School Finance Packet for National Council of State Legislators (NCSL) Annual Meeting

State legislators face ever-increasing challenges around school finance—scarce revenues, lawsuits, new mandated reporting, and so on. These resources will demystify some of these complex realities that state leaders must navigate. If you have any questions, contact us.

Today’s District Challenge:

• How Three Districts Are Confronting the "Triple Squeeze"
  A blog by Karen Hawley Miles
  The “triple squeeze” is a set of challenges school systems inherited and that require sustained, strategic action and political will to address. See how leaders in Baltimore, Boston, and Oakland are addressing these challenges.

Financial Transparency and Equity

• What is Resource Equity? (publication)
  This document’s 9 Dimensions of Resource Equity can enable system leaders to take stock of their investments in equity and make deliberate decisions about how to reallocate and invest to align these resources with need, consistent with district strategy and context.
• From Financial Transparency to Equity, Part 1: Using ESSA to Advance Equity and Excellence
  A publication by ERS and Chiefs for Change
• Tool to Attribute Central Expenditures to Schools: The Financial Trasnaprency and Reporting Readiness Assessment Tool (Excel)
  Get help attributing the 30-55 percent of your resources typically reported centrally in a meaningful way so the dollars reported at each school reflect what students are experiencing. This Excel tool is funded by the State Support Network. To learn when this tool is finished, subscribe to our newsletter. For individual district support, submit a request through the State Support Network website.
• Is School Funding Fair?
  An Education Week roundtable debate including "A Little Transparency Goes a Long Way. Maybe." by Karen Hawley Miles and Jonathan Travers.
• Informing Equity: Student need, spending, and resource use in Oakland's public schools
  A report by ERS and The Oakland Achieves Partnership

School Improvement

• Maximizing Resources for School Improvement, Part 1
  A PowerPoint presentation from a webinar hosted by ERS and CCSSO
• 7 Tenets for Sustainable School Turnaround: How States Can Improve Their Lowest-Performing Schools Under ESSA
  A publication by ERS and the Center for American Progress

Resource Allocation Studies Support

• Maximizing Resources for School Improvement, Part 2
  A PowerPoint presentation from a webinar hosted by ERS and CCSSO
• Sample RFP Language for ESSA-mandated Resource Allocation Studies
  Language describing the objectives, approaches, and deliverables for resource allocation studies