Background
In 2019, at the behest of the Vermont Legislature, a group of nationally recognized experts in education conducted a study of the weighting factors used in Vermont’s education funding formula. This thorough report concluded that the current pupil weights (how students with different needs are counted to determine the differential cost of educating them) are outdated (over 20 years old), do not appear to be based on any scientific study, and do not reflect the contemporary costs to educate children who require additional resources. The report also provided specific recommendations to update and improve the weights used to determine “equalized pupils”, a key measure in the state’s education funding formula. The report concluded that our children who live in poverty, in rural communities, attend small schools and who are New American English Language Learners are not being provided with adequate resources to help them keep up with their peers. The report went beyond documenting the problem by also providing a conclusive solution and recommending new weights to be used in the funding formula to provide educational equity across districts.
Background
In 2019, at the behest of the Vermont Legislature, a group of nationally recognized experts in education conducted a study of the weighting factors used in Vermont’s education funding formula. This thorough report concluded that the current pupil weights (how students with different needs are counted to determine the differential cost of educating them) are outdated (over 20 years old), do not appear to be based on any scientific study, and do not reflect the contemporary costs to educate children who require additional resources. The report also provided specific recommendations to update and improve the weights used to determine “equalized pupils”, a key measure in the state’s education funding formula. The report concluded that our children who live in poverty, in rural communities, attend small schools and who are New American English Language Learners are not being provided with adequate resources to help them keep up with their peers. The report went beyond documenting the problem by also providing a conclusive solution and recommending new weights to be used in the funding formula to provide educational equity across districts.