Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card

A New National Report Highlights the Unfair Distribution of School Aid in Many States
by the Education Law Center
Are school finance systems in the 50 states fair? Simply comparing overall funding levels won’t answer that question, according to a groundbreaking report released today.

“Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card” posits that fairness depends not only on a sufficient level of funding for all students, but also the provision of additional resources to districts where there are more students with greater needs.

The National Report Card rates the 50 states on the basis of four separate, but interrelated, “fairness indicators” – funding level, funding distribution, state fiscal effort, and public school coverage. Using a more thorough statistical analysis, the report provides the most in-depth analysis to date of state education finance systems and school funding fairness across the nation.

The results show that many states do not fairly allocate education funding to address the needs of their most disadvantaged students, and the schools serving high numbers of those students.
Is School Finding Fair? A national Report Card.