high school school funding early learning tuition special education

Transcription

1 high school school funding early learning tuition special education

2 Highlights Student Enrollment The number of Illinois children served in statefunded pre-k programs increased from less than 46, in FY 1999 to more than 95, in FY 29. In FY 212, participation dropped to less than 81,. In school year , 49% of public school students in Illinois were from low-income families, up from 34% in In , Latino students represented 24% of public school enrollment, compared with 12% in In the school year, more than 3, children received special education services, compared with 239, in In school year , 9.4% of public school students had limited English proficiency, compared with 5.2% in In the school year, about 39, homeless students were enrolled in Illinois public schools, which represented a 48% increase over three years. Education Funding The Illinois Constitution stipulates that the state has primary responsibility for financing public education. Since FY 1987 however, the state share of funding for public schools has never reached one-third. Since FY 29, General State Aid to local school districts has declined by more than $32 million. Funding in FY 213 was at its lowest level since FY 27. Comparative data for FY 21 show that the state share of funding for public schools in Illinois was only 28% far below the U.S. average (43%) and lowest among the 5 states. In FY 29, the difference in total revenue per pupil between school districts at the 95th and 5th percentiles was almost $1,, the widest funding gap in the Midwest. Since FY 22, there has been a growing gap between the foundation level for General State Aid and the amount proposed by the Education Funding Advisory Board (EFAB). In FY 212, the statutory foundation level was $6,119 per pupil, which was more than $2,2 below EFAB s recommendation. High School and College In , high school graduation rates were 89% for white students, 68% for black students, 76% for Latinos, and 93% for Asians. School districts with graduation rates below 65% in included Kankakee (55%), North Chicago (58%), Aurora East (6%), Decatur (6%), Rockford (62%), and East St. Louis (62%). In 21, black students represented 14% of undergraduate enrollment but only 9% of degrees awarded at state universities in Illinois. Latinos accounted for 9% of enrollment and 7% of degrees awarded. In 21, average undergraduate tuition and fees for state residents at public universities in Illinois were highest in the Midwest. These college costs were 16% of median family income in Illinois, compared with only 6% in

3 Sara R. Slaughter Director Education Program, McCormick Foundation Education Quality Pre-School: the Ticket to a Great Start in Life On May 4, 26, a group of Springfield, Illinois, legislators, advocates, and executive branch appointees celebrated a victory: Senate Bill 1497 passed unanimously in the Senate and nearly unanimously in the House. While the celebration began in the State Capitol, by no means did it end then or there. Indeed, six years later, it is still being celebrated each week by over 8, children and their families across Illinois. That s because this legislation established Preschool for All. Some cite it as a major public policy victory for Illinois. But for most, it was simply a ticket to a great start in life and success in school. We live in a time when many have lost faith in government altogether. And even among those who still believe that government can serve the common good, many believe our elected officials only have their eyes on the next election and are incapable of coming together with politicians from the other side of the aisle for long-term good. That skepticism runs deep in Illinois, a state plagued by high budget deficits and political turmoil. Yet bi-partisanship, sound fiscal choices, evidencebased decisions, and perseverance are the hallmarks of Preschool for All. Preschool for All exists today because Republicans and Democrats came together to shape it, pass it, and fund it. These are the same legislators who, despite making cuts to the program in recent years of fiscal austerity, have nonetheless continued funding the program. That s because legislators on both sides of the aisle know the 1-to-1 return on investment when young children have access to quality early care and education programming. Those same legislators voted to increase the percentage of funding set aside for our youngest children under the age of three because the research shows that, by intervening early, we can give these children a better chance of avoiding special education, staying in school, and completing high school. Those legislators chose to invest in the future rather than pay the unfortunate and avoidable costs caused by failing to start early and properly educate our children. So when you hear someone scoff at the viability of pursuing good policy changes because long-term payoffs can t succeed, remember it has been done. Just take a walk down the hallways of schools like Murphy Elementary School on Chicago s northwest side with Principal Christine Zelenka, where her mostly Latino preschoolers get off to a good educational start supported by appropriate English Language Learning instruction. Or drive to one of Chicago s child care centers and listen to the familiar story of the Three Little Bears with a smart twist: weaving a math lesson into the beloved children s classic. Ask those children and their parents if investing in good public policies like Preschool for All is worth the time, money, and effort. Or maybe just look at their faces to find the answer: It is not easy, but it must be done. 14

