ERIC Number: ED613234
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Jan
Pages: 41
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
How COVID-19-Induced Changes to K-12 Enrollment and Poverty Might Affect School Funding. Research Report
Blagg, Kristin; Gutierrez, Emily; Lee, Victoria
Urban Institute
With declines in enrollment and attendance, increases in student poverty, and potential reductions in state revenue, policymakers are facing a perfect storm of uncertainty in apportioning K-12 education funding. State policymakers typically use prior-year enrollment numbers or average daily attendance to allocate funding proportional to the number of students a school serves. In most states, these funding formulas are designed to more equitably distribute money to schools serving low-income students. This year, however, substantial pandemic-induced changes in enrollment, as well as uncertainty in the measurement of student poverty, will complicate the assessment of which school districts need funding the most. To understand how states can most equitably allocate available funding, we modeled five policy approaches, each with benefits and drawbacks. From our analysis, it is clear that policymakers cannot rely on the status quo to efficiently distribute resources to the districts most in need.
Descriptors: COVID-19, Pandemics, Elementary Secondary Education, Enrollment, Poverty, Educational Finance, State Aid, Budgeting, Retrenchment, Low Income Students, Funding Formulas, Educational Equity (Finance), Average Daily Attendance
Urban Institute. 2100 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20037. Tel: 202-261-5687; Fax: 202-467-5775; Web site: http://www.urban.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: Policymakers
Language: English
Sponsor: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Authoring Institution: Urban Institute, Center on Education Data and Policy
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A