Districts&apos; Use of Weighted Student Funding Systems to Increase School Autonomy and Equity: Findings from a National Study. Volume 1 -- Final Report
Author: Levin, Jesse
Date: 2019-10-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: School Districts,Institutional Autonomy,Budgets,Funding Formulas,Educational Equity (Finance),Resource Allocation,English Language Learners,Students with Disabilities,Elementary Secondary Education,Decision Making,Principals,Comparative Analysis,Administrator Attitudes,Case Studies,Professional Autonomy,Program Implementation,Accountability,Poverty,Institutional Characteristics,Educational Policy,Administrator Surveys,Media Selection,Faculty Development,Teacher Selection,Personnel Selection,Expenditure per Student,Low Income Students

Over the past 25 years, a small but growing number of school districts have implemented weighted student funding (WSF), a type of school-based budgeting system, as a way to increase school-level autonomy and flexibility and more equitably distribute funding among schools. In these districts, education leaders have implemented policies that allocate dollars to schools rather than staffing positions, using weights to provide higher levels of funding for certain types of students who need additional support, such as students from low-income households, English learners (ELs), and students with disabilities (SWDs). In addition, these systems are intended to provide more autonomy at the school level, shifting more of the decision-making responsibility over resource allocation and school programming to principals and other school stakeholders (such as teachers, parents, and other community members). This study identified 27 school districts that were implementing WSF systems as of the 2018-19 school year; these systems vary considerably in their longevity and in the specific features of their allocation formulas. This report examines how WSF districts have implemented these systems, the types of weights and other adjustments that they used, how they compare with districts that use more traditional resource allocation practices, and funding equity outcomes. The report is based on surveys of district administrators and principals in a nationally representative sample of WSF and non-WSF districts as well as in-depth case studies of nine WSF districts. WSF is a policy that aims to increase school-level autonomy and funding equity. The survey results from this study indicate that WSF districts allocate over half of their total operational spending to schools to be used under principals' discretion -- more than six times the amount reported by non-WSF districts. In addition, principals in WSF districts reported a higher degree of school autonomy in a number of areas than did their counterparts in non-WSF districts, including hiring instructional coaches, selecting curricular materials and instructional software, and making decisions about extended time programs and professional development. However, in the case study interviews, WSF principals often reported that their autonomy was constrained to some degree by requirements to fill non-negotiable staff positions and other factors. [For &quot;Districts' Use of Weighted Student Funding Systems to Increase School Autonomy and Equity: Findings from a National Study. Volume 2 -- Technical Appendices,&quot; see ED600464.]