scholarly journals The Rural/Nonrural Divide? K–12 District Spending and Implications of Equity-Based School Funding

AERA Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 233285842098254
Author(s):  
Tasminda K. Dhaliwal ◽  
Paul Bruno
Keyword(s):  
School Finance ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
School Funding ◽  
Finance Reform ◽  
Funding Formula ◽  
Underserved Students ◽  
Rural Districts ◽  
School Year ◽  
Local Control Funding Formula ◽  
K 12

In the 2013–2014 school year, the state of California implemented a new equity-minded funding system, the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). LCFF increased minimum per-pupil funding for educationally underserved students and provided greater autonomy in allocating resources. We use the implementation of LCFF to enrich our understanding of rural school finance and explore the implications of equity-based school finance reform across urbanicity (i.e., between rural, town, suburban, and urban districts) and between rural areas of different remoteness. Drawing on 15 years of financial data from California school districts, we find variation in the funding levels of rural districts but few differences in the ways resources are allocated and only modest evidence of constrained spending in rural areas. Our results suggest that spending progressivity (i.e., spending advantage of higher-poverty districts) has increased since LCFF, although progressivity is lowest in rural districts by the end of the data panel.

scholarly journals Does Money Matter in the Long Run? Effects of School Spending on Educational Attainment

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 256-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Hyman
Keyword(s):  
School Finance ◽  
College Enrollment ◽  
School Funding ◽  
Finance Reform ◽  
School Finance Reform ◽  
Funding Formula ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Proposal A ◽  
School Spending

This paper measures the effect of increased primary school spending on students' college enrollment and completion. Using student-level panel administrative data, I exploit variation in the school funding formula imposed by Michigan's 1994 school finance reform, Proposal A. Students exposed to $1,000 (10 percent) more spending were 3 percentage points (7 percent) more likely to enroll in college and 2.3 percentage points (11 percent) more likely to earn a postsecondary degree. The effects were concentrated among districts that were urban and suburban, lower poverty, and higher achieving at baseline. Districts targeted the marginal dollar toward schools serving less-poor populations within the district. (JEL H75, I21, I22, I28)

scholarly journals Toward a Rich Data Future for School Finance Research

AERA Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 233285841988773
Author(s):  
Bruce D. Baker ◽  
Matthew M. Chingos
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Data ◽  
School Finance ◽  
School Funding ◽  
Special Topic ◽  
Data Systems ◽  
California Department ◽  
Funding Formula ◽  
Education Data ◽  
Local Control Funding Formula ◽  
Rich Data

This special topic is intended to advance research in school finance using two newly produced compilations of multiple longitudinal data systems, the School Finance Indicators Database ( http://schoolfinancedata.org/ ) and the Urban Institute, Education Data Explorer ( https://educationdata.urban.org/data-explorer/ ). This special topic contains two articles taking advantage of comprehensive longitudinal data on school finance. The first, by Victoria Sosina and Ericka Weathers, uses panel data from the School Finance Indicators Data System from 1999 to 2013 to evaluate whether and to what extent changes to Black-White and Latinx-White demographic differences among districts leads to greater resource disparity over time. The second article, by Knight and Mendoza, combines data from the Census Fiscal Survey with data from the California Department of Education to explore whether differences in data on and measures of school funding equity matter (i.e., lead to similar or different conclusions) when evaluating the effects of California’s 2013 adoption of the Local Control Funding Formula.

scholarly journals Coign of vantage and action: Considering California’ local accountability and school finance plans for English learners

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Vasquez Heilig ◽  
Lisa S. Romero ◽  
Megan Hopkins
Keyword(s):  
School Districts ◽  
Local Control ◽  
School Finance ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Educational Equity ◽  
Public Schooling ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Funding Formula ◽  
Local Control Funding Formula

Local control has been a bedrock principle of public schooling in America since its inception. In 2013, the California Legislature codified a new local accountability approach for school finance. An important component of the new California Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) approach is a focus on English learners (ELs). The law mandates that every school district produce a Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) to engage the local community in defining outcomes and determining funding for ELs. Based on an exploratory analysis of a representative sample of LCAPs, we show that, although California’s new approach offered an opportunity to support locally-defined priorities and alternatives to top-down accountability, few if any districts had yet took full advantage of the opportunity. That is, the school districts in our sample had not yet engaged with the local community to facilitate significant changes to accountability or redistribution of funding and resources to support educational equity for ELs.

