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   Corrupting Texas Education: Failing Children   
      
      
      
   A recent analysis of states' public school funding showed Texas and other   
   Southern states lagging behind the national average.   
   A recent analysis of states' public school funding showed Texas and other   
   Southern states lagging behind the national average.   
   EDUCATION   
   Report: Public school funding in Texas, Southern states lags behind nation   
   By Sabra Ayres Texas   
   PUBLISHED 5:00 PM CT Nov. 08, 2021   
      
   DALLAS — When it comes to funding public schools, Texas and other Southern   
   states are lagging behind the rest of the nation, the result of which is   
   having a huge impact on students of color and students living in or near   
   poverty, according to a new report from the Southern Poverty Law Center.   
   What You Need To Know   
      
       A new study from the Southern Poverty Law Center urges Texas and other   
   Southern states to prioritize more equitable public school spending   
      
       The report is based on an annual national survey called “Making the   
   Grade,” which ranks states according to their public school funding   
      
       The new report says that a failure to adequately and equitably fund   
   public schools leads to “an outsized impact on students of color and   
   students living in or near poverty”   
      
   Nationally, Texas ranked 40 out of a total of 51, in which Washington,   
   D.C., is counted along with all 50 states when it comes to funding levels.   
   The Lone Star State received an “F” mark for its funding level of $11,987   
   per student, which was $3,127 the national average of $15,114.   
      
   The low ranking put Texas at the bottom of the list with 10 other states.   
   New York State was the highest in the national report, spending $11,520   
   above the national average per student, while Arizona was at the bottom of   
   the list, spending $5,397 less than the national level of $15,114.   
      
   When grouped among Southern states, Texas was in the top three for funding   
   levels behind Louisiana and Georgia. Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida   
   and Mississippi followed.   
      
   The report, called “Inequity in School Funding: Southern States Must   
   Prioritize Fair Public School Spending,” looked at public school funding   
   in eight Southern states — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana,   
   Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. Analysts examined criteria established   
   by Education Law Center’s 2021 “Making the Grade” report, an annual   
   analysis of state-by-state public school funding.   
      
   The 2021 report examined funding for each state in 2019.   
      
   The report ranks and grades each state based on three key measures:   
   funding level, funding distribution and funding effort. The funding level   
   is determined by dividing state and local revenue by student enrollment,   
   adjusted for local labor market costs. Funding distribution is the extent   
   to which additional funds are distributed to school districts where there   
   are high levels of students living in poverty. Funding effort refers to   
   the state’s funding allocations to support pre-kindergarten through high   
   school public education as a percentage of the state’s economic activity,   
   which is measured by gross domestic product.   
      
   When it comes to funding distribution, or how much a state allocates   
   funding to high-poverty districts relative to low-poverty districts, Texas   
   received a D grade. The state, along with Alabama and Florida, was   
   considered to have regressive funding in which high-poverty districts on   
   average received less per-pupil funding than low-poverty districts. In   
   Texas, that rate was 6%, while in Florida and Alabama the average funding   
   disadvantage in high poverty districts was double that at 12%, the report   
   showed.   
      
   The report emphasized the importance of fair school funding, which is the   
   “foundational building block for high-performing, effective pre-   
   kindergarten through 12 public schools.”   
      
   “A strong funding foundation is especially critical for low-income   
   students, students of color, English learners, students with disabilities   
   and students facing homelessness, trauma and other challenges,” the report   
   said.   
      
   Fair school funding is particularly significant in the Southern states   
   examined in the report because the “historical context of racial   
   segregation and resistance to integration still permeates education   
   politics and policymaking,” the report said.   
      
   In the south, public schools today have a disproportionate number of Black   
   and Latino students, while white students are overrepresented in private   
   schools, according to the report. Some Southern states are increasing   
   funding for voucher systems which divert state funds into private   
   institutions while leaving public schools drastically underfunded, the   
   report said.   
      
   Inadequate funding of public schools and the failure to provide the   
   additional resources need to support low-income students creates “an   
   outsize impact on students of color” in the South, according to the   
   report.   
      
   About 14% of American students are educated in five of the states focused   
   on by the report (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi).   
   One in five of these students in these states is poor; one in three is   
   Black, according to the report.   
      
   Without equitable and adequate public school funding, pervasive racial and   
   economic injustices perpetuate and exacerbate, the study said.   
      
   “Research shows that increasing school funding not only raises high school   
   graduation rates but also leads to high adult wages and a lower likelihood   
   of adult poverty, with the biggest benefits for students from low-income   
   families,” the report said.   
      
   “The data is clear: School finance in the Southern states is in drastic   
   need of improvement,” the report concluded.   
      
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