LaTEACH
Join Fellow LaTEACH Members!
Put on Your Purple On!
The House Education Committee needs to hear your voice!
May 15, 2015



capitol

The House Education Committee will hear and vote on Senate Bill 267  (equitable funding formula) by Senator Dan Claitor t his coming Wednesday, May 20th!

Do you want schools to serve all students?

Do you want the right amount of money to follow students with disabilities?

If these issues are important to you, put on your purple shirt and join fellow LaTEACH members at the House Education Committee.


 

WHEN:         Wednesday, May 20th, 2015 beginning at 9:00 am

  

WHERE:      Louisiana State Capitol

Committee Room 1

900 North Third Street

Baton Rouge, LA  70802


The Good News!

  • SB 267 will require for the same funding formula to apply to all schools, traditional and charter (type 1, 2, 3 and 4) schools.
  • This change will reduce incentives for some schools to not serve students with disabilities.

 What you can do:

  • Let the House Education Committee know if you want Louisiana schools to receive their fair share of funds and be required to serve all students.
House Education Committee
Contact House Education Committee members to tell them how you feel about an equitable funding formula and requiring charter schools to serve a fair share of students with disabilities.

 

Click HERE for the list of House Education members by district.

Additional Information

What is the problem?

Louisiana's funding and accountability system have unintended incentives for charter schools to not serve a fair share of students with disabilities. SB267 will seek to provide equity into the system for students with disabilities.

 

FUNDING

 

According to data from the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) 29 of 30 Type II Charter schools received more money than they should have for the students they serve!  The data from the LDOE indicate on average statewide Type II charter schools received $150,000 more than should have been provided based on the students they serve.  The largest difference in funding inequity was one school receiving more than half a million dollars than anticipated for the students served in the school.  Orleans Parish Type II Charter schools received on average more than $100,000 as would have been provided if an equitable funding formula was used.  This resulted in Orleans Parish School System losing of $1.7 million dollars this year alone.

 

The funding differences reveals patterns in how most Type II charter schools do not serve the same populations or students as are found in traditional public schools.  

 

Why does the money not necessarily follow the right students?

The Minimum Foundation Program, or MFP, is the formula for how elementary and high schools get their piece of $3,500,000,000 - that is 3.5 Billion dollars.  While the formula is complex, the concept of how the formula creates inequities across schools is simple.  Relative to the amount provided for students without disabilities, each student identified with a disability in a traditional public school system brings in 2.5 times as many dollars as a child without a disability.   The amount of money taken from traditional public schools and provided to charter schools run by BESE and other school choice programs is determined by a different formula - an average amount of money which is the same amount for every student -regardless if the student has a disability or not.
 

Inequities in funding occur when schools serve different proportions of students with high cost needs, like students with disabilities.


Additional dollars are needed to provide services such as therapies (speech, occupational, Adaptive physical education, behavioral), services (e.g., nursing), devices (e.g., augmentative communication systems, medical equipment, adaptive equipment, etc.) and higher teacher ratios.  Of course, no two students with disabilities have the same amount of services, but on average, it costs much more to serve students with disabilities.  In today's world of competitive education, it seems necessary to ensure adequate resources are provided to schools based on student need and there should not be financial incentives for schools to avoid serving students with more needs.

 

Which school systems are not getting adequate funds to serve the students in their schools?

Typically, the imbalance works against the traditional public school system because it does not receive its fair share of funding; however, the funding inequity can, and does, work both ways.  A charter school wishing to serve a student with a disability may not be receiving an adequate amount of funds needed to provide services to that student.  Parents should not have to wonder whether the school received the right amount of funds to serve their student.

 

To understand the funding imbalance between traditional and charter schools click the link to watch the webinar:  Louisiana Accountability and Funding Systems:  Impact on Students with Disabilities

 

ACCOUNTABILITY

 

Students with disabilities tend to not perform on standardized tests as do students without disabilities.  So the more students with disabilities found in a school tends to lower the school's performance score (SPS).  Charter schools with students scoring higher scores on standardized tests benefit in the accountability system by:

  • Contract renewal (R.S. 17:3992(A)(2)(a))
  • Designation of a "High-performing School" and automatic renewal
  • Funding priority over other charter schools (17:3992(A)(3) and 17:3995(A)(6))
  • Eligibility to open and operate two additional schools without formal application. (R.S. 17:3992(D))
  • Avoiding risk of closure (or non-renewal)
  • Attracting/advertising to get more students, and more students enrolled results in more funding
Did You Take Action?
Thank you
 
Ple ase let us know if you contacted House Education Committee members or attended a committee  meeting. Confirm your action with your regional LaTEACH leader or email us at  info@lateach.org .
Any questions?
If there are any questions about the information in this alert, contact LaTEACH at:
contact pic
Email:  info@lateach.org
Phone: 1-800-450-8108
Phone: 1-800-894-6558
Website:  www.lateach.org

LaTEACH is an initiative of the Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council.