Christian Barnard
Assistant Director of Education Reform, Reason Foundation
Christian Barnard is assistant director of education reform at Reason Foundation.
Barnard's work includes research and analysis of state education and school district finance systems, with the goal of making them more equitable and innovative.
Barnard's writing has been featured in outlets including USA Today, Los Angeles Daily News, Washington Times, and The Hill, among others.
Barnard previously worked with the Foundation for Government Accountability, where he conducted research on labor policy and criminal justice. He also worked for the Pioneer Institute.
He holds a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy and economics from Messiah College.
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School choice needs to be more than an escape hatch for kids in failing public schools
The next step in school choice is to embrace education funding models that appeal to families looking for a way to customize and have more control over their student’s education wherever they are at.
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Gov. Newsom’s Misguided Proposal for California’s Education Funding Formula
The key to promoting both flexibility and fairness is better transparency and California can do this with better data, not more bureaucracy.
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Arkansas’ School Funding System Is in Need of Reform
Simply pouring more money into a broken school finance system will not help the students most in need of educational assistance.
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Oklahoma’s Outdated Education Funding System Is Costing Students Hundreds of Millions of Education Dollars Each Year
Education dollars should follow students to the school they are actually attending.
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Legislation in Arizona Would Pave the Way for Educational Innovation
Learning happens everywhere and it’s time for outdated education policies to reflect this.
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Idaho’s National Education Spending Ranking Does Not Tell the State’s Full School Funding Story
Policymakers would be wise to focus on fixing the state’s antiquated school funding formula before deciding to allocate additional education funds.
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Public School District Boundaries Are a Relic of The Past
State open enrollment education policies are in dire need of modernization.
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How Should States Count Students to Calculate School Funding?
School finance systems should base education funding on current enrollment figures to best serve students and promote equity.
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A Better Way to Fund Students and Schools in Mississippi
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the need to update Mississippi’s K-12 education funding model, in particular the way that the state's school finance formula counts students.
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Examining Legislation to Expand Open Enrollment in Arizona
Arizona lawmakers are looking to remove barriers preventing public school students from attending a school outside of their residentially assigned school district as well as more easily find transportation to their school of choice.
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A Vision For Better School Funding in Arkansas
Arkansas should streamline education dollars into a weighted student formula and ensure that school operational decisions are left in the hands of local leaders.
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How to Improve Special Education Funding in Arkansas
Arkansas' education funding model creates disparities between the resources school districts receive and the actual needs of special education students.
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The Problem with Arizona’s School Finance System
The state's education funds often favor school districts with more property wealth and less poverty.
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Arizona School Finance Data Shows Large Funding Disparities Between School Districts
A new interactive data dashboard gives users the ability to compare Arizona school districts' per-pupil revenue against student demographics and property wealth.
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Arizona School Finance Dashboard
This interactive data portal displays how Arizona's K-12 school district student demographics compare to school district revenues.
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Modernizing School Finance in Idaho
This policy brief provides a brief overview of Idaho’s school finance system, highlights its primary shortcomings, and makes several recommendations for reform.
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Why Increasing Education Spending Might Not Boost Teacher Pay
The United States already spends more on public education per student than almost any other developed nation in the world but does not make the top of the lists for teachers’ salaries.
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The Striking Achievement Disparities Between Boys and Girls in the Education System
The current pandemic-related adjustments could be providing significantly different learning environments in which many boys can thrive.