The Effect of School Funding on Opportunity Gaps for Students With Disabilities: Policy and Context in a Diverse Urban District

2020 ◽  
pp. 104420732097054
Author(s):  
Rebecca A Cruz ◽  
Joon-Ho Lee ◽  
Alexandra G. Aylward ◽  
Catherine Kramarczuk Voulgarides
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
School Finance ◽  
School Context ◽  
School Funding ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Urban District ◽  
Local Control Funding Formula ◽  
Special Education Programs ◽  
Opportunity Gaps

School finance reform has recently centered on providing schools with more equitable access to resources to reduce opportunity gaps for students. Although special education is often a prominent part of larger equity conversations, special education funding is commonly excluded from school funding reform initiatives. Given the costly nature of special education programs, it is imperative that scholars and policy makers understand the effects of funding changes on outcomes for these students. In this study, we examined the effect of California’s Local Control Funding Formula, in addition to school context and student compositional characteristics, to identify changes in special education students’ achievement rates. Using a combination of publicly available data sources and local district data, we assessed differences in academic outcomes (i.e., achievement scores) between elementary students with and without disabilities in both high- and low-poverty schools, given increases in spending for special education programs.

scholarly journals Does the Measurement Matter? Assessing Alternate Approaches to Measuring State School Finance Equity for California’s Local Control Funding Formula

AERA Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 233285841987742
Author(s):  
David S. Knight ◽  
Jesús Mendoza
Keyword(s):  
Local Control ◽  
Low Income ◽  
School Finance ◽  
District Level ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
State School ◽  
Funding Formula ◽  
Finance Equity ◽  
Local Control Funding Formula ◽  
Funding Level

Scholars have not reached consensus on the best approach to measure state school finance equity. The regression-based approach estimates the relationship between district poverty rate and funding level, controlling for other district cost factors. A second commonly used approach involves estimating the weighted average funding level for low-income students or other subgroups. Meanwhile, policymakers have preferences for their own data systems and poverty indicators when reading reports and assessing progress. We constructed parallel, district-level panel data sets using data from the California Department of Education and the U.S. Census. We estimated changes over time in district-level school finance equity under California’s Local Control Funding Formula, using multiple school finance measurement approaches, with each of the two data sets. Our results show that different methods and analytic choices result in policy-relevant differences in findings. We discuss the implications for policy and future research.

scholarly journals A preliminary analysis of California’s New Local Control Funding Formula

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Wolf ◽  
Janelle Sands
Keyword(s):  
Local Control ◽  
Low Income ◽  
First Year ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Funding Formula ◽  
Early Implementation ◽  
Local Control Funding Formula ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Public Education Finance

California recently overhauled its K–12 public education finance system. Enacted in 2013, the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) replaced California’s 40-year-old funding formula. The LCFF increases district officials’ fiscal flexibility; provides more resources to districts serving larger proportions of low-income, English learner (EL), and foster youth students; and requires district officials to engage community members in district decisions. This article expands on a study conducted by a team of 12 independent researchers that investigated the early implementation of the LCFF. The study sought to answer three research questions: (a) how are district officials using their newfound budget flexibility? (b) how are district officials engaging parents and other stakeholders? (c) what are the opportunities provided to districts under the LCFF and the challenges it creates for them? Data include 71 semi-structured interviews with district stakeholders across 10 diverse districts in California and 22 interviews with county office of education (COE) officials across the state. Findings include that respondents were cautiously optimistic about the LCFF. District officials appreciated increased budget flexibility and the focus on community engagement. Inevitably, however, district and COE officials experienced challenges in implementing the law during its first year. 

