Source: The 74 Million
School finance systems…should go beyond funding to ensure equal access to core educational services, with outcomes-based accountability as a check, the Center for American Progress says in a new report. “In our mind, there’s been equity debate, there’s been adequacy debate, and we need to move beyond that. That’s what we tried to really hit on,” said Ulrich Boser, one of the report’s authors. An ideal school finance system should start with a weighted student funding system that provides more resources for higher-needs kids, like English learners or those growing up in poverty. Though many factors influence a child’s education, a school finance system should at minimum ensure access to “a strong teaching workforce,” high-quality preschool, and “a robust curriculum and instructional tools,” according to the report by the left-leaning think tank. A strong teaching workforce might be supported by raising salaries, improving professional development, and, at the federal level, enhancing loan forgiveness programs that encourage graduates to teach in low-income neighborhoods, the CAP authors wrote.