Introduction
Support for the Standards Must Be Fair and Effective
The Regents proposal seeks to ensure that school funding supports the attainment of high standards by all students, and that school districts use both State and local resources in a cost-effective manner. Just as the standards themselves are being phased in over several years, so too must the State phase in a system of effective, efficient and fair financial support of our schools’ efforts to meet the standards.
In order to accomplish this, the Regents will pursue support for cost-effective methods that close the gap in student achievement, while at the same time evaluating and adjusting aid formulas to create a funding system that is both fair and effective. The goal is to eliminate the achievement gap among schools within five years.
Funding changes recommended in this proposal recognize the need to better target the annual State Aid increase, as well as existing resources to school districts with the farthest to go to meet the standards. Existing resources refer to State, federal and local resources available to school districts.
Goals of the Regents State Aid Proposal
New York State’s move to higher standards is based on two broad goals:
In order to support high achievement by all students, New York State will need to use school revenues differently from the past. Specifically it must provide for a system of school finance that supports:
The Context for State Aid to Close the Gap in Student Achievement
The Regents Higher Learning Standards
New York State has embarked on an ambitious plan for implementing higher learning standards for all students. Under the previous requirements, approximately 40 percent of students received a Regents-endorsed local diploma, considered to have the appropriate academic rigor for college-bound students. The remaining 60 percent of students received a local diploma, based on low-level State tests of minimum competency and a corresponding curriculum. The new learning standards, which are being phased in over a five-year period, will require all students to study a rigorous core of courses in English, history, mathematics, science, technology, arts, health, physical education and foreign language. Students will be required to pass five Regents examinations to graduate. In addition, students will be required to demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language. The task now before the Regents is to align school funding with the statewide effort to assist all students in meeting State standards.
The Challenge of Present Law
Present Law will increase State Aid by $1.17 billion for the next school year. Present Law is projected to increase total State Aid by $5.83 billion by school year 2005-06. This money, if directed for high performance, can substantially improve education results in New York State. However, if the status quo is perpetuated, student results will not change appreciably. The challenge before us is to ensure that aid increases are targeted for high student achievement. This Regents proposal outlines a number of critical State Aid directions for aligning funding with schools’ fiscal and educational needs to eliminate the gap between student achievement and the attainment of higher standards by all students. The issue is not so much how much money, but using it in ways that eliminate the achievement gap in five years.
Recent Legislative Action
The Legislature and Governor added substantial increases in State Aid over the past three years, and more of those increases has been focused on those districts with student populations that have the farthest to go to meet the new standards (see Figure 1).
Examining the data over the past seven years by school district need category shows that all district groups have seen an increase in State Aid allocation over the years (Figure 2). This growth has been more pronounced in the last three years.
