Credit: Alison Yin / EdSource
Top Takeaways
- The Local Control Funding Formula must be more responsive to enrollment trends to ensure funds serve the high-needs students for whom they are targeted, rather than filling gaps in the district budget.
- Policymakers must create incentives for districts to improve coordination and merging of services for students with multiple needs.
- In making adjustments to the formula, policymakers must avoid introducing too many new, disparate factors that can further burden school systems.
California has an opportunity to ensure that its school funding formula fully delivers on its goals to improve student outcomes, especially for those who need the most support. The key to success will be accounting for shifts in enrollment and creating incentives for districts to blend student programs.
The 2013 Local Control Funding Formula, or LCFF, represented a dramatic shift…
