The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which was enacted in 1965 as part of the War on Poverty, recognized that our local funding system inherently disadvantages schools serving poorer communities, and that state funding schemes rarely compensate for, and often exacerbate, those inequities.
Yet, in the decades since, less federal support has been targeted to the poorest schools, and the focus shifted increasingly to standards over supports. At the same time, growing funding disparities have left our highest-poverty schools at greater disadvantage just as poverty and segregation are on the rise.
These blogs for BBA offer perspectives on how funding affects teaching, learning, and achievement and what policymakers can do about it: In “Fiscal Crisis” or Physical Crisis? Former urban teaching fellow Elizabeth Hoyson shines a …
BBA Case Studies of communities highlight how state funding practices affect the ability of these initiatives to grow and the contrast, for example, between one of the more equitable funding schemes in Massachusetts and …
ESSA does not address the issue of inequitable funding of schools, though there is much that states and districts can do to improve on this front. The Education Law Center’s Is School Funding Fair? …
This 2014 white paper jointly produced by AASA: the School Superintendents Association and BBA as a companion to the documentary Rich Hill illustrates the unique challenges many rural schools face in meeting their …
One of the many casualties of this resource inequity is low-income districts’ challenges to attract and retain strong teachers. This report documents inequities by student poverty and race in quality teachers – those who are …
The 2013 report by The Equity and Excellence Commission, convened by the U.S. Department of Education, For Each and Every Child: A Strategy for Equity and Excellence, reflects the recognition that funding inequities drive …
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act was enacted in 1965 as part of the War on Poverty. ESEA recognized that our local funding system inherently disadvantages schools serving poorer communities, and that state funding schemes rarely compensate for, and often exacerbate, those inequities. In the decades since, federal support has become less targeted to the poorest schools and the focus shifted increasingly to standards over supports. At the same time, funding disparities among schools have grown, leaving our highest-poverty schools at growing disadvantage just as concentrated poverty and segregation are again on the rise.
Policy solution: A Broader, Bolder Approach ensures that schools’ resources are commensurate with their needs. Our public education system can come closer to its historic ideal as a great equalizer by linking greater and better-targeted federal funding to incentives for states and districts to establish funding schemes that compensate for student disadvantage, rather than compound it.
With no federal right to equitable funding, state lawsuits are a common tool for districts seeking to even the playing field. The Campaign for Educational Equity and Education Law Center offer a range …
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) has now replaced No Child Left Behind as the current version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), our flagship federal education legislation, opening the door for states …
This report comparing New York and New Jersey – whose education systems serve similarly diverse student bodies and are both among the highest-spending in the country – demonstrates how one of the country’s most …
Establishing an even educational playing field so that all children enter kindergarten prepared to learn and thrive requires supports for children, their parents, and their caregivers from birth. And ensuring equal opportunities to learn requires support for children’s physical and mental health. A Broader, Bolder Approach to Education advances enriching experiences with nurturing, knowledgeable adults throughout the day and all year, in order to promote children’s strong cognitive, social, emotional, and behavioral development.
Schools and educators serving students with higher needs need the resources to do so effectively. A Broader, Bolder Approach to Education advances policies that establish strong standards and curriculum in all schools and ensure sufficient funding for high-needs schools to reach them. BBA promotes supports-based accountability systems focused on improving instruction and strategies to desegregate schools and deconcentrate poverty within them, so that educators and students have a strong context in which to teach and learn.
Effective, sustainable school improvement efforts merge research-based evidence of effective ways to mitigate the impacts of poverty with community input regarding the district’s unique assets and needs. A Broader, Bolder Approach highlights the need for key community voices – including educators, parents, students, and faith and business leaders – to be at the center of developing and implementing education reforms.