State Capitol Week in Review

LITTLE ROCK — The Senate Education Committee has begun its review of the adequacy and equity of Arkansas public school funding.
Lawmakers conduct the thorough review every two years, with the help of legislative staff. They use the results to determine how much to increase education funding, and whether or not to tighten curriculum standards and financial accountability measures.
The study is due on November 1, 2024, in advance of the next regular session of the legislature in 2025.
Under the Arkansas Constitution the state must provide funding for an adequate and equitable education for every child. The legislature has the constitutional duty of appropriating tax revenue for state government operations, therefore it is the legislature’s responsibility to approve adequate funding of schools.
The Education Committee will meet regularly throughout the year to address the many aspects of school funding. The categories include teacher salaries, facilities and equipment, transportation costs and uniform curriculum standards. The new adequacy study will update how the state responds to the needs of small and isolated school districts, fast-growing districts and schools in fiscal or academic distress.
If necessary legislators can update the matrix, a chart that serves as a tool to determine whether or not the state is funding an adequate school system, under the mandates of the constitution, Supreme Court rulings and state laws. Staff reiterated to members of the Education Committee that the matrix is a tool to measure how the legislature funds schools, not how much schools actually spend.
In addition to keeping track of funding and spending, writing a new adequacy report includes evaluating how effectively current programs are achieving their goals. One method is a thorough analysis of student test scores, taking into account the different social situations in schools.

Generally, students in poor, isolated districts don’t score as well on standardized tests as students in prosperous neighborhoods. Similarly, students whose parents are college graduates generally score better than students whose parents never got a degree. After taking those factors into account, education officials can predict test scores.
A successful school is one in which students’ actual scores are better than the predicted scores. Legislative staff will schedule visits to those schools to learn what makes them effective. Staff also conducts surveys of superintendents, principals and teachers.
Throughout 2024 superintendents and school boards will closely follow the work of the Education Committee on adequacy, because the final product will be the basis for state funding of local school districts next year.
In Arkansas the major source of school revenue is state aid. Local property taxes are the second largest source of school revenue, and federal aid is third.
The legislature’s duty to provide equitable funding is challenging, due to disparities in local wealth and local property tax rates. The same tax rate in a city with manufacturing plants will generate much more revenue for schools than it will in an isolated region with no industries.
The state Supreme Court has ruled that under the Arkansas Constitution, the legislature must prioritize education funding. The legislature must rely on evidence to fund schools adequately and equitably, and legislators cannot simply appropriate to schools what is available in the state budget.