School Finance Equity Under Census-Based Funding: Assessing the Merits of New Jersey’s School Finance Reform Act

• In Event: P-20 Education Finance

Abstract

Providing students with adequate and equitable resources is an enduring challenge for policymakers and school leaders. In 2008, New Jersey implemented the School Finance Reform Act (SFRA), which altered the funding mechanism for special education. States traditionally allocate special education funding based on the level of need reported at the district level. As part of SFRA, New Jersey moved to census-based funding for special education, which allocates resources according to the total number of student enrolled, rather than the number of students in special education. I use a difference-in-differences framework to identify the equity implications of the SFRA and present mixed evidence that the SFRA decreased inter-district school finance equity in New Jersey.

Author

• David S. Knight, University of Southern California