4 Early Childhood Education The work of Voices for Illinois Children has long emphasized the value of investing in early learning opportunities. In 1992, Voices and its advocacy partners formed the Quality Alliance for Early Childhood Settings. In 1997, Voices launched Start Early: Learning Begins at Birth, a statewide public awareness campaign to build support for investing in quality early childhood education. In 1997, the Illinois General Assembly established the Early Childhood Block Grant (ECBG) to provide funding for the Pre-Kindergarten Program for Children At Risk of Academic Failure (instituted in 1985), as well as set-aside funding for coordinated services to enhance child development from birth to age 3. In 26, funding was expanded to Preschool for All with the goal of eventually offering access to all children whose parents want them to enroll. Participation in state-funded pre-k programs doubled between FY 1998 and FY 29. In 211, Illinois ranked first in participation of 3-year-olds in state-funded preschool and 15th in participation among 4-year-olds. 1 Over the past four years, however, ECBG funding has been reduced by more than 2%. Between FY 29 and FY 212, about 14, fewer children were participating in statefunded pre-k programs. As a result of budget cuts in FY 213, another 6, young children could lose access to preschool. 1 W. Steven Barnett et al., The State of Preschool 211 (National Institute for Early Education Research, April 212). Children Served in State-Funded Preschool Programs Children in 1,s Fiscal years Early Childhood Block Grant Funding $ millions Fiscal years

5 The percentage of Latino students in Illinois public schools has nearly doubled since Public School Enrollment Students in 1,s 2,5 2, 1,854 1,88 1,97 1,932 1,952 1,962 1,984 2,7 2,3 2,45 2,6 2,63 2,75 2,78 2,74 2,7 2,64 2,75 2,67 1,5 1, School years Public School Enrollment by Race-Ethnicity White Black Latino Asian/Pacific Islander School years

6 Homeless Students Enrolled in Illinois Public Schools Students in 1,s School years Under the McKinley-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, homeless students are defined as children and youth without a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. Low-income enrollment includes students, ages 3 to 17, living in families receiving public aid, living in substitute care, or eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunches. Limited English Proficiency enrollment (English Language Learners) includes students, ages 3 to 21, whose native or primary language is not English and who have a limited ability to read, write, speak, or understand English. Source Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program: Data Collection Summary (National Center for Homeless Education, June 211 and June 212). Low-Income Student Enrollment in Public Schools low-income School years Limited English Proficiency Enrollment in Public Schools School years

7 Students Receiving Special Education Services Students in 1,s School years NoTE Includes ages Public School Students with Disabilities by Gender and Race-Ethnicity School year 2-1 School year 25-6 School year Number (1,s) Number (1,s) Number (1,s) Gender Male Female Race-ethnicity White Black Over 3, students received special education services in school year 21 11, an increase of over 6, from 2 years earlier. NoTE Includes ages Hispanic Asian Students with Disabilities Receiving Special Education Services by Type of Disability School year 2-1 School year Number (1,s) Number (1,s) Specific learning disability 135, , Speech/language 73, , Emotional disturbance 3, , Mental impairment 28, , Developmental delay 6, , Autism 4, , All other 18, , Total 297, ,83 1. NoTE Includes ages

8 High School Graduation Rates * 212* School years * Four-year adjusted-cohort graduation rate, based on new federal regulations Selected School Districts with High School Graduation Rates Below 75%, School Year Low- Graduation Low- Graduation Type of income rate Type of income rate County district (percent)* (percent) County district (percent)* (percent) Northern Illinois North Boone CUSD 2 Boone Unit Central Illinois Decatur SD 61 Macon Unit Bloom Township HSD 26 Cook H.S Bloomington SD 87 McLean Unit CHSD 218 (Oak Lawn) Cook H.S Peoria SD 15 Peoria Unit City of Chicago SD 299 Cook Unit Springfield SD 186 Sangamon Unit J S Morton HSD 21 Cook H.S Danville CCSD 118 Vermilion Unit Proviso Township HSD 29 Cook H.S Georgetown-Ridge Farm CUD 4 Vermilion Unit Thornton Township HSD 25 Cook H.S Southern Illinois Kewanee CUSD 229 Henry Unit Frankfort CUSD 168 Franklin Unit Aurora East USD 131 Kane Unit Murphysboro CUSD 186 Jackson Unit Kankakee SD 111 Kankakee Unit Centralia HSD 2 Marion H.S North Chicago SD 187 Lake Unit Litchfield CUSD 12 Montgomery Unit Round Lake CUSD 116 Lake Unit Cahokia CUSD 187 Saint Clair Unit Waukegan CUSD 6 Lake Unit East St. Louis SD 189 Saint Clair Unit Joliet Township HSD 24 Will H.S Eldorado CUSD 4 Saline Unit Rockford SD 25 Winnebago Unit Herrin CUSD 4 Williamson Unit * For unit school districts, low-income percentage is for all grade levels. High School Graduation Rates by Group, 212 All students 82.3 Students with disabilities 68.9 White 88.9 Limited English proficiency 66.4 Black 68.4 Low-income 72.8 Latino 76. Male 79. Asian 93. Female 85.8 CCSD Community Consolidated School District CHSD Community High School District CUD Community Unit District CUSD Community Unit School District HSD High School District SD School District 19

