis of the causes of expenditures in public school districts; race, poverty and the student curriculum; court-ordered school finance equalization; resource allocation to schools under conditions of radical decentralization; building equity and effectiveness into school-based funding models; alternative options for deflating education expenditures over time; productivity collapse in schools; and evaluating the effect of teacher degree level on educational performance.