New Fair School Funding Law Projected to Bring More Than $2.7 Billion Funding Increase to Los Angeles Unified by 2021
Parents and Students to Meet with State and Local Education Leaders To Shape Law’s Impact on Los Angeles Schools
School Success Express
Los Angeles, CA – As part of The California Endowment’s 12-city School Success Express bus tour raising awareness about California’s historic new Fair School Funding law, parents and students in Los Angeles will hold a community forum on Monday to discuss the new law that will bring California schools more money, more local control and new priorities.
The Fair School Funding law, also known as the Local Control Funding Formula, will increase funding over the next eight years to school districts throughout California, directing the greatest funding increases to districts serving large numbers of low-income students, English learners and foster youth. For example, Los Angeles Unified is projected to receive a 64.8% per-student funding increase as a result of the new law. If student enrollment holds steady, that would result in a district budget increase of close to $2.7 billion per year once the Fair School Funding law takes full effect in the 2020-2021 school year.
“Fair School Funding is going to change LA schools,” said Angelica Solis, executive director of Alliance for a Better Community. “Now is the time for community members to raise their voices and tell LAUSD and other local districts what it is going to take for students to succeed. After years of budget cuts, we now have an amazing opportunity to partner with the district and make significant improvements that will benefit us all.”
The forum will be held at Hollenbeck Middle School, 2510 East 6th Street in Los Angeles and the public is encouraged to attend. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and the forum will begin at 6:00 p.m. The event will start with a short video explaining the new law, after which students, parents and other community members will provide input to state and local education decision-makers.
The Fair School Funding law was approved in July and makes these important changes in how schools are funded and how they plan for the future:
- More Money for Students with the Greatest Needs – Fair School Funding increases dollars to support the needs of students who are low-income, learning to speak English or living in foster homes. Research shows low-income students are five times more likely to drop out than their higher-income peers.
- A Broader Definition of School Success – With Fair School Funding, school districts won’t be judged by test scores alone. To help drive academic success, the law requires schools to develop plans to improve student engagement, increase parent involvement and create more positive learning environments on campus. Fair School Funding requires school district budgets to be aligned with these plans starting in July 2014.
- More Local Control – Fair School Funding gives school leaders and parents more control over spending. Under the new law, they will work together to create achievement plans and budgets to meet the unique needs of students in their communities.
The law helps reverse years of painful cuts in education spending. Local students are expected to be major beneficiaries of the Fair School Funding law, which is based on a complicated formula that includes the number of students enrolled, the number of high-needs students, requirements to reduce class sizes in certain grades and other factors. to reduce class sizes in certain grades and other factors.
The California Department of Finance has issued projections for how funding will increase, and the nonprofit group Education Trust-West used that data to estimate the funding impact for Los Angeles Unified and Long Beach Unified:
The Fair School Funding law was approved quickly, and many details are yet to be defined by the California Board of Education. The Board will be making important decisions in early 2014 to give additional guidance to school districts for how money can be spent and how districts will be held accountable under the new law.
“Receiving information from the community is incredibly important to the work of the State Board of Education,” said Michael Kirst, President of the California State Board of Education. “We look forward to hearing from parents, students, administrators and caregivers as we develop regulations to implement the Local Control Funding Formula – an historic shift in how we fund California’s schools.”
California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson added, “The core of the new Local Control Funding Formula is just that: local control. Parental and community involvement remains key to student success, perhaps now more than ever. We all need to look closely, together, at the outcomes we want for our students and make sure that all students – no matter where they come from, where they live, or what challenges or opportunities they have – receive a world-class education and graduate ready to contribute.”
The Los Angeles forum is one of 12 School Success Express events planned over the next six weeks, with support from The California Endowment. Through its Building Healthy Communities Initiative, The Endowment works with parents, students and community leaders to improve health in underserved neighborhoods across the state. Student health and wellness is an important part of the foundation’s strategy.
“Children can’t learn when they come to school hungry, struggling to breathe because of asthma, or traumatized by violence in their homes or communities,” said Dr. Robert K. Ross, President and CEO of The California Endowment. “We want to give parents and students the opportunity to speak with education policymakers directly about these and other issues that affect student wellness and their ability to stay on track for college and future careers.”
The School Success Express is supported by a wide range of local and statewide community organizations, including the Alliance for a Better Community; Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles; ACLU of California; Bay Area Parent Leadership Action Network (PLAN); Brothers, Sons, Selves Coalition; Californians for Justice; California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc; California State PTA; Children Now; Education Trust-West; Families in Schools; Fight Crime Invest in Kids California; Inland Congregations United for Change (ICUC); Los Angeles Urban League; MALDEF; PICO California; Public Advocate; and Public Counsel among others.
- For more information on the Local Control Funding Formula, California’s new Fair School Funding law, read the following brief prepared by the California Department of Education (CDE): http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/lc/lcffoverview.asp.
- Learn more about South Los Angeles Building Healthy Communities at http://www.bhcconnect.org/health-happens-here/s-los-angeles.
- Learn more about Boyle Heights Building Healthy Communities at http://www.bhcconnect.org/health-happens-here/boyle-heights.
FULL SCHEDULE OF SCHOOL SUCCESS EXPRESS COMMUNITY FORUMS
Date Community
Sept. 30 South Kern
Oct. 7 Eastern Coachella Valley
Oct. 9 South Sacramento
Oct. 22 Richmond
Oct. 24 Southwest Merced/East Merced County
Oct. 28 Los Angeles *Tonight*
Oct. 29 Central Santa Ana
Oct. 30 Oakland
Nov. 4 East Salinas (Alisal)
Nov. 7 Fresno
Nov. 9 City Heights (San Diego)
Nov. 13 Del Norte & Adjacent Tribal Lands
About The California Endowment
The California Endowment, a private, statewide health foundation, was established in 1996 to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians. Headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, The Endowment has regional offices in Sacramento, Oakland, Fresno and San Diego, with program staff working throughout the state. The Endowment challenges the conventional wisdom that medical settings and individual choices are solely responsible for people’s health. The Endowment believes that health happens in neighborhoods, schools and with prevention. For more information, visit The Endowment’s Web site at www.calendow.org.