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Recent Research and Commentary

Lessons for Gov. Brown’s California School Finance Plan

The governor's education reforms are good steps, but need to go further

May 15, 2013

Lisa Snell

Democratic lawmakers in Colorado just approved the first major overhaul of that state’s school finance system in 20 years. Colorado is moving to a more equitable and transparent funding system with strong accountability provisions that offer valuable lessons to California lawmakers.

Gov. Brown’s recently proposed “Local Control Funding Formula” would simplify school finance, offer school districts flexibility over more than 50 previously restricted funding streams, and provide more resources for disadvantaged students. Gov. Brown deserves credit — the proposal is a very good start. It is simpler, fairer, and more transparent than the state’s current haphazard school finance system.

Yet, there are serious issues the governor’s plan fails to address, including inequities at schools within the same district and a lack of transparent reporting of funding allocations at the school level.

 

New at Reason: Looking Back at the Last Year in Education Reform and School Choice

April 29, 2013, 9:00am

Leonard Gilroy

The rollout of Reason Foundation's Annual Privatization Report 2013 continues today with the release of the Education section, which which provides an overview of the latest on school choice, charter schools, student-based budgeting and more.

Weighted Student Formula in the States

Subsection of Annual Privatization Report 2013: Education

April 29, 2013

Lisa Snell

This subsection of Reason Foundation's Annual Privatization Report 2013: Education reviews developments over the last year in school choice.

Chicago Schools to Implement Student-Based Budgeting and Principal Autonomy

March 18, 2013, 4:45pm

Katie Furtick

A Handbook for Student-Based Budgeting, Principal Autonomy and School Choice

Making school funding more equitable and transparent

March 5, 2013

Lisa Snell

The growth of student-based budgeting in school districts and a few states mirrors a national trend toward more decentralized school funding where the money follows the child. In the United States, we are in a transition period, moving from funding institutions to funding students. K-12 education funding is moving closer to the funding model for higher education, where the money follows students to the public, private or nonprofit school of their choice. We are moving away from a K- 12 system funded by local resources and driven by residential assignment to a system where funding is driven by parental choice and student enrollment.

Public funding systems at the state and local level are adapting to a “school funding portability” framework, where state and local school funding is attached to the students and given directly to the institution in which the child enrolls. More than 30 “school funding portability” systems (in cities like New York, Baltimore, Denver, Hartford and Cincinnati, and states including Rhode Island, Hawaii and Indiana) are funding students through student-based budgeting mechanisms. In 2012, Prince George’s County, Newark and Boston have moved to full weighted student formula systems where the money follows the child. Los Angeles Unified has more than 100 pilot schools funded on a per-pupil basis. In California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Nevada, Ohio and Utah there are ongoing legislative debates about fixing the state school finance system through a weighted student formula.

Student-based budgeting proposes a system of school funding based on five key principles:

Utah Needs "Backpack" Funding

March 4, 2013, 1:27pm

Lisa Snell

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