Exploring the Effectiveness of Funding Public School Districts in the State of Illinois and the Efforts of Public Law 100-0465

Abstract

Prior to 2017, Illinois used a regressive model to fund public education in the state. The previous approach to funding public education was problematic as it led to inequitable distribution of funding and the needs of children not being taken into account for funding. In order to revamp the way public schools are funding in the state, the state legislature passed Public Law 100-0465. Rather than continue to rely on a regressive model, the state opted to embrace a more equitable model towards funding public education. Through this Act, an Evidence Based Funding (EBF) formula encompassing 26 different components ranging from student demographics to school location was created to ensure that each student receives adequate funding for their education. In specific, this model sought to ensure that all students - regardless of property taxes paid in their districts - were afforded the same level of educational spending allocating to students in more affluent districts through a tiering system where more money is allocated to Tier 1 schools who have greater financial needs and less money being allocate to Tier 4 schools who face lesser financial needs. This project utilized portions of a larger data corpus from the Illinois Report Card and a comprehensive inquiry method to assess the effectiveness of Illinois' new public education funding model resulting from Public Act 100-0465. This study analyzed the following indicators: district finances, academic success of students, teacher, and college readiness from three Tier 1 school districts in the State of Illinois to assess the impact of Public Law 100-0465 on the neediest students; the Tier 1 school districts (SD) selected for this study represent those with the highest proportion of Latino students (Elgin SD U-46), African American students (Peoria SD 150), and a mixed student body (Rockford SD 205). Tentative findings reveal mixed results. Though it may be the fact that Illinois is distributing more money to the neediest district in the state, it appears as though the impact on the students has been inconsistent. In fact, while there has been an increase in college readiness among the students, there has also been a lag in standardized test scores. To help strengthen Public Law 100-0465, the state legislature should create a committee to have greater oversight when it comes to the distribution of funding within each school district, to examine performance measures to ensure the policy is being properly implemented, and to increase professional development for school staff to improve standardized test scores for minority students.