How American K-12 public schools are funded: An Overview
To understand how housing inequality impacts our education system, it is essential to first understand how our schools are funded.
When comparing school funding in the United States as a whole, it is complicated because each state is responsible for designing their own system for funding their k-12 schools. In general, all states are given around 10% of funds from the federal government and then split 90% between state funds and local funds. This could be an even 45/45 split, but it does not have to be. For example, in the charts to the right, Ohio Public Education shows a near 45/45 split, but Illinois’ schools are funded much more from local funds while Minnesota schools are funded more by state funds. This information was compiled from the website: https://educationdata.org/public-education-spending-statistics which uses data from June 2022.
The table below describes the major funding models used by the 50 states and Washington DC. The information is from October 2021. For specific information about your state of interest, click the following link: https://reports.ecs.org/comparisons/k-12-and-special-education-funding-01
*Within the "Student-based Allocation", even the way students are counted depends on the states and their designed approaches. For example, 23 states use a membership average, while 11 states use a count from a single day. For more specific numbers regarding which states count students in which approach, click the following link: https://www.ecs.org/student-counts-in-k-12-funding-models/
States might also allocate funding for specific student populations for additional support. For example, all states give increased funding for special education. Most states also give extra funding for English Language Learners, students from low-income backgrounds, gifted and talented programs, and small and isolated schools. For more information on the specifics of your state of interest offering extra funding click one of the following links:
- Special Education: https://reports.ecs.org/comparisons/k-12-and-special-education-funding-04
- English Language Learner: https://reports.ecs.org/comparisons/k-12-and-special-education-funding-05
- Low-Income students: https://reports.ecs.org/comparisons/k-12-and-special-education-funding-06
- Gifted and Talented programs: https://reports.ecs.org/comparisons/k-12-and-special-education-funding-07
- Small and Isolated schools: https://reports.ecs.org/comparisons/k-12-and-special-education-funding-08
As stated earlier, school funding is complex. For an easy to understand, general overview of school funding, watch the YouTube video to the right:
For additional information or specific information regarding your state, or a state of interest, the following two websites could be of help:
- For an in-depth 50-state comparison of the primary funding model of k-12 and special education click this link: https://www.ecs.org/50-state-comparison-k-12-and-special-education-funding/
- For highlights of each state’s funding as well as graphs and charts demonstrating dollar amounts and percentages click this link: https://educationdata.org/public-education-spending-statistics
