Bill Would Require Districts to Spend “Comparably” In High-Poverty Schools

A new bill would amend the Title I law to require school districts to spend as much on the education of students in high-poverty schools as it does on students in low-poverty schools.

Take Advantage of Congressional Break to Contact Representatives

The federal Title I formulas send more funding for poor students to large low-poverty suburban districts than to smaller, higher-poverty rural districts. That’s not right and Congress needs to hear that the formulas should be fixed.

Coalition Releases Document Calling for "Opportunity to Learn" for all Students

A coalition of civil rights organizations has issued a compelling document outlining new federal strategies to ensure that all students have substantive and fair opportunities to learn. The document’s critique of competitive mechanisms for distributing federal funding and use of unproven school turnaround strategies that harm students and communities is powerful. Equally important are the strategies it outlines to strengthen communities, engage parents in schools in meaningful way, and make states accountable for providing equitable resources and opportunities for all students. Such strategies would take federal policy in new directions to address the challenges and gross inequities facing low-income students and communities…

Formula Grant Successful in Rural Schools, Flexibility Key

A recent report for the U.S. Department of Education finds that low-income rural schools made good use of a federal formula grant. The findings are important in the debate over whether federal grants should be awarded primarily on a competitive or formula basis.

Rural Trust to Examine Effectiveness of Competitive Grants for Rural Schools

Competitive grants are an increasingly important part of federal funding for schools. But will they reach the highest-poverty rural schools or enhance equal educational opportunity.

State Spending Averages Skew Title I Allocations to Poor Districts

Districts in richer states that support education get a lot more federal money to improve the education of very low-income students than districts in poor states that provide less funding for schools...

The RPM Take on a Report Evaluating the Comprehensive School Reform Program

A report evaluating the implementation and outcomes of the federal Comprehensive School Reform program (CSR) from 2002 to 2008 finds that most schools receiving CSR funds did not implement all the program requirements, nor did they make more achievement growth than comparison schools. Although it would seem that extra financial support did not produce desired outcomes, a closer read of the report finds that most schools faced a number impediments to implementation and that addressing these impediments might go a long way toward helping high-poverty low-performing schools achieve at higher levels.

Title I Update: Two New Analyses Point Up More Inequities in Title I Funding

The Rural Trust’s Formula Fairness Campaign  has conducted two new analyses of Title I funding that demonstrate how — and why — some districts get less federal support than other districts for each very low-income student. One report shows how districts located in states that spend more on education get more Title I funding. The other report analyzes one option for fixing Title I to make it more equitable for high-poverty school districts, especially those located in rural areas.

U.S. Department of Education Holds Webinar on Reauthorization of ESEA and Rural Schools

John White, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Rural Outreach at the U.S. Department of Education, is inviting rural superintendents and principals to participate in a webinar on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and rural schools on Thursday, May 27, 2010, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Children's Defense Fund Calls for Overhaul of Title I Funding

In a pointed letter to Congressional leadership, the Children’s Defense Fund makes the case for fixing the Title I funding formulas and changing other aspects of the federal education law…

Formula Fairness Campaign Gaining Momentum

The unfairness of “Number Weighting,” which shifts Title I funding for poor students from poorer school districts to larger less poor districts, is gaining attention…

Quick and Dirty: The RPM Take on A Blueprint for Reform

The Obama administration has issued its goals for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. We share what we think…

The Charmed Prince of Good Deals

The following article was recently posted to the Formula Fairness Campaign's blog. RPM will print selected Campaign blog posts. To learn more about the campaign to bring fairness in federal funding for low-income rural students, visit the website, where you can join the campaign and sign a national petition.

Petition to Eliminate Unfair Treatment of Small and Rural Districts in Title I Funding

Sign the petition to bringing fairness to the Title I funding formula…

RPM's Take on the Data Provisions of Blueprint for Reform

Student test score data is the core of Blueprint. Test scores would be used to rate teacher effectiveness and reward or reconstitute schools. And, more student and teacher data would be collected and published…