9 Sylvia Puente Executive Director, Latino Policy Forum Chair, Education Funding Advisory Board Education Our Dual Fiscal CliFFS Just as headlines around the federal government s so-called fiscal cliff have quieted, Illinois continues to move towards a different, though no less dangerous, fiscal fall. Education funding cuts once again appear inevitable. The hard choices in front of us will determine how far we tumble and who feels the most pain. Through the Illinois State Board of Education, the Education Funding Advisory Board (EFAB) uses a complex set of formulas to make recommendations regarding General State Aid (GSA) to local school districts. These recommendations include the foundation level for combined state and local funding per pupil, as well as supplemental grants based on a school district s concentration of low-income students. EFAB s work is designed to provide recommendations that ensure an adequate baseline of educational investment for every Illinois student. Even in the economically best of times, this is an arduous task: GSA only partly compensates for huge fiscal disparities among local school districts. In FY 28 (before the recession), combined state and local revenue per pupil ranged from less than $7,5 to more than $2,. But in times of fiscal belt-tightening, EFAB s work has gone from promoting adequacy to confronting a choice between the lesser of evils. The hard truth is that EFAB s recommended foundation of $8,672 per pupil for FY 214 is a pipe dream. Implementing this recommendation would require $9 billion in funding for GSA more than double the current allocation. This shortfall isn t news, however: Illinois hasn t been able to afford EFAB s recommendation since FY 22 and instead has funded at a lower statutory foundation level. Since FY 21, the GSA foundation level in statute, which is substantially less than the EFAB recommendation, has been a stagnant $6,119. And though most districts pay a significant share of the $6,119 per pupil, Illinois dry coffers can t even produce the extra dollars necessary to get tax-property-poor districts to this amount. Instead, the state has taken to the practice of prorating GSA, basically giving school districts 89 percent of their entitled state funding for FY 213. But since our formula directs the most dollars per pupil to school districts with low levels of property wealth and high concentrations of low-income students, these districts get even more shortchanged. Circumventing the funding formulas by prorating GSA exacerbates fiscal disparities, but lowering the already inadequate foundation level would also be troubling. Illinois is unable to fulfill its state constitutional duty to pay the primary cost of education for its students. Today, the state contributes approximately a quarter of total costs, with the balance coming mostly from local property taxes. As Washington s finances remain shaky at best, the Illinois education cliff means inherently unequal property tax revenues are poised to determine, to an even larger degree, our children s educational and economic destinies. Our educational funding choice is an impossible one: Continue to backslide by lowering the statutory foundation level, or maintain disparityproducing proration practices? Both options short-change Illinois children, especially vulnerable students in low-income districts. But not taking action makes a bad system even worse, exacerbating the equity gaps we face today and potentially widening them for tomorrow. 2

10 Education Funding Fiscal resources alone do not determine the quality of public schools, but educational opportunities in Illinois are much too dependent on the property wealth of local school districts. For decades, efforts to reform public school finance have focused on inadequate state funding and wide fiscal disparities among school districts. The Illinois Constitution stipulates that the state has the primary responsibility for financing public education, but the state share of funding has consistently been less than one-third. The largest form of state education funding is General State Aid (GSA) to local school districts. GSA formula grants represent the state share of the foundation level, which provides a minimum amount of funding per pupil from the combination of state and local resources. School districts also receive supplemental GSA grants ( poverty grants ) based on the number and percentage of low-income students. GSA increased significantly in FY 199, following an income tax increase, and in FY 1999, when funding formulas were revised. In FY 29 and FY 21, GSA was bolstered by federal recovery funds. Since FY 211, however, GSA funding has been reduced by $313 million. In both FY 212 and FY 213, GSA was prorated, with each school district receiving a reduced portion of its GSA entitlement. Districts hit hardest by proration have been those that rely most on state aid those with low levels of property wealth and high concentrations of low-income students. Shares of Funding for Public Schools Federal State Local Fiscal years Sources Illinois State Board of Education, Illinois Public Schools Financial Statistics and Illinois Local Education Agency Retrieval Network. 21

