Describe five approaches to funding for educational equity and effectiveness

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The trend toward equal funding is spreading across the United States. Many state legislatures have enacted school finance equity tax reforms during the last fifteen years. These reforms include implementing full funding programs, adopting new funding formulas to broaden their revenue base, and redistricting or redrawing school district boundaries to reduce the range of variation in the ability of school districts to finance education. For some states, providing vertical equity, that is, allocating funds according to legitimate education needs, has helped to create more equal funding.

Another approach to providing educational equity that has generated considerable controversy is the voucher system of distributing educational funds. While various plans have been proposed, one of the most common would give states the freedom to distribute money directly to parents in the form of "vouchers." Parents would then use the vouchers to enroll their children in schools of their choice.

Interest has also grown in proposals that would allow students to attend schools based on school choice, the practice of allowing students to choose the schools their children attend. The issue is particularly heated for choice programs that would allow parents to choose a private school to attend at public expense. According to the 2003 Gallup Poll, 60 percent opposed such choice programs, while 38 percent were in favor.

Finally, many local school districts have established partnerships with businesses in the private sector. Corporate contributions to education total more than $2 billion annually.