The Design of the Rhode Island School Funding Formula: Developing New Strategies on Equity and Accountability

Abstract

Reforming the way a state distributes its funding to local school districts is a challenging task. Too often, state leaders embrace major school funding reform only when they are directed by court decisions. In this seemingly contentious policy domain, the Rhode Island General Assembly defied the odds—working in a recessionary climate and in the absence of judicial mandates—and enacted its first major school funding reform in almost 20 years on June 10, 2010. This article examines the Rhode Island school funding reform and how the state's leaders were able to overcome political and fiscal barriers following years of unsuccessful efforts to develop a new funding formula. The article also discusses the design of and the rationale behind the key features of the new formula addressing equity and accountability.

Acknowledgments

Support for research assistance on the early design phase of the funding formula was provided by the Rhode Island Foundation. Additional support was provided by the Ford Foundation and the Center for American Progress. I acknowledge excellent research assistance provided by Jason Becker, Mary Stuart Kilner, Bryant Jones, and Shibani Khanna.