- We have the historic opportunity to add a significant amount of new money to a fairer formula that prioritizes student needs.
- Gini Pupo-Walker is the head of the Education Trust in Tennessee and a member of the Board of Education at Metro Nashville Public Schools in District 8.
Editor’s Note: Tennessee has invited 12 leaders or organizations to write guest essays on issues related to Tennessee’s education funding. This is one essay in the entire series on this important conversation, affecting students, parents, and community members throughout the state.
Financing schools is complex, but it is one of the most important ways to have a positive impact on education from kindergarten to high school. It’s very unlikely that Tennessee’s largest districts, Metro Nashville Public School and Shelby County School, have sued the state over the state’s current official Basic Education Program (BEP), adding 84 smaller districts in 2021. Is important to.
The amount of money invested in education is really important, but the way it is distributed and used is also important. Governor Lee wants to allocate a $ 750 million regular increase to the district, and he and the Tennessee Department of Education have announced a newly proposed financing method, the Tennessee Student Achievement Investment (TISA). We aim to tackle the distribution issue through.
The Tennessee Education Trust conducted a TISA analysis. I have an important question, but TISA meets some criteria.
In particular, we will place a student-weighted system centered on students and increase funding based on measurable student characteristics such as family income and student disability. In fact, the district receives twice as many supplementary dollars as it does under BEP for economically disadvantaged (ED) students.
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Why some children are no longer listed in poverty
One of the challenges for school districts like MNPS is that the number of students who are considered to be financially disadvantaged is declining, so the school district needs and receives them to educate them. The proportion of funds is also decreasing.
Are there few students in MNPS who are actually living in poverty? perhaps. Nashville is a booming city with low unemployment and rising wages.
But friction lies in how we define students who are financially disadvantaged. For decades we defined this through self-reported income from families, but in 2016 Tennessee moved to a measure called direct certification.
As a result, students whose families receive federal benefits such as SNAP, TANF, WIC, or who are homeless or foster parents are identified as ED.
With this change, tens of thousands of students in Nashville are no longer identified as in poverty because their families were not enrolled in these programs. This year, only 36% of MNPS students were certified as the lowest ED ever.
why is that? The federal government’s definition of eligibility for benefits is narrow, and Tennessee has added cumbersome reporting, labor requirements, and some of the country’s most stringent income eligibility constraints to qualify for nutritional support. This gives families a monthly benefit of $ 377.
As a result, fewer families are applying or qualifying. In addition, undocumented families are not included in this count, but their children are enrolled in a school in Nashville. This draws imperfect pictures of MNPS students and unreasonably reduces district funding to meet their needs.
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TennCare may be part of the solution
One solution is to expand the definition of economically disadvantaged students. The way to do this is to add TennCare to the criteria for more family participation to create a more complete picture of the students and their needs.
Tennessee can also expand the eligibility criteria for Temporary Assistance for Poor Families (TANF). This is an investment in children and a worthwhile way to harness historic surplus. In addition, the state will provide forecast registration data that makes funding assumptions in all categories, allowing districts to verify and correct inaccuracies and make suggestions for improving the formula. is needed.
Tennessee’s financing method has been untouched for 30 years due to the difficult choices and trade-offs required. We have the historic opportunity to add a significant amount of new money to a fairer formula that prioritizes student needs.
But we need to be clear about who is counted and who will be excluded, ask questions, provide improvements, listen to us and stay involved as the bill passes Congress in the coming weeks. I have.
Gini Pupo-Walker is the head of the Education Trust in Tennessee and a member of the Board of Education at Metro Nashville Public Schools in District 8.
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