An Efficacy Analysis of the Texas School Funding Formula with Particular Attention to English Language Learners

Approximately 5.3 million students are classified as English language learners (ELLs) in elementary and secondary public schools across the United States. Concomitantly, of its 5.5 million students, the State of Texas enrolls the second largest population of K–12 English language learners¹ nationally, with over 800,000 students—15% of the U.S. population of ELL students—approximately 17% of Texas’ K–12 population (Flores, Batalova, and Fix 2012). At the same time, among school districts with the largest number of students classified as ELLs, Texas superintendents manage four (i.e., Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston) of the top 20 districts in the country (Pandya, Batalova, and McHugh 2011). And, similar to other states in the Southwest (e.g. Arizona, New Mexico, or Nevada), the overwhelming majority of students receiving ELL services in Texas are Spanish speakers. Within this context, the general purpose of this article is to extend the examination of previous efficacy analyses of Texas’ education finance system (Rolle, Torres, and Eason 2010; Rolle and Wood 2012) by paying particular attention to the ability of the Texas Foundation School Program (FSP) to generate revenue to support ELL educational activities.

Specifically, this article will examine the efficacy of formula components within the Texas funding mechanism—that is, how individual components within the Texas FSP act as significant predictors of combined state and local revenue. In addition, in order to focus specifically on the varying concentrations of students defined as ELLs, this article also will examine the efficacy of individual components within the Texas funding mechanism for five sub-groups of districts—stratified by percentage of students defined as ELLs quintiles— across the state. Placing analytical focus on students who are ELLs is significant because this demographic subgroup is one of the fastest growing in the Texas K–12 educational system and nationally. To date, this type of school finance analysis—with particular emphasis on quintiles of students classified as ELLs—has not been conducted previously. And, in this effort to provide empirical evidence supporting assertions around the two primary research questions, this article is structured in the following manner:

• • A description of the Texas Foundation School Program funding mechanism with special attention to the Bilingual Education and Special Language Program weighted adjustment

• • A description of Texas Bilingual Education and Special Language Programs

• • A description of methodological and data analysis techniques

• • An empirical analysis of public school district revenue distributions

• • An empirical analysis of public school district revenue distributions while paying particular attention to stratified concentrations of Bilingual Education and Special Language Program students

• • A discussion of analytical conclusions and recommendations

Ultimately, the goal of this research is to create a common understanding about the efficacy of the Texas FSP, ideals of fiscal equity and efficiency, and the generation of public education revenues.

Texas Foundation School Program Funding Mechanism²

All public schools in Texas, both traditional independent school districts and charter school districts, receive state revenue funds based on the average daily attendance (ADA) of students. Specifically, the Texas school funding mechanism—called the Texas Foundation School Program (FSP) (http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=410)—is the source of state funding for all Texas school districts. And, in its current form, the FSP is meant to ensure that all school districts, regardless of property wealth, receive “substantially equal access to similar revenue per student at similar tax effort” (http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=7721&menu_id=645). Comprised of two funding sections, shown in Figures 1 and 2, Tier I is structured as a basic foundation formula, consisting of a basic allotment per student and a series of weighted adjustments that account for differences in student and district characteristics (e.g., the percentage of students receiving bilingual services within a district). In addition, each school district also qualifies for transportation allotments based on the number of students riding buses divided by the approved route miles. As such, the basic allotments plus the district, student, and transportation adjustments...