11 In FY 213, General State Aid funding was at its lowest level since FY 27. General State Aid to Public School Districts $ thousands 5, 4, 5 4, 3, 5 3, 2, 5 2, 1,5 1, 5 2,527 2,922 3,31 3,61 3,266 3,26 3,483 3,79 3,917 4, * 213* Fiscal years * Appropriations Sources Illinois Office of the Comptroller and Governor s Office of Management and Budget. 4,445 4,68 4,616 4,6 4,448 4,287 Recommended and Statutory Foundation Level for General State Aid $ per pupil 1, Statutory foundation level Recommendation by Education Funding Advisory Board $8,36 $7,992 8, $6,45 $6,64 $6,841 $7,128 $7,388 $5,665 $5,863 6, $4,56 $4,68 $5,734 $5,959 $6,119 $6,119 $6,119 4, $4,56 $4,56 $4,81 $4,964 $5,164 $5,334 2, Fiscal years 22

12 Comparative data for FY 21 show that the state share of funding for public schools in Illinois was only 28% far below the U.S. average (43%) and lowest among the 5 states. Revenue Sources for Public Schools, Midwestern States, FY 21 1 Federal State Local Illinois* Indiana Iowa Michigan Minnesota Missouri Ohio Wisconsin U.S. Total * State revenue includes corporate personal property replacement tax. Source National Center for Education Statistics. Total Revenues Per Pupil for School Districts, Midwestern States, FY 29 5th 95th Gap between Gap between percentile Median percentile 95th & 5th median & 5th Illinois $8,655 $1,92 $18,557 $9,92 $2,265 Indiana 1,197 11,743 15,265 5,68 1,546 Iowa 9,788 11,34 17,572 7,784 1,516 Michigan 8,89 1,9 14,844 6,35 1,281 Minnesota 9,589 11,49 15,323 5,734 1,82 Missouri 7,683 9,434 15,138 7,455 1,751 Ohio 8,869 1,572 17,65 8,781 1,73 Wisconsin 11,131 12,629 17,34 5,93 1,498 Source National Center for Education Statistics. 23

13 Undergraduate Enrollment and Degrees Awarded at State Universities Enrollment Degrees awarded Enrollment Degrees awarded Fall Fall White 99, , , , Male 47, , , , Female 52, , , , Black 18, , , , Male 6, , , , Compared to 2, in 21 the number of Latinos enrolled in state universities increased by 47%, and the number receiving degrees increased by 62%. Female 12, , , , Latino 9, , , , Male 4, , ,14 3. Female 5, , , Asian 1, , , , Male 5, , , , Female 5, , , Total 145, , , , Male 66, , , , Female 78, , , , Source Illinois Board of Higher Education. Undergraduate Enrollment and Degrees Awarded at Community Colleges Enrollment Degrees awarded Enrollment Degrees awarded Fall Fall White 219, , , , Male 93, , , , Female 125, , , , Black 47, , , , Male 17, , , , Female 29, , , , Latino 51, , , , Male 24, , , , Female 26, , , , Asian 16, , , , Male 7, , , Female 8, , , Total 34, , , , Male 145, , , , Female 194, , , , Source Illinois Board of Higher Education. 24

14 Average College Tuition and Fees in Illinois Academic year Academic year Academic year $25, $24,7 $2, $14,729 $15, $1,562 $1, $8,281 Data on undergraduate tuition and fees are average charges for the entire academic year. Instate tuition and fees are weighted by the number of full-time-equivalent undergraduates. $5, $ $4,4 $2,37 $2,947 $871 $1,499 Private four-year Public four-year (in-state) Public two-year Source National Center for Education Statistics. Average Undergraduate Tuition and Fees for State Residents at Public Universities, Midwestern States, Academic Year $12, $1, $8, $1,562 $7,614 $7,157 $9,839 $9,285 $7,12 $8,51 $7,391 $6, $4, $2, $ Illinois Indiana Iowa Michigan Minnesota Missouri Ohio Wisconsin Source National Center for Education Statistics. Average College Tuition and Fees in Illinois as a age of Median Family Income Academic year Academic year Academic year Private four-year Public four-year (in-state) Public two-year In 21, average undergraduate tuition and fees for state residents at public universities in Illinois were highest in the Midwest. Source National Center for Education Statistics. 25