Research Report School District Funding in Texas
Subtitle
Computing the Effects of Changes to the Foundation School Program Funding Formula
Stipica Mudrazija, Kristin Blagg, Victoria Lee, Cary Lou, Victoria Rosenboom
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Texas’s school funding formula is a power-equalization formula, with different tiers of funding that aim to provide similar levels of funding for similar tax effort. In the 2017–18 school year, the state funding formula resulted in slightly progressive cost-adjusted funding across districts in terms of students’ poverty status, while white students and rural students, on average, are enrolled in districts with higher per student funding in cost-adjusted dollars. We examine the effects of changes to the formula on funding progressivity and find that even substantial changes have generally modest impacts on progressivity and per student funding.

Research Areas Education Taxes and budgets Children and youth
Tags School funding Financial knowledge and capability State and local tax issues K-12 education
Policy Centers Center on Education Data and Policy