The Center for American Progress, in a pair of new reports, offers recommendations for revamping the formulas used in Title I, Part A, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to distribute federal funds to school districts serving children from low-income families.
The Washington-based research group contends that an overhaul is needed because current formulas favor wealthy states, large school districts, and small states. In “Bitter Pill, Better Formula,” author Cynthia Brown proposes a way to address that problem by replacing the four formulas currently used to distribute money with a single formula that she says is more equitable. The second report, “Spoonful of Sugar,” makes a case for creating a separate equity fund to prevent states and eligible districts from losing funds as the transition to a new Title I formula takes effect.