Does Your Local Control Accountability (LCAP) Plan Deliver on the Promise of Increased or Improved Services for English Learners? 10 Research Aligned Rubrics to Help Answer the Question and Guide Your Program

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Local Control ◽  
Low Income ◽  
School Finance ◽  
English Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
First Year ◽  
District Leaders ◽  
Funding Formula ◽  
New School ◽  
Local Control Funding Formula

As California’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) came into effect in 2013, districts were given more flexibility to use state resources and create a new school finance system to improve/increase services for students with greater needs for support, including English Learners (ELs), students from low-income backgrounds, and foster youth. Local Education Agencies (LEAs) were tasked with preparing the Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAPs) to describe how districts use their plans to meet their annual goals for all students. To aid LEAs in their design and implementation of programs to address the needs of ELs, Californians Together, the California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE), California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA), and the Center for Equity for English Learners (CEEL) collaboratively developed the rubrics with 10 focus areas that have a high impact on ELs. These areas include: (1) English Language Development, (2) Parent Engagement, (3) Professional Development, (4) Programs and Course Access, (5) Expenditures, (6) District Wide Use of Concentration and Supplemental Grant Funds, (7) School Wide Use of Concentration and Supplemental Grant Funds, (8) Actions and Services, (9) Proportionality, and (10) English Learner Data to Inform Goals. These 10 rubrics and their corresponding indicators are based on research-based principles and practices for English Learners. These rubrics were first employed in the review of first-year LCAPs by the above-mentioned organizations and remain an important analytical instrument for district leaders to gain insights into the planning for and improving programs and services for ELs.

An Investigation of School Superintendents’ Views of School Funding Problems and School Finance Reform in Tennessee

1993 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 622-634
Author(s):  
Marilyn A. Hirth
Keyword(s):  
Education Reform ◽  
School Finance ◽  
Tax Reform ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
School Funding ◽  
Small School ◽  
School Superintendents ◽  
Budget Cuts ◽  
Finance Reform ◽  
Legal Challenges

Current or potential legal challenges have forced many states to scrutinize and reform their existing school finance structures. Many states are experiencing similar school finance problems; therefore, in an effort to provide information that may be beneficial to other states and superintendents, school funding, tax reform, and education reform in Tennessee are examined. It was the purpose of this study to request information from superintendents concerning the extent and impact of budget cuts for 1991–1992, solicit their opinions on tax reform, ask their impression of the small school system lawsuit (Tennessee Small School Systems v. McWherter, 1988), and assess the effect of proposed Basic Education Program (BEP) requirements on special education programs in their local school district.

Documenting Geographic Isolation of Schools and Examining the Implications for Education Policy

2019 ◽  
pp. 089590481986444 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Chris Curran ◽  
James Kitchin
Keyword(s):  
School Choice ◽  
Private School ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
School Funding ◽  
Geographic Isolation ◽  
Unique Challenge ◽  
School Contexts ◽  
Student Demographics ◽  
The Common ◽  
K 12

Geographic isolation of K-12 schools represents a unique challenge to schools with implications for school funding, staffing, resource acquisition, consolidation, transportation, and school choice among others. To date, little research has documented the extent of geographic isolation at a national scale or how it varies across school contexts. Using the Common Core of Data and the Private School Universe Survey, this study estimates the extent of geographic isolation nationally and explores how such isolation varies across contexts. Estimates are calculated and compared using as the crow flies distance, road travel distance, and travel time. Results indicate that geographic isolation of schools is relatively high within district, particularly in rural areas. Although inclusion of schools in nearby districts greatly reduces isolation, many local markets of schools remain small. Results further show that geographic isolation varies greatly across states and across student demographics. Implications for policy are discussed.

Does School Finance Reform Reduce the Race Gap in School Funding?

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 675-707
Author(s):  
Michah W. Rothbart
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
School Districts ◽  
School Finance ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
New York State ◽  
School Funding ◽  
Racial Composition ◽  
Finance Reform ◽  
School Finance Litigation ◽  
The Impact

This paper offers new evidence on the impacts of school finance reforms (SFRs) precipitated by school finance litigation, exploring the extent to which the impact of SFR differs by district racial composition. Using difference-in-differences and event study models with a series of district and year (or state-by-year) fixed effects, and a sixteen-year panel of over 10,000 school districts, my analyses exploit variation in funding across school districts, and timing of school finance court orders across states, to estimate the effect of SFR on the distribution of district funding by racial composition. Models include relevant control variables available in national data and results are robust to numerous alternative specifications, including estimating impacts on percent changes in resources (in addition to levels), restricting analyses to districts in SFR states, controlling for additional covariates available in only some years and some states, and adding controls for state-specific time trends. In addition, I estimate changes in New York State to assess whether and to what extent results are sensitive to additional controls for revenue-raising capacity and district costs. Results suggest that SFR can work to alleviate racial funding gaps, though impacts are moderate.

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