All states have a formula that determines how state funding is distributed to school districts. Most state formulas anticipate or require that school districts raise some funds locally and adjust state allocations based on that anticipated local share of school funding. In theory, state funding formulas attempt to provide school districts with the…

Nearly every state has flaws in how it funds public education, particularly when it comes to equitable funding for historically underserved students. While challenges vary by state, there are five common pitfalls in education finance equity: (1) Formulas do not fully account for differences in student learning needs; (2) There are too many school…

New Jersey, like many states, has long struggled with the tension of maintaining a well-funded public education system while not overburdening residents with high property taxes. New Jersey's school funding formula, 2008's School Funding Reform Act (SFRA), includes a determination of how much local funding -- raised through property taxes -- is…

The Trump administration may push for a shift away from the current formula-driven federal K-12 education funding toward more flexible block grants -- part of a broader effort to significantly scale back the U.S. Department of Education and direct more education policy decision-making to the states. If Congress authorizes this new flexibility,…

Performance budgeting strategies have failed to realize the aspirations of their advocates for nearly 50 years. Performance budgeting underperforms because it is too simple a solution for complex problems. It overestimates the power of monetary incentives. Where improved performance can be easily achieved, it spends money where it is not needed.…

For the Department of Education's State-administered formula grant programs, obligations must be made by the grantee or subgrantee by the end of the "carryover" or Tydings Period, which allows funds to be obligated for an additional fiscal year beyond the fiscal year for which they were appropriated. These timely obligations may be…

The external resources identified in the Research Catalog are an indication of the national competitiveness of the universities in the state of Mississippi and of the quality research and sponsored programs they conduct. These resources provide essential funds to the state's public universities which strengthen the research, teaching, and service…

As discussed in "Splitting the Bill: How Are State Education Funding Formulas Structured?," state school funding formulas generally fit one of three structures -- student-based, resource-based, or program-based. The cornerstone of a student-based funding formula is the per-student base amount (also appropriately called the…

A.C.A. §6-61-234 (Act 148 of 2017) directs the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board (AHECB) to adopt polices developed by the Arkansas Division of Higher Education (ADHE) necessary to implement a productivity-based funding model for state-supported institutions of higher education. At its October 27, 2017 meeting, the AHECB approved the…

English learners (ELs) are one of the fastest-growing student groups in the U.S. K-12 system, making up about one in 10 students enrolled in public schools nationwide. Despite research showing that EL students need more resources and supports to be successful in school, funding at the federal, state, and local levels to provide those additional…

The Illinois Evidence-Based Funding for Student Success Act (EBF), a comprehensive overhaul of the state's school funding formula, was signed into law in August 2017. The Act requires an overall increase of more than $7 billion in state education aid and sets 2027 as the deadline to reach full funding of the EBF formula. The Act also sets $350…

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), most recently comprehensively amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA; P.L. 114-95), is the primary source of federal aid to support elementary and secondary education. The Title I-A program is the largest grant program authorized under the ESEA and was funded at $17.5 billion for FY2022.…

The primary source of federal aid to elementary and secondary education is the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The ESEA was initially adopted in 1965 (P.L. 89-10), and was most recently reauthorized and amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA; P.L. 114-95), which authorized appropriations for ESEA programs through FY2020.…

Students with disabilities, English language learners, and economically disadvantaged students need additional resources and support to succeed in school. State school funding formulas should account for those additional needs so that every school can educate all its students. Weighted, student-based funding formulas are one of the most effective…

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education, is the nation's leading source for rigorous, independent education research, evaluation, and statistics. IES's National Center for Education Research (NCER) supports rigorous research that addresses the nation's most pressing education needs from early…