Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville (right), the chair of the House Ways and Means Education Committee, speaks with Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, the chair of the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee, on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on May 8, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
Alabama lawmakers seem intent on changing the state’s funding formula for K-12 schools.
But at a Thursday meeting of a state committee studying alterations to the funding model, lawmakers seemed more inclined to make changes to the current method than jettisoning it entirely.
Since 1995, Alabama has allocated education funding using an attendance-based formula known as the Foundation Program. Lawmakers are now considering transitioning to a weighted student funding model while keeping a base amount schools get, referred to as a hybrid formula. The aim of the model would be getting more resources to particular groups of students, such as those living in poverty, students with disabilities or English Language Learners with a complete overhaul of the system.
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“We certainly know the educational needs and issues have changed in the past 30 years. Continuing as we are today, without a change, we would assume we continue to produce the same outcomes we’re producing today, which I think most people agree are not where we want to be,” said Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, co-chair of the Legislative Study Commission on Modernizing K-12 School Education.
Under Alabama’s existing funding framework, only 1.2% of state education funds specifically address student needs.
Lawmakers on the committee indicated they support moving towards a hybrid system, which would keep the base funding model but add a weighting formula for specific student needs, saying that it would be an improvement over the current system.
“You have to have an amount to be impactful, and the 1.2% that we’re doing now … is not enough to really move the needle like we need to move the needle,” said Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, co-chair of the Legislative Study Commission on Modernizing K-12 School Education.
Jennifer Schiess, senior partner and practice lead for policy and evaluation at Bellwether, an education nonprofit, said after the meeting that whether Alabama already has a hybrid formula is subjective. While about 1.2% of funding goes to student needs, the current funding formula is based on attendance and not the number of students. For example, if the student population that has specific needs grows, so does the funding.
“So that even if you’re a district who’s getting money through the current English language grant, for example, you’ll still get more than you’re getting now because those would just be richer programs under the weights. And it would flow automatically, so there’s no application process. It’s just based on the number of students,” Schiess said.
Sen. Sam Givan, R-Huntsville, a member of the committee, said he believes that the hybrid model presented would allow some level of customization.
“One size fits all solutions are usually not very successful. What I like about even the hybrid model is, at least it’s not just a one-size-fits-all all. We’re trying to customize it at some level,” Givan said.
Committee member Rep. Troy Stubbs, R-Wetumpka, also said that he likes that the program can change over time.
“There are things out there that we don’t even anticipate coming. So we need to build a program by which we can adapt with time in the future,” Stubbs said.
Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, said that she thought she was for a full reform, but said “let’s go for it,” referring to the hybrid model presented.
“There are benefits I’ve seen in looking at hybrid, so I appreciate that we continue the discussion,” Collins said.
Lawmakers also seemed intent on establishing an accountability component, saying that if they provide funding for special needs students, the school can’t build a football field, for example.
“By doing this, it allows us to potentially double the amount of money we’re allocating for those needs, but we also have the accountability measures in place, where the schools that have the students with those needs are getting the funds,” Stubbs said.
Orr said after the meeting that a hybrid proposal could pass in the upcoming legislative session, set to begin Feb. 4. But a larger overhaul would likely have to wait for the 2026 legislative session.
“If we do the hybrid, I think it is possible (in the 2025 legislative session). We’ll have to make sure the accountability and transparency steps are in there, and that’s part of the package,” Orr said.
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