Equity Of Education

Assignment 3
Provide a brief overview regarding equity in the financing of public education as it relates to: The varying needs of students: Equity for children deals with the fairness in how money is distributed and services are provided, and it was based on the actual amount of money allocated per child. However, equal distribution per student doesn’t mean equal learning or education has been received. To assist with equity the weighted-pupil approach was created to provide additional funds based on a variety of factors such as bilingual students, minority students, and learning disabled students. These additional funds were given because of the additional costs to fund these educational programs. This funding approach provides a more …show more content…
The first stage of funding was based on full local responsibility. Each local school district was responsible for funding its own educational system. This type of funding was not equitable and students in rural areas were not able to receive the same quality education as students from a wealthier area. The need for state funding was apparent and desperately needed. The second stage of educational funding occurred during the time of the Industrial Revolution and was the beginning of state funding in public education. During this era, state allocations consisted of flat grants, percentage grants, and other allocated funds. Money was distributed based on the number of students, teachers, or by percentage. The funds helped provide some relief to taxpayers, but they did not provide equalization. The third stage of educational finance dealt with the theory of equalization and the foundation program concept. During this phase, Strayer and Haig created the foundation, or minimum program concept. This concept supported a uniform assessment of property. Meaning poor areas received less money due to property values, and the rich areas continued to earn more funding due to property values. Period four brought about a refinement of this program. During this stage the use of flat grants was combined with an equalization program. State property taxes changed to local district property tax. Money was distributed to schools based on student enrollment or daily attendance. The fifth period of financing was called power equalization where the wealth of the state was taxed to pay for educating all children in the state. The state and the local district both provided money to schools. More money would be provided to poor areas and less money to the wealthy areas, which would create a more equal distribution of money to schools. Even