Equidade esquecida: A promessa e subsequente desmantelamento da reforma do financiamento da educação no Estado de Nova York

This study examines the impact of court-ordered finance reform in New York State resulting from Campaign for Fiscal Equity v. State of New York on equity of inputs using synthetic controls. The findings herein indicate court mandated education finance reform in New York had little to no impact on equity of educational inputs despite an overhauled education finance system intending to distribute more state funding based on student need. In the period during and following the Great Recession, the State of New York chose to cut districts’ foundation aid, a form of aid designed to be distributed progressively, halting any improvement in equity. Had funding been distributed to districts according to the foundation formula that was specified by the education finance reform legislation passed in 2007, high poverty districts would have received more funding and disparities in funding across districts with similar characteristics would have been reduced. I also show that other forms of aid, which are regressively distributed, could have been cut instead of foundation aid, allowing for more funding to flow to high poverty districts in a time of fiscal constraint.Este estudio examina el impacto de la reforma financiera ordenada por la corte en el estado de Nueva York como resultado de la Campaign for Fiscal Equity v. State of New York sobre la equidad de los insumos que utilizan controles sintéticos. Los hallazgos en este documento indican que la reforma del financiamiento de la educación ordenada por el tribunal en Nueva York tuvo poco o ningún impacto en la equidad de los aportes educativos a pesar de un sistema revisado de financiamiento de la educación con la intención de distribuir más fondos estatales en función de las necesidades de los estudiantes. En el período durante y después de la Gran Recesión, el Estado de Nueva York decidió recortar la ayuda de la fundación de los distritos, una forma de ayuda diseñada para distribuirse progresivamente, deteniendo cualquier mejora en la equidad. Si los fondos se hubieran distribuido a los distritos de acuerdo con la fórmula básica especificada por la legislación de reforma del financiamiento de la educación aprobada en 2007, los distritos de alta pobreza habrían recibido más fondos y las disparidades en los fondos entre los distritos con características similares se habrían reducido. También muestro que otras formas de ayuda, que se distribuyen de forma regresiva, podrían haberse reducido en lugar de la ayuda de la fundación, permitiendo que más fondos fluyan a los distritos de alta pobreza en un momento de restricción fiscal.Este estudo examina o impacto da reforma financeira ordenada por tribunais no Estado de Nova York resultante da Campaign for Fiscal Equity v. State of New Yorkna eqüidade de insumos usando controles sintéticos. As descobertas aqui indicadas indicam que a reforma do financiamento educacional ordenada por tribunais em Nova York teve pouco ou nenhum impacto na equidade dos insumos educacionais, apesar de um sistema financeiro reformulado pretender distribuir mais fundos estatais com base nas necessidades dos alunos. No período durante e após a Grande Recessão, o Estado de Nova York optou por cortar a ajuda básica dos distritos, uma forma de ajuda projetada para ser distribuída progressivamente, interrompendo qualquer melhoria no patrimônio. Se o financiamento fosse distribuído aos distritos de acordo com a fórmula da fundação especificada pela legislação de reforma do financiamento da educação aprovada em 2007, os distritos de alta pobreza teriam recebido mais recursos e as disparidades de financiamento entre os distritos com características semelhantes teriam sido reduzidas. Também mostro que outras formas de ajuda, que são distribuídas regressivamente, poderiam ter sido cortadas em vez da ajuda básica, permitindo que mais fundos fluíssem para os distritos de alta pobreza em um momento de restrição fiscal.

An Examination of Educational Equity: The Impact of Accountability and Finance Reform Policies

This dissertation examines three unique, but related, research questions as three separate studies. In the first study, I examine the impact of accountability implementation on vertical equity of inputs. I compare changes in vertical equity at the time of NCLB implementation in states that had not previously implemented accountability policies—the treatment group—to states that had previously implemented NCLB-like policies—the control group. I find that the implementation of accountability policies did not improve vertical equity by distributing more resources to high poverty districts and potentially had a negative impact on vertical equity as low poverty districts potentially increased revenue and spending more than high poverty districts as a result of accountability implementation. In the second study, I examine the impact of an accountability policy change that identifies the bottom 5% of schools for corrective action. These schools, known as priority schools, must show increased performance within three years or face the threat of closure. I show that priority schools near the cutoff for determining priority status did not improve relative to those not receiving such designation, and in fact they performed increasingly worse in the three years subsequent to priority designation. In the third and final study, I investigate the impact of court-ordered education finance reform in New York State on equity of educational inputs. I find that equity of inputs in New York did not improve relative to states that did not undergo reform of their system of education funding. This indicates little to no impact of court-ordered education finance reform in New York. I also show that had the finance reform been implemented as intended, there would have been substantial improvements to both vertical and horizontal equity. Therefore, the lack of results seen in New York stems from a lack of follow through rather than a poorly designed plan for fixing equity of inputs

The Additional Cost of Operating Rural Schools: Evidence From Vermont

State policymakers wrestle with long-standing questions and concerns about how to best provide additional fiscal support to rural school districts to ensure their students have access to adequate educational opportunities. In this study, we describe how one state developed empirically based estimates for the additional cost of operating rural schools, typified by small enrollment and location in sparsely populated areas. The study's findings clarify that school size and location are relevant, but distinct, cost factors that should be accounted for state school finance policies. Additionally, the study provides a model for how other states might leverage administrative data and apply education cost modeling to estimate cost differences for rural schools that can be used to inform state school finance policy

An Examination of the Costs of Texas Community Colleges. REL 2023-142

Policymakers in Texas want to understand the funding levels necessary for community colleges to meet their promise of providing an affordable and accessible pathway to a postsecondary certificate or degree. Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest conducted this study to help leaders at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board better understand the extent to which Texas community colleges have adequate funding for reaching the desired levels of student success, as measured by success points milestones used in the state's performance-based funding system. The study involved three types of analyses: a needs analysis, an equity analysis, and a cost function analysis. The needs analysis found that community colleges with higher percentages of first-generation college students, students who are economically disadvantaged, students who are academically disadvantaged, students older than 24 years, and English learner students earn fewer success points milestones per full-time equivalent student. The equity analysis found that community colleges with higher percentages of students who are academically disadvantaged spent less per full-time equivalent student, suggesting that there may be resource inequities for these students. The cost function analysis found that spending was not high enough to cover the cost of providing an equal opportunity for first-generation college students, students who are economically disadvantaged, students older than 24 years, and English learner students to achieve the same level of outcomes as students without these needs. The findings from this study can inform Texas policymakers' efforts to distribute funding for community colleges to support equitable opportunities for all students to succeed in college. [For the appendixes, see ED623285.]Higher EducationPostsecondary EducationTwo